Book
Life's edge : the search for what it means to be alive / Carl Zimmer.
"We all assume we know what life is, but the more scientists learn about the living world--from protocells to brains, from zygotes to pandemic viruses--the harder they find it is to locate life's edge"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780593182710 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: xx, 348 pages ; 24 cm
- Publisher: New York : Dutton, [2021]
- Copyright: ©2021
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Life (Biology) Life sciences. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore Branch | 570 Zim | 31681010227718 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
"We all assume we know what life is, but the more scientists learn about the living world--from protocells to brains, from zygotes to pandemic viruses--the harder they find it is to locate life's edge"-- - Baker & Taylor
The New York Times âMatterâ columnist investigates the science communityâs conflicting views on what it actually means to be alive as demonstrated by laboratory attempts to recreate life and the examples of particularly remarkable life forms. - Penguin Putnam
FINALIST FOR THE PEN/E.O. WILSON LITERARY SCIENCE WRITING AWARD***A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2021***A SCIENCE NEWS FAVORITE BOOK OF 2021***A SMITHSONIAN TOP TEN SCIENCE BOOK OF 2021
âStories that both dazzle and edify… This book is not just about life, but about discovery itself.â âSiddhartha Mukherjee, New York Times Book Review
We all assume we know what life is, but the more scientists learn about the living worldâfrom protocells to brains, from zygotes to pandemic virusesâthe harder they find it is to locate lifeâs edge.
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Carl Zimmer investigates one of the biggest questions of all: What is life? The answer seems obvious until you try to seriously answer it. Is the apple sitting on your kitchen counter alive, or is only the apple tree it came from deserving of the word? If we canât answer that question here on earth, how will we know when and if we discover alien life on other worlds? The question hangs over some of societyâs most charged conflictsâwhether a fertilized egg is a living person, for example, and when we ought to declare a person legally dead.
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Life's Edge is an utterly fascinating investigation that no one but one of the most celebrated science writers of our generation could craft. Zimmer journeys through the strange experiments that have attempted to re-create life. Literally hundreds of definitions of what that should look like now exist, but none has yet emerged as an obvious winner. Lists of what living things have in common do not add up to a theory of life. It's never clear why some items on the list are essential and others not. Coronaviruses have altered the course of history, and yet many scientists maintain they are not alive. Chemists are creating droplets that can swarm, sense their environment, and multiply. Have they made life in the lab?
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Whether he is handling pythons in Alabama or searching for hibernating bats in the Adirondacks, Zimmer revels in astounding examples of life at its most bizarre. He tries his own hand at evolving life in a test tube with unnerving results. Charting the obsession with Dr. Frankenstein's monster and how the world briefly believed radium was the source of all life, Zimmer leads us all the way into the labs and minds of researchers engineering life from scratch.
