The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution - Hardcover

Cockell, Charles S

 
9781541617599: The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution

Synopsis

A groundbreaking argument for why alien life will evolve to be much like life here on Earth

We are all familiar with the popular idea of strange alien life wildly different from life on earth inhabiting other planets. Maybe it's made of silicon! Maybe it has wheels! Or maybe it doesn't. In The Equations of Life, biologist Charles S. Cockell makes the forceful argument that the laws of physics narrowly constrain how life can evolve, making evolution's outcomes predictable. If we were to find on a distant planet something very much like a lady bug eating something like an aphid, we shouldn't be surprised. The forms of life are guided by a limited set of rules, and as a result, there is a narrow set of solutions to the challenges of existence.
A remarkable scientific contribution breathing new life into Darwin's theory of evolution, The Equations of Life makes a radical argument about what life can -- and can't -- be.

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About the Author

Charles S. Cockell is a professor of astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh and the director of the UK Centre for Astrobiology. He lives in Edinburgh, UK.

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Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781786493040: The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  1786493047 ISBN 13:  9781786493040
Publisher: Atlantic Books, 2019
Softcover