About Life (Paperback)

Paul S. Agutter

ISBN 10: 9048173639 / ISBN 13: 9789048173631

Published by Springer, Dordrecht, 2010

About this Item

Paperback. Thanks to the popular media, and to books by Dawkins, Fortey, Gould, Margulis and other writers, people are informed about many aspects of biology. Everyone seems to know a little about evolution, for example, and about DNA and the possibilities (good and bad) afforded by research in molecular genetics. Most people know some of the arguments for and against the likelihood of life on other planets. And so on. We are glad that these pieces of information have become so widely available. However, we do not assume any particular knowledge (other than the most basic) in this book. Our aim is to address general questions rather than specific issues. We want to enable our readers to join their disparate pieces of knowledge about biology together. The most basic of these general questions and perhaps the most difficult can be expressed in beguilingly simple words: What is life? What does modern biology tell us about the essential differences between living organisms and the inanimate world? An attempt to answer this question takes us on a journey through almost the whole of contemporary cell and molecular biology, which occupies the first half of the book. The journey is worth the effort. The provisional answer we attain provides a coherent, unifying context in which we can discuss evolution, the origin of life, extraterrestrial life, the meaning of intelligence, the evolution of the human brain and the nature of mind. Thanks to the popular media, and to books by Dawkins, Fortey, Gould, Margulis and other writers, people are informed about many aspects of biology. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9789048173631

Bibliographic Details

• Title: About Life (Paperback)
• Publisher: Springer, Dordrecht
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9048173639
• ISBN 13: 9789048173631
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

This book uses modern biological knowledge to tackle the question of what distinguishes living organisms from the non-living world. The authors first draw on recent advances in cell and molecular biology to develop an account of the living state that applies to all organisms (and only to organisms). This account is then used to explore questions about evolution, the origin of life, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The authors also consider human evolution, intelligence, and the extent to which our species can be regarded as biologically unique. About Life makes modern cell biology comprehensible to the non-specialist. Non-technical language is used throughout and all scientific terms are clearly explained when they are introduced. The novel approach taken by this book to issues in biology will interest both the general reader as well as students and specialists in the field.

From the Back Cover

This book uses modern biological knowledge to tackle the question: "What distinguishes living organisms from the non-living world?" In the first few chapters, the authors draw on recent advances in cell and molecular biology to develop an account of the "living state" that applies to all organisms, but only to organisms. Subsequent chapters use this account to explore questions about evolution, the origin of life and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Towards the end of the book the authors consider human evolution, intelligence and the extent to which our species can be regarded as biologically unique. About Life is written as far as possible in non-technical language; all scientific terms are explained straightforwardly when they are introduced. It is aimed at the general, non-specialist reader, but the novel approach that it takes to general issues in biology will also interest students of the life sciences.