The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters - With a new Q&A with the author - Softcover

Carroll, Sean B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0691175683 ISBN 13: 9780691175683

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2017

Synopsis

Now the subject of a feature film that the New York Times calls "spellbinding"

How does life work? How does nature produce the right numbers of zebras and lions on the African savanna, or fish in the ocean? How do our bodies produce the right numbers of cells in our organs and bloodstream? In The Serengeti Rules, award-winning biologist and author Sean Carroll tells the stories of the pioneering scientists who sought the answers to such simple yet profoundly important questions, and shows how their discoveries matter for our health and the health of the planet we depend upon.

One of the most important revelations about the natural world is that everything is regulated―there are rules that regulate the amount of every molecule in our bodies and rules that govern the numbers of every animal and plant in the wild. And the most surprising revelation about the rules that regulate life at such different scales is that they are remarkably similar―there is a common underlying logic of life. Carroll recounts how our deep knowledge of the rules and logic of the human body has spurred the advent of revolutionary life-saving medicines, and makes the compelling case that it is now time to use the Serengeti Rules to heal our ailing planet.

A bold and inspiring synthesis by one of our most accomplished biologists and gifted storytellers, The Serengeti Rules is the first book to illuminate how life works at vastly different scales. Read it and you will never look at the world the same way again.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"A master storyteller, Carroll explores the unity of biology from the molecular level to the Serengeti, the rules that regulate life, and the consequences when regulation breaks down. A fascinating journey from beginning to end, this book will educate and entertain readers at all levels and leave them with a better understanding of how the biosphere works."--Simon Levin, Princeton University, author of Fragile Dominion: Complexity and the Commons

"The Serengeti Rulesis a superb journey of a book written by a scientist of the first rank. Unfolding seamlessly from molecule to ecosystem, it explains with authority and grace why modern biology is central not just to human life but to that of the planet itself."--Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University

"InThe Serengeti Rules, Carroll has crafted a work of epic sweep."--Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body

"Original, provocative, and beautifully crafted, Carroll's book provides a glimpse into the deeper laws of biology that govern the earth."--Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

"This is a rattling good read by one of the leading scientists of our time. The Serengeti Rules made me think differently about what we biologists do. This is a book that needs to be shouted from the rooftops."--Andrew F. Read, Pennsylvania State University

"Masterful and compelling. The Serengeti Rules is a significant contribution, one that will be welcomed by professional biologists and a wide range of lay readers."--Harry W. Greene, author of Tracks and Shadows: Field Biology as Art

About the Author

Sean B. Carroll is an award-winning scientist, writer, educator, and executive producer. He is vice president for science education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor of molecular biology and genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His books include Endless Forms Most Beautiful, Brave Genius, and Remarkable Creatures, which was a finalist for the National Book Award for nonfiction.

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0691175683
• ISBN 13: 9780691175683
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288