This Is Life
Autor Christophe Galfarden Limba Engleză Paperback – 27 mai 2027
'An entertaining, expert guide to the precarious, miraculous and wondrous journey to where we are now' - Dara Ó Briain
'What a fun book! Like having a chat with a friendly scientist over a coffee' - Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
What is life? How did it first appear? Where else in the universe might we find it?
In This Is Life, acclaimed science communicator and Stephen Hawking's former Ph.D. student Christophe Galfard takes you on a wonder-filled journey to look for the origins - and the meaning - of life. From how we know life must have had a beginning, to the extreme evolutionary turns that saw Earth's species grow shields and weapons to fight wars that lasted millennia, This is Life tells the story of how the visionary discoveries of the past few decades have allowed us to understand what we, humans, and all other living organisms really are.
Through brilliant storytelling and delightful humour, Galfard makes the secrets of the living world accessible to all. This Is Life will transform the way you see the world, and your place in it.
'A gorgeous, glorious romp through the sciences' - David Tong, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781529032079
ISBN-10: 1529032075
Pagini: 400
Dimensiuni: 130 x 197 x 21 mm
Greutate: 0.39 kg
Editura: MacMillan Publishers Int Ltd - MDL
ISBN-10: 1529032075
Pagini: 400
Dimensiuni: 130 x 197 x 21 mm
Greutate: 0.39 kg
Editura: MacMillan Publishers Int Ltd - MDL
Notă biografică
Christophe Galfard holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Cambridge, where he was Stephen Hawking's graduate student from 2000 to 2006, researching the so-called black hole information paradox. With Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy Hawking, he co-authored George's Secret Key to the Universe. His international bestseller, The Universe in Your Hand, has been translated into over twenty languages.
Descriere
Descriere de la o altă ediție sau format:
From the author of the international bestseller The Universe in Your Hand, a riveting and comprehensive guide to everything we know about life, from the impossibly intricate workings of cells to the mind-boggling mechanics of evolution.
From the author of the international bestseller The Universe in Your Hand, a riveting and comprehensive guide to everything we know about life, from the impossibly intricate workings of cells to the mind-boggling mechanics of evolution.
Cuprins
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Part 1: Evolution
The curse • Why alien fish most probably don’t fly • What is true for birds is true for us • An unexpected parcel • The ear that shouldn’t exist • On the advantages of being ethereal • Little Green Men signal number 1 • A Tree of Life • What life is
Part 2: An Extinction
Where digging leads • And you thought you were having a bad day . . . • Bad things usually come in a series • What to do when all hell breaks loose • If you’re still around, well done • A planetary facelift • An ocean made of rocks • How a meteorite can send you to hospital
Part 3: The History of the Earth
The birth of a cosmic couple • After hell comes hell • The relativity of boredom • An explosion that shouldn’t have been • A little summary • A long-gone alien world • Land ho! • Turning green • The time of the giant insects • Two holes in the skull • The day the ground opened up
Part 4: A Journey Within
The basic building block • Beware of yellow robots • Introducing the yellow robot • There’s mystery in your hand • Journey inward • Bubbles up and down • Compartments, everywhere • To see the invisible • Why people consider you to be a CHNOPS • The nucleic acids • The art of making chains • The message from within • The headquarters • The birth of memory • DNA • A universal alphabet • The code of life • A 150,000-year-long journey • From life to life • Humans are waterfalls • The making of you, part one • Power, the female link • The most amazing cycle • Something deep • Sometimes, even dating apps can’t help • The making of you, part two: epigenesis
Part 5: Domains of Life
More than a summary • Three is a magic number, even for a tree • A conundrum • Healthy smokers • What we are a part of • Introducing LUCA • Horizontal gene transfer • Poisons • And now for some whisky • A photo shoot • A parallel world • Genetic engineering
Part 6: Looking for an Origin
Spontaneous generation • A day in the life of . . . • Spontaneous generation revisited • Before DNA • Extreme survival • Destinations • Distant encounters of the third kind • Where are they?
