Wonders of Life: Exploring the Most Extraordinary Phenomenon in the Universe (Wonders Series)

Life What is Life? Where did it come from? Why does it end? In this beautiful companion book to the Science series Wonders of Life , professor Brian Cox takes us on an incredible journey to discover how a few fundamental laws gave birth to the most complex, diverse, and unique force in the universe—life itself. Earth is home to an estimated one hundred million species—yet each one is governed by the same laws. Light, gravity, time, matter, and energy are the building blocks of everything, from the smallest microbe to the biggest galaxy. What is true for a bacterium is true for a blue whale. This is the story of the amazing diversity and adaptability of life, told through the fundamental laws that govern it. Through his voyage of discovery, Brian explains how the astonishing inventiveness of nature came about and explores the milestones in the epic journey from the origin of life to modern civilization. From the vast networks of subterranean fresh-water caverns of the Yucatan peninsula to the unique and precious island of Madagascar, Brian brings readers on a thrilling adventure to the earth's most remote locations, where the wonders of life are on spectacular display. Along the way, the biggest scientific questions are answered: What is life? Where did it come from? Why does it end? Relying on the latest advances in science as well as the cutting-edge graphics used in the visually stunning bestsellers Wonders of the Solar System and Wonders of the Universe , Brian uncovers the secrets of life in revolutionary detail. Wonders of life Home. Evolution of life ; Return of the king ; A very special home ; Simple but complex ; The history of the exploration of water ; Water, water everywhere ; Water, the essential ingredient ; Walking on water ; Treetops to teardrops : the magic of hydrogen bonds ; Into the light. A train journey through time ; A child star ; A unique and colourful world ; The origin;s of life's colours ; From the smallest beginnings ; Eating the Sun ; A breath of fresh air ; Breath of life ; Four-legged life story What is life? The briefest of beauty. Day of the dead ; What is life? ; Energy and the First Law of Thermodynamics ; First life. Life's first energy source ; On Professor Cox's battery and the origin of life ; Searching for Eden : a warm little pond ; Universal life ; Prokaryotic and eukaryotic life ; Life and the Second Law of Thermodynamics : Schrödinger's Paradox ; Follow the Sun ; The origin of life's order ; One big family Size matters. Life-size differences. Same planet, different world ; Ocean giants ; The physics of a killer ; Small is beautiful ; Of royal crowns and ocean giants ; Big things don't jump ; Lost giants ; The world of the small. Inside an insect ; Beetle mania ; Broken men and splashing horses ; As small as it gets ; The smallest multicellular life on Earth ; Size really matters ; An island of giants Expanding universe. The expanding universe. Plugging in ; The common sense ; A bolt from the blue ; The universal nature of sensing ; River monsters ; Good vibrations. The power of hearing ; The human ear : a wonder of acoustic engineering ; The ossicles : one of nature's great evolutionary bodges ; Evolving ears and eyes ; The jawless lamprey ; Let there be light . Seeing the light ; Eye wide open ; A very human experience of a very human creature ; Compound vs. camera : the advantages and disadvantages of the simple and the complex ; Seeing the universe Endless forms most beautiful. A universal common ancestor. Evolution and Madagascar ; Darwin's bark spider ; Darwin's orchid ; A name for life ; The stuff of life ; The bird : collision of a trillion suns ; The Hoyle Resonance : are we lucky to be here at all? ; Carbon cycle. The greatest cycles of life ; Harvesting carbon ; Why carbon? ; The building blocks of biology ; DNA from the beginning ; Meet the ancestors ; Tree of life ; Mutations : the spring from which diversity flows ; The power of mutations ; Tossing a coin isn't enough ; The power of islands ; Island Madagascar ; A creature from another world ; Precious islands. What is Life? Where did it come from? Why does it end? In this beautiful and definitive new book, Professor Brian Cox takes us on an incredible journey to discover how a few fundamental laws gave birth to the most complex, diverse and unique force in the Universe – life itself. There are thought to be as many as 100 million different species on Earth – each and every one governed by the same laws. Everything in the Universe, from the smallest microbe to the largest cluster of galaxies, is constructed from the same fundamental building blocks and is subject to the same laws of nature. What is true for a bacterium is true for a blue whale. This is the story of the amazing diversity and adaptability of life told through the fundamental laws that govern it. Through his voyage of discovery, Brian will explain how the astonishing inventiveness of nature came about and uncover the milestones in the epic journey from the origin of life to our own lives. From the vast networks of subterranean freshwater caverns of the Yucatan peninsula to the unique and precious island of Madagascar, Brian will seek out the places where the biggest questions about life may be answered: what is life? Why do we need water and why does life end? Using the latest advances in science as well as the cutting-edge graphics used in The Sunday Times bestsellers Wonders of the Solar System and Wonders of the Universe, Brian will uncover the secrets of life in the most unexpected locations and in the most stunning detail. What is Life? Where did it come from? Why does it end? In this beautiful and definitive new book, Professor Brian Cox takes us on an incredible journey to discover how a few fundamental laws gave birth to the most complex, diverse and unique force in the Universe – life itself. There are thought to be as many as 100 million different species on Earth – each and every one governed by the same laws. Light, gravity, time, matter and energy are the fundamental building blocks of everything, from the smallest microbe on Earth to the biggest galaxy. What is true for a bacterium is true for a blue whale. This is the story of the amazing diversity and adaptability of life told through the fundamental laws that govern it. Through his voyage of discovery, Brian will explain how the astonishing inventiveness of nature came about and uncover the milestones in the epic journey from the origin of life to our own lives. From the vast networks of subterranean freshwater caverns of the Yucatan... In Wonders of Life: Exploring the Most Extraordinary Force in the Universe, the definitive companion to the Discovery Science Channel series, Professor Brian Cox takes us on an incredible journey to discover the most complex, diverse, and unique force in the universe: life itself. Through his voyage of discovery, international bestselling author Brian Cox explains how the astonishing inventiveness of nature came about and uncovers the milestones in the epic journey from the origin of life to our own lives, with beautiful full-color illustrations throughout. From spectacular fountains of superheated water at the bottom of the Atlantic to the deepest rainforest, Cox seeks out the places where the biggest questions about life may be answered: What is life? Why do we need water? Why does life end? Physicist and professor Brian Cox uncovers the secrets of life in the most unexpected locations and in the most stunning detail in this beautiful full-color volume A particle physicist and professor presents the story of the amazing diversity and adaptability of life told through the fundamental laws that govern it, from the origin of life to the human body