Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution

Lane, Nick

ISBN 10: 0393065960 / ISBN 13: 9780393065961

Verlag: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009

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Inhaltsangabe:

Draws on cutting-edge scientific findings to chronicle the history of biological life, exploring a wide range of clues from gene sequences to the atomic structures of proteins to identify ten key evolutionary developments that enabled consciousness, the creation of DNA, and other building blocks.

Reseña del editor: How did life invent itself? Where did DNA come from? How did consciousness develop? Powerful new research methods are providing vivid insights into the makeup of life. Comparing gene sequences, examining atomic structures of proteins, and looking into the geochemistry of rocks have helped explain evolution in more detail than ever before. Nick Lane expertly reconstructs the history of life by describing the ten greatest inventions of evolution (including DNA, photosynthesis, sex, and sight), based on their historical impact, role in organisms today, and relevance to current controversies. Who would have guessed that eyes started off as light-sensitive spots used to calibrate photosynthesis in algae? Or that DNA s building blocks form spontaneously in hydrothermal vents? Lane gives a gripping, lucid account of nature s ingenuity, and the result is a work of essential reading for anyone who has ever pondered or questioned the science underlying evolution s greatest gifts to man."

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of ...
Verlag: W. W. Norton & Company
Erscheinungsdatum: 2009
Einband: Hardcover
Zustand: Very Good