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Sources
Index
Foreword
Part 1: Evolution
The curse • Why alien fish most probably don’t fly • What is true for birds is true for us • An unexpected parcel • The ear that shouldn’t exist • On the advantages of being ethereal • Little Green Men signal number 1 • A Tree of Life • What life is
Part 2: An Extinction
Where digging leads • And you thought you were having a bad day . . . • Bad things usually come in a series • What to do when all hell breaks loose • If you’re still around, well done • A planetary facelift • An ocean made of rocks • How a meteorite can send you to hospital
Part 3: The History of the Earth
The birth of a cosmic couple • After hell comes hell • The relativity of boredom • An explosion that shouldn’t have been • A little summary • A long-gone alien world • Land ho! • Turning green • The time of the giant insects • Two holes in the skull • The day the ground opened up
Part 4: A Journey Within
The basic building block • Beware of yellow robots • Introducing the yellow robot • There’s mystery in your hand • Journey inward • Bubbles up and down • Compartments, everywhere • To see the invisible • Why people consider you to be a CHNOPS • The nucleic acids • The art of making chains • The message from within • The headquarters • The birth of memory • DNA • A universal alphabet • The code of life • A 150,000-year-long journey • From life to life • Humans are waterfalls • The making of you, part one • Power, the female link • The most amazing cycle • Something deep • Sometimes, even dating apps can’t help • The making of you, part two: epigenesis
Part 5: Domains of Life
More than a summary • Three is a magic number, even for a tree • A conundrum • Healthy smokers • What we are a part of • Introducing LUCA • Horizontal gene transfer • Poisons • And now for some whisky • A photo shoot • A parallel world • Genetic engineering
Part 6: Looking for an Origin
Spontaneous generation • A day in the life of . . . • Spontaneous generation revisited • Before DNA • Extreme survival • Destinations • Distant encounters of the third kind • Where are they?
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Sources
Index
Recenzii
“With vivid detail, Galfard places the reader in key scenes of Earth and life’s geology, astronomy, evolution, and catastrophes—not just describing but, like a good novelist, bringing you there. Simple, personal, and alluring, his prose teaches as it pulls you into this history that celebrates rather than neglects women of science.”
“The whole shebang of life sciences in one book, glorious, thrilling, and inspiring, from Aristotle to mRNA vaccines. Every page is a startling revelation in who we are and what life truly is.”
“I can't remember when I last enjoyed a biology book so much. Galfard brings to life with remarkable storytelling his exploration of where we come from as a species.”
“This is a gorgeous, glorious romp through the sciences, from physics to genetics to geology to paleontology, to address the biggest question of all: what is life? The reader is in safe hands with Galfard, whose charming, expressive writing leads you gently through some of the greatest discoveries humans have ever made.”
“A wonderful, compelling read. I loved the integration of modern science with the history of science. Few popular science books are so unputdownable—I read it in two days.”
“Reading Christophe Galfard feels like you’re having a chat with a friendly scientist over a coffee—a chat that ends with a grand appreciation for how the physical universe enables our own existence.”
“A thoroughly original, enjoyable read, written with much humanity and humor, this book takes the reader across eons of time from the first chemical building blocks to the emergence of the vast zoo of life on Earth we know today.”
“This Is Life is peppered with delightful and unexpected anecdotes. Through some elegant tricks of perspective, Galfard manages to illuminate the elusive subject of ‘life,’ while always maintaining a fully human focus.”
“I have rarely enjoyed clinging to life after an Asteroid collision quite as much. An entertaining, expert guide to the precarious, miraculous and wondrous journey to where we are now.”
“The whole shebang of life sciences in one book, glorious, thrilling, and inspiring, from Aristotle to mRNA vaccines. Every page is a startling revelation in who we are and what life truly is.”
“I can't remember when I last enjoyed a biology book so much. Galfard brings to life with remarkable storytelling his exploration of where we come from as a species.”
“This is a gorgeous, glorious romp through the sciences, from physics to genetics to geology to paleontology, to address the biggest question of all: what is life? The reader is in safe hands with Galfard, whose charming, expressive writing leads you gently through some of the greatest discoveries humans have ever made.”
“A wonderful, compelling read. I loved the integration of modern science with the history of science. Few popular science books are so unputdownable—I read it in two days.”
“Reading Christophe Galfard feels like you’re having a chat with a friendly scientist over a coffee—a chat that ends with a grand appreciation for how the physical universe enables our own existence.”
“A thoroughly original, enjoyable read, written with much humanity and humor, this book takes the reader across eons of time from the first chemical building blocks to the emergence of the vast zoo of life on Earth we know today.”
“This Is Life is peppered with delightful and unexpected anecdotes. Through some elegant tricks of perspective, Galfard manages to illuminate the elusive subject of ‘life,’ while always maintaining a fully human focus.”
“I have rarely enjoyed clinging to life after an Asteroid collision quite as much. An entertaining, expert guide to the precarious, miraculous and wondrous journey to where we are now.”