Life explained / Michel Morange ; translated by Matthew Cobb and Malcolm DeBevoise.

Author
Morange, Michel [Browse]
Uniform title
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
  • New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press ; Paris : Éditions Odile Jacob, ©2008.
  • ©2008
Description
1 online resource (xv, 205 pages)

Availability

Available Online

Details

Subject(s)
Series
Odile Jacob Book. [More in this series]
Summary note

Fifty years ago Francis Crick and James D. Watson proposed the double helix model for the DNA molecule. They believed they had, as Crick put it, discovered the 8220;secret of life,8221; and many agreed. But in the intervening years, science has marched8212;sometimes leaped8212;forward, and now the question 8220;What is life?8221; must be posed once again.

In this accessible and fascinating book, Michel Morange draws on recent advances in molecular genetics, evolutionary biology, astrobiology, and other disciplines to find today8217;s answers to the question of life. He begins by discussing the various answers that have been formulated in the past, setting contemporary definitions of life within a rich philosophical and scientific tradition that reaches back to ancient Greece. Then, with impeccable logic and a wealth of appropriate detail, Morange proceeds to lay out the fundamental characteristics that define life. The road to an understanding of life remains incompletely charted, he concludes, but the nature of its final destination is no longer an enigma.

Notes
  • "A Caravan book"--Title page verso.
  • Translated from the French.
Bibliographic references
Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-196) and index.
Source of description
Print version record.
Participant(s)/​Performer(s)
Narrated by Liz Sweeney.
Language note
Translated from the French.
Contents
  • Cover
  • Contents
  • Preface
  • Part I: The Death and Resurrection of Life
  • ONE: The Twilight of Life
  • TWO: Life as Genetic Information
  • THREE: The Return of Life
  • Part II: The Question in Historical Perspective
  • FOUR: A Rich Heritage
  • FIVE: Contemporary Answers
  • Part III: Contributions of Current Research
  • SIX: Looking for Life8217;s Past
  • SEVEN: Retracing the Path of Life
  • EIGHT: Reading the Palimpsest of Life
  • NINE: Life Under Extreme Conditions
  • TEN: The Search for a Minimal Genome
  • ELEVEN: Astrobiological Investigations
  • TWELVE: Life as a Living System
  • Part IV: A Few Necessarily Provisional Conclusions
  • THIRTEEN: Objections and Replies
  • FOURTEEN: Darwinism in Its Proper Place
  • FIFTEEN: The Lure of Complexity
  • SIXTEEN: The Three Pillars of Life
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Index
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X.
ISBN
  • 9780300142396 ((electronic bk.))
  • 0300142390 ((electronic bk.))
  • 9780300150797 ((electronic bk.))
  • 0300150792 ((electronic bk.))
  • 9780300150810
  • 0300150814
  • 128243750X
  • 9781282437500
OCLC
586098234
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