| Description |
1 online resource (xv, 205 pages). |
| Series |
Odile Jacob Book
|
|
Odile Jacob Book.
|
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-196) and index. |
| Language |
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. |
| Summary |
<DIV><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">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. <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">€ <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">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. </DIV> |
| Performer |
Narrated by Liz Sweeney. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Biology -- Philosophy.
|
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
|
| Added Title |
Vie expliquée. English
|
| Other Form: |
Print version: Morange, Michel. Vie expliquée. English. Life explained. New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press ; Paris : Éditions Odile Jacob, ©2008 9780300137323 (DLC) 2008017943 (OCoLC)216936077 |
| ISBN |
9780300142396 (electronic bk.) |
|
0300142390 (electronic bk.) |
|
9780300150797 (electronic bk.) |
|
0300150792 (electronic bk.) |
|
9780300150810 |
|
0300150814 |
|
128243750X |
|
9781282437500 |
|
9780300137323 (alk. paper) |
|
030013732X (alk. paper) |
|
