Charles S. Cockell is a professor of astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh and the director of the UK Centre for Astrobiology. He lives in Edinburgh, UK.
"An intriguing and enthralling adventure into the physics of life
that is all around us and inside us. Cockell provides a reminder of
the seeming rarity of all this beauty but also an invitation to
look up to the skies and ask 'where else might something like this
be?'"--Robin Ince, co-host of The Infinite Monkey Cage and
co-author of How to Build a Universe (with Brian Cox)
"Both magisterial and collegial, this may be the biology book of
the year."--Booklist
"Cockell's book lucidly addresses biology's great mystery: If we
grant that life is an interplay of chance and necessity, in the
words of the French biochemist Jacques Monod, then which has the
upper hand?"--New York Times
"Fascinating. A profound exploration of the deep nexus between
physics and biology."--Andreas Wagner, professor of evolutionary
biology at the University of Zürich and author of Arrival of the
Fittest
"If a ladybug lands on you while reading this provocative
perspective, don't swat it away before you've taken a good look.
Astrobiologist Cockell uses the insect, along with assorted
microbes and other earthly residents, to reassess the story of life
both on and beyond our planet."--Discover Magazine
"In a fascinating journey across physics and biology, Cockell
builds a compelling argument for how physical principles constrain
the course of evolution."--Science
"Life as we know it arises from an interplay between biological
chance and physical necessity. What about life as we don't know it?
To think about life on other planets, we need to understand how
things could have been different. Charles Cockell's book is a
fascinating new look at this question, offering surprising insights
on just how constrained biology can be by the laws of
physics."--Sean Carroll, author of The Big Picture
"Many readers...will relish a lucid, provocative argument that the
dazzling variety of organisms produced by 4 billion years of
evolution may seem unbounded, but all follow universal
laws."--Kirkus Reviews
"Nature's intricate diversity offers immense challenges to
biologists--and inspires the rest of us with wonder and delight.
But despite its diversity, the entire biosphere is governed by
unifying principles--all living things are assemblages of atoms,
governed by gravity and other basic forces. This riveting
book--fully accessible to the general reader--shows how all Earthly
life (and indeed any alien life elsewhere in the universe) emerges
through the operation of basic physical laws and is constrained by
what these laws permit. Charles Cockell is not only a fine
scientist but a fine writer too." --Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer
Royal, past President of the Royal Society
"Want to know about alien life? According to Charles Cockell, you
can learn from the living things all around you, right here on
Earth. Whether on this third rock from the Sun or another planet in
a far-distant galaxy, creatures should share forms and behaviors
shaped by the forces of natural selection and the fundamental laws
of physics that reign throughout the universe. In this
enlightening, entertaining book, Cockell explains how
extraterrestrials might not be quite so 'alien' after all."--Lee
Billings, author of Five Billion Years of Solitude
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
