Life Everywhere: The New Science of Astrobiology

The scientific story of the coming century-the inevitable discovery of life on other planets and what it will mean for our understanding of earth. To many people, the main question about extraterrestrial life is whether or not it exists. But to the scientific community, that question has already been answered: It does. So confident are scientists of the existence of life on other planets that they've invested serious amounts of money, time and prestige in finding and studying it. NASA has started an Institute of Astrobiology, for instance, and the University of Washington, Seattle, began in September 1999 to accept graduate students into its Department of Astrobiology.Life Everywhere is the first book to lay out for a general reader what the new science of astrobiology is all about. It asks the fascinating questions researchers are asking themselves and one another:u What is life?u How does it originate?u How often does life survive once it arises?u How does evolution work?u What determines whether complex or even intelligent life will emerge from more primitive forms?Informed by interviews with most of the experts in this nascent subject, Life Everywhere introduces readers to one of the most important scientific disciplines of the coming century.…