زندگی در هر جا: علم جدید آستروبیولوژی

To many people, the main question about extraterrestrial life is whether or not it exists. But to the scientific community, that question has already been answered: It does. So confident are scientists of the existence of life on other planets that they've invested serious amounts of money, time and prestige in finding and studying it. NASA has started an Institute of Astrobiology, for instance, and the University of Washington, Seattle, began in September 1999 to accept graduate students into its Department of Astrobiology. Life Everywhere is the first book to lay out for a general reader what the new science of astrobiology is all about. It asks the fascinating questions researchers are asking themselves and one another: u What is life? u How does it originate? u How often does life survive once it arises?u How does evolution work?u What determines whether complex or even intelligent life will emerge from more primitive forms?Informed by interviews with most of the experts in this nascent subject, Life Everywhere introduces readers to one of the most important scientific disciplines of the coming century. For many people, the main question about extraterrestrial life is wether or not it exists. To much of the scientific community, however, that question has already been answered: It does. And it's probably within our own solar system. The scientists who believe in extraterrestrial life are staking their careers, research funds, and prestige that they're right. Institutions are doing so as well -NASA has its Institute of Astrobiology, the University of Washington, its Department of Astrobiology. Their high-stakes ganble is giving rise to a new science of life on other worlds. Meanwhile, the pace of discovery in astrobiology has been absolutely breathtaking. These discoveries all point in one direction: Life is easier to start up, inhabits a greater range of environments, and has many more possible sites than we once thought. There seems to be little doubt that it's common in the universe and that finding it is only a matter of time. What next? That's where things get interesting, and what "Life everywhere" is all about. How are we going to create a science of astrobiology? What do astrobiologists want to know? Extraterrestrial life is hugely important, not for the simple fact of its existence but for what it can tell us about life everywhere. Once scientists have more than one example to look at, they can begin to understand the evolution of life on Earth. They can learn which aspects of Earth's history are one-of-a-kind accidents and which ones arise from broad principles governing the emergence and rise of life generally. The discovery of life on other planets will be one of the great turning points in human history. "Life everywhere" tells why many scientists think that discovery is inevitable, and what they think we will learn from it "For many people, the main question about extraterrestrial life is whether or not it exists. To much of the scientific community, however, that question has already been answered: It does. And it's probably within our own solar system.". "The scientists who believe in extraterrestrial life are staking their careers, research funds, and prestige that they're right. Institutions are doing so as well - NASA has its Institute of Astrobiology, the University of Washington its Department of Astrobiology. Their high-stakes gamble is giving rise to a new science of life on other worlds.". "The discovery of life on other planets will be one of the great turning points in human history. Life Everywhere tells why many scientists think that discovery is inevitable, and what they think we will learn from it."--BOOK JACKET. A lucid and surprisingly accurate introduction to the field of astrobiology and a thoughtful response to the Rare Earth hypothesis."--James R. Kasting, Penn State Astrobiology Research Center