Creation: How Science Is Reinventing Life Itself
by Adam Rutherford
On This Page
Description
"How scientists are closer than ever to not only uncovering the mystery of how life was created, but to replicating that moment Within the first billion years after this planet formed, a spark of life spontaneously ignited, turning inanimate chemicals into what we now would recognize as a living thing: a cell. Four billion years later, science has catalogued more than a million species. Science writer Adam Rutherford shows how unprecedented advances in our understanding of life have equipped show more us with the ability to create entirely new life-forms: goats that produce spider silk in their milk, bacteria that excrete diesel, genetic codes that identify and destroy cancer cells. This new synthetic biology is poised to offer radical new solutions to the crises of food shortage, pandemic disease, and climate change. By charting the history of our evolution, questioning what life really is, and identifying the milestones in our understanding of biological processes, Rutherford shows how this frontier of science will kickstart an industrial revolution that will dominate the rest of this century"--Provided by publisher. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
What is life? It's an old question and one humans are just beginning to be able to answer. It's all a matter of extremely complex chemistry, but as we learn how it works, we are also learning how it can be shaped to cure or prevent diseases, feed our growing population, slow our degradation of our environment, and more. Interesting times lie ahead as life becomes subject to intelligent design.
Great advancements are rapidly being made in biochemistry. I think it will be one of the driving forces of change in this century, and I found this book an informative and interesting overview of the subject.
Great advancements are rapidly being made in biochemistry. I think it will be one of the driving forces of change in this century, and I found this book an informative and interesting overview of the subject.
How science is reinventing life itself
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Top Five Books of 2013
1,564 works; 722 members
Author Information
11+ Works 2,859 Members
Adam Rutherford, PhD, studied genetics at University College London and was part of a team that identified the first genetic cause of a form of childhood blindness. He has written and presented award-winning BBC programs and writes on science for the Guardian. His hook Creation was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize.
Awards and Honors
Awards
Notable Lists
Common Knowledge
- Dedication
- For David Rutherford, from whose cells I came
To Beatrice and Jake, who came from my cells - Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 198
- Popularity
- 164,524
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.77)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, Portuguese
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 6
