Life: The Leading Edge of Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Anthropology, and Environmental Science - John Brockman [epub]

The newest addition to John Brockman’s Edge.org series explores life itself, bringing together the world’s leading biologists, geneticists, and evolutionary theorists—including Richard Dawkins, Edward O. Wilson, J. Craig Venter, and Freeman Dyson.

Scientists’ understanding of life is progressing more rapidly than at any point in human history, from the extraordinary decoding of DNA to the controversial emergence of biotechnology. Featuring pioneering biologists, geneticists, physicists, and science writers, Life explains just how far we’ve come—and takes a brilliantly educated guess at where we’re heading.
Richard Dawkins and J. Craig Venter compare genes to digital information, and sketch the frontiers of genomic research.

Edward O. Wilson reveals what ants can teach us about building a superorganism—and, in turn, about how cells build an organism. Elsewhere, David Haig reports new findings on how mothers and fathers individually influence the human genome, while Kary Mullis covers cutting edge treatments for dangerous viruses. And there’s much more in this fascinating volume.

We may never have all the answers. But the thinkers collected in Life are asking questions that will keep us dreaming for generations.

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From the Back Cover

Science’s understanding of life is progressing more rapidly than at any point in human history. Ranging from the origin of life to the evolution of beauty, from the secrets of genes to the surprising science of superorganisms, from the promise of biotechnology to the rising threat of lethal viruses: Life, edited by John Brockman and Edge.org (“the world’s smartest website” —The Guardian), presents original ideas from the horizons of biology, genetics, evolutionary theory, and beyond.

Pulitzer Prize winner EDWARD O. WILSON reveals what ants can teach us about building a superorganism—and, in turn, about how cells build an organism * Harvard University’s DANIEL LIEBERMAN reports on long-distance running and the evolution of the human body * The Selfish Gene author RICHARD DAWKINS and genetics pioneer J. CRAIG VENTER compare genes to digital information, and sketch the frontiers of genomic research * Yale evolutionary ornithologist RICHARD PRUM explains what bird mating rituals can teach us about the evolution of aesthetic beauty * Nobel Prize–winning chemist KARY MULLIS covers cutting-edge immune treatments for dangerous viruses * DAVID HAIG, professor of biology at Harvard, reports new findings on genomic imprinting: how inherited genes can be expressed differently depending on whether they come from the mother or father * Princeton physicist FREEMAN DYSON explores whether the biological processes of life are analog or digital * Stanford professor of bioengineering DREW ENDY asks how we can make living organisms easier to engineer, and whether we should * Futurist and author of The Singularity Is Near RAY KURZWEIL describes new biotechnologies that have the potential to greatly expand the human life span . . . and more.

About the Author

The publisher of the online science salon Edge.org, John Brockman is the editor of the national bestsellers This Idea Must Die, This Explains Everything, This Will Make You Smarter, and other volumes.