Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality - Softcover

Ramakrishnan, Venki

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0063113287 ISBN 13: 9780063113282

Publisher: William Morrow & Company, 2025

Synopsis

"Utterly fascinating." --Bill Bryson

"An incredible journey." --Siddhartha Mukherjee

*WINNER OF THE 2025 ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN PUBLISHERS PROSE AWARD FOR BEST BOOK ON BIOLOGY*

*2025 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS GOLD WINNER FOR SCIENCE AND COSMOLOGY*

A groundbreaking exploration of the science of longevity and mortality--from Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist Venki Ramakrishnan

The knowledge of death is so terrifying that we live most of our lives in denial of it. One of the most difficult moments of childhood must be when each of us first realizes that not only we but all our loved ones will die--and there is nothing we can do about it.

Or at least, there hasn't been. Today, we are living through a revolution in biology. Giant strides are being made in understanding why we age--and why some species live longer than others. Could we eventually cheat disease and death and live for a very long time, possibly many times our current lifespan?

Venki Ramakrishnan, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and former president of the Royal Society, takes us on a riveting journey to the frontiers of biology, asking whether we must be mortal. Covering the recent breakthroughs in scientific research, he examines the cutting edge of efforts to extend lifespan by altering our physiology. But might death serve a necessary biological purpose? What are the social and ethical costs of attempting to live forever?

Why We Die is a narrative of uncommon insight and beauty from one of our leading public intellectuals.

About this title

About the Author

Venki Ramakrishnan shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for uncovering the structure of the ribosome. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Venki runs the Ramakrishnan Lab at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. From 2015 to 2020, he served as president of the Royal Society, one of the world's oldest scientific organizations. He is the author of the frank scientific memoir Gene Machine.

Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0063113287
• ISBN 13: 9780063113282
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320