Life on the Edge

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New York Times Bestseller and an Best Science Book of 2015Life is the most extraordinary phenomenon in the known universe but how did it come to be Even in an age of cloning and artificial biology, the remarkable truth remains nobody has ever made anything living entirely out of dead material Life remains the only way to make life Are we still missing a vital ingredient in its creation Like Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene, which provided a new perspective on how evolution works, Life on the Edge alters our understanding of our world s fundamental dynamics Bringing together first hand experience at the cutting edge of science with unparalleled gifts of explanation, Jim Al Khalili and Johnjoe Macfadden reveal that missing ingredient to be quantum mechanics the phenomena that lie at the heart of this most mysterious of sciences Drawing on recent ground breaking experiments around the world, each chapter in Life on the Edge engages by illustrating one of life s puzzles How do migrating birds know where to go How do we really smell the scent of a rose How do our genes copy themselves with such precision Life on the Edge accessibly reveals how quantum mechanics can answer these probing questions of the universe Guiding the reader through the rapidly unfolding discoveries of the last few years, Al Khalili and McFadden communicate the excitement of the explosive new field of quantum biology and its potentially revolutionary applications, while offering insights into the biggest puzzle of all what is life As they brilliantly demonstrate in these groundbreaking pages, life exists on the quantum edge. Free Download Life on the Edge [ author ] Johnjoe McFadden [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr You might think that this book has received four stars, but if you know anything about quantum theory you will be aware that a quantum object can be in a superposition of states And this quantum book is in a superposed state of 5 stars for the subject which is fascinating and important and 3 stars for the writing which is disappointingly poor, given Jim Al Khalili s expertise and experience.It might seem that the whole concept of quantum biology is...I really appreciate well written books about science when they are written by active researchers in the field And this book qualifies, as McFadden is a research biologist, and Al Khalili is a theoretical physicist They are both actively engaged in researching evidence for quantum phenomena that are responsible for complex biological mechanisms.The book focuses on several important and difficult biology problems photosynthesis, respiration, magnetoreception bird migration , consciousness, gen I really appreciate well writte...I absolutely loved this book The subject is fascinating and it s written in an easy to read style that is very layman friendly There s a sprinkling of humour and the prose even borders on the poetic in places.The examples the authors choose to ...For a long time it was believed that scientists could only study quantum mechanics at absolute zero in their labs Yet in recent years excellent evidence of quantum mechanics at work in humans, birds, plants and other living things has come to the fore Who knew This book is a fascinating and very accessible introduction for the general reader It uses virtually no math Rather, the writers possess a neat gift for metaphor Stephen Jay Gould had this gift too, and while Life on the Edge isn t S For a long time it was believed that scientists could only study quantum mechanics at absolute zero in their labs Yet in recent years excellent evidence of...I have a problem with most of the new science books that I ve been reading lately They really aren t saying anything new and when they do they seem to enter into woo woo land The authors demonstrate nicely how certain biological processes such as the internal magnetic compass of a certain kind of Robin, the photosynthesis in plants, the universal energy currency of life ATP, the enzyme process, and how the sense of smell can all be thought best in terms of quantum mechanics.Those examples mak I have a problem with most of the new science books that I ve been reading lately They really aren t saying anything new and when they do they seem to enter into woo woo land The authors demonstrate nicely how certain biological processes such as the internal magnetic compass of a certain kind of Robin, the photosynthesis in plants, the universal energy currency of life ATP, the enzyme process, and how the sense of smell can all be thought best in terms of quantum mechanics.Those examples make up the first half of the book My problem with the book is the second half All objective knowledge can be broken down into the subatomic quantum me...A wonderful book describing wonderful things.Science is not my strongest area in learning, but this book makes clear an opaque, to me, part of physics which usually is understood through mathematics and specialized scientific equipment able to view or measure particles of atoms As a book written for the general reader, it does not have a lot of math, and it includes drawings which add clarity to the subject addressed in each chapter The chapters each cover a single main subject which illuminat A wonderful book describing wonderful things.Science is not my strongest area in learning, but this book makes clear an opaque, to me, part of physics which usually is understood through mathematics and specialized scientific equipment able to view or measure particles of atoms As a book written for the general reader, it does not...Incredible.While I ve always had a great interest in biology and especially zooloogy, and try to read the New Scientist as and when, I have to admit that chemistry and biochemestry have rather passed me by since my GCSEs The astonishing triumph of this book is its legibility, its clarity Al Khalili is one of the great communicators of scientific ideas The chapter on the quatum mechanics which may or may not be responsible for our sense of smell was quite astonishing, a gripping, page turning Incredible.While I ve always had a great interest in biology and especially zooloogy, and try to read the New Scientist as and when, I have to admit that chemistry and biochemestry have rath...A wonderful book describing wonderful things.Science is not my strongest area in learning, but this book makes clear an opaque, to me, part of physics which usually is understood through mathematics and specialized scientific equipment able to view or measure particles of atoms As a book written for the general reader, it does not ...Life on the EdgeJim Al Khalili Johnjoe McFadden The coming of Age of the Quantum Biology If Quantum Mechanics is a little known Science, Quantum Biology is so even less, at least to me The authors propose to give some necessary information on Quantum Biology to be intelligible even to the layman The primary reason for this book is the search for the origin of life It is the origin of the first living and reproductive cell, even before The theory of evolution by Charles Darwin could Life on the EdgeJim Al Khalili Johnjoe McFadden The coming of Age of the Quantum Biology If Quantum Mechanics is a little known Science, Quantum Biology is so even less, at least to me The authors propose to give some necessary information on Quantum Biology to be intelligible even to the layman The primary reason for this book is the search for the origin of life It is the origin of the first living and reproductive cell, even before The theory of evolution by Charles Darwin could start to exist.A countless number of scientists is working on this pr...3.5In general I love reading about the smallest processes in biology or physics I could read an entire book on the inner life of the mitochondria s electron transport chain, and I would be enthralled I find it pretty exciting when authors want to understand the most in depth mechanisms at work in a each system I love it evenif the authors take the knowledge they uncover and attempt to apply it to big systems, such as networks, systems biology, etc The authors of tis book tried to do ju 3.5In general I love reading about the smallest processe...

Life on the Edge
  • 06 December 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 368 pages
  • 0307986810
  • Johnjoe McFadden
  • Life on the Edge