Audiobook6 hours
Creation: How Science is Reinventing Life Itself
Written by Adam Rutherford
Narrated by Walter Dixon
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
What is life?
Humans have been asking this question for thousands of years. But as technology has advanced and our understanding of biology has deepened, the answer has evolved. For decades, scientists have been exploring the limits of nature by modifying and manipulating DNA, cells and whole organisms to create new ones that could never have existed on their own.
In Creation, science writer Adam Rutherford explains how we are now radically exceeding the boundaries of evolution and engineering entirely novel creatures-from goats that produce spider silk in their milk to bacteria that excrete diesel to genetic circuits that identify and destroy cancer cells. As strange as some of these creations may sound, this new, synthetic biology is helping scientists develop radical solutions to some of the world's most pressing crises-from food shortages to pandemic disease to climate change-and is paving the way for inventions once relegated to science fiction.
Meanwhile, these advances are shedding new light on the biggest mystery of all-how did life begin? We know that every creature on Earth came from a single cell, sparked into existence four billion years ago. And as we come closer and closer to understanding the ancient root that connects all living things, we may finally be able to achieve a second genesis-the creation of new life where none existed before.
Creation takes us on a journey four billion years in the making-from the very first cell to the ground-breaking biological inventions that will shape the future of our planet.
Humans have been asking this question for thousands of years. But as technology has advanced and our understanding of biology has deepened, the answer has evolved. For decades, scientists have been exploring the limits of nature by modifying and manipulating DNA, cells and whole organisms to create new ones that could never have existed on their own.
In Creation, science writer Adam Rutherford explains how we are now radically exceeding the boundaries of evolution and engineering entirely novel creatures-from goats that produce spider silk in their milk to bacteria that excrete diesel to genetic circuits that identify and destroy cancer cells. As strange as some of these creations may sound, this new, synthetic biology is helping scientists develop radical solutions to some of the world's most pressing crises-from food shortages to pandemic disease to climate change-and is paving the way for inventions once relegated to science fiction.
Meanwhile, these advances are shedding new light on the biggest mystery of all-how did life begin? We know that every creature on Earth came from a single cell, sparked into existence four billion years ago. And as we come closer and closer to understanding the ancient root that connects all living things, we may finally be able to achieve a second genesis-the creation of new life where none existed before.
Creation takes us on a journey four billion years in the making-from the very first cell to the ground-breaking biological inventions that will shape the future of our planet.
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Reviews for Creation
Rating: 3.7142857142857144 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
35 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5We know that all life came from a single cell, 4 BILLION years ago? LIE! Completely unscientific comment. When and where exactly was it ever OBSERVED? What time machine did you take? The worst part of today's so-called science is when arrogant teachers think they can see the past that no one else can see.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Moreover, "fact" does not mean "absolute certainty." The final proofs of logic and mathematics flow deductively from stated premises and achieve certainty only because they are not about the empirical world. Evolutionists make no claim for perpetual truth, though creationists often do (and then attack us for a style of argument that they themselves favor). In science, "fact" can only mean "confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent." I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in physics classrooms.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What is life? It's an old question and one humans are just beginning to be able to answer. It's all a matter of extremely complex chemistry, but as we learn how it works, we are also learning how it can be shaped to cure or prevent diseases, feed our growing population, slow our degradation of our environment, and more. Interesting times lie ahead as life becomes subject to intelligent design.
Great advancements are rapidly being made in biochemistry. I think it will be one of the driving forces of change in this century, and I found this book an informative and interesting overview of the subject.