The Genesis Quest : The Geniuses and Eccentrics on a Journey to Uncover the Origin of Life on Earth

How did life begin? Why are we here? These are some of the most profound questions we can ask. For almost a century, a small band of eccentric scientists has struggled to answer these questions and explain one of the greatest mysteries of all: how and why life began on Earth. There are many different proposals, and each idea has attracted passionate believers who promote it with an almost religious fervor, as well as detractors who reject it with equal passion. But the quest to unravel life’s genesis is not just a story of big ideas. It is also a compelling human story, rich in personalities, conflicts, and surprising twists and turns. Along the way the journey takes in some of the greatest discoveries in modern biology, from evolution and cells to DNA and life’s family tree. It is also a search whose end may finally be in sight. In __The Genesis Quest__, Michael Marshall shows how the quest to understand life’s beginning is also a journey to discover the true nature of life, and by extension our place in the universe. A science journalist "focuses on the chemical research. . . . into life's origins. . . . A fascinating and challenging story, leavened with mini-biographies" (Tim Flannery, New York Review of Books ). From the primordial soup to meteorite impact zones, the Manhattan Project to the latest research, this book is the first full history of the scientists who strive to explain the genesis of life. How did life begin? Why are we here? These are some of the most profound questions we can ask. For almost a century, a small band of eccentric scientists has struggled to answer these questions and explain one of the greatest mysteries of all: how and why life began on Earth. There are many different proposals, and each idea has attracted passionate believers who promote it with an almost religious fervor, as well as detractors who reject it with equal passion. But the quest to unravel life's genesis is not just a story of big ideas. It is also a compelling human story, rich in personalities, conflicts, and surprising twists and turns. Along the way, the journey takes in some of the greatest discoveries in modern biology, from evolution and cells to DNA and life's family tree. It is also a search whose end may finally be in sight. In The Genesis Quest , Michael Marshall shows how the quest to understand life's beginning is also a journey to discover the true nature of life, and by extension our place in the universe. "As lively in its telling as its subject is thought-provoking." — The Well-read Naturalist "An historical review of the search for the origin of life . . . . an approachable introduction . . . and also offers an interesting window on the lives of the scientists involved. Recommended." — Choice "Some have argued that life began in the chemical-rich seas of the early Earth, the famous primordial soup, while others are convinced that life began in strange vents pumping hot water out of the sea floor, where the chemical reactions that sustain living cells could get started. Or perhaps life began in volcanic ponds on land, or in meteorite impact zones, or even in beds of clay. Each idea has attracted staunch believers who promote it with an almost religious fervor. But the story of life's origins is more than this: it is a story that takes in some of the greatest discoveries in modern biology, from cells to DNA, and evolution to life's family tree. This book is the first full history of the scientists who struggled to explain one of the greatest mysteries of all: how and why life began"-- Provided by publisher A thrilling investigation into one of the big unanswered questions that science has to offer: the origins of life on Earth