What Is Life?: Understand Biology In Five Steps
- Downloads：5594
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-18 09:53:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Paul Nurse
- ISBN：1788451406
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Life is all around us， abundant and diverse， it is extraordinary。 But what does it actually mean to be alive？
Nobel prize-winner Paul Nurse has spent his career revealing how living cells work。 In this book， he takes up the challenge of defining life in a way that every reader can understand。
It is a shared journey of discovery; step by step he illuminates five great ideas that underpin biology。 He traces the roots of his own curiosity and knowledge to reveal how science works， both now and in the past。 Using his personal experiences， in and out of the lab， he shares with us the challenges， the lucky breaks， and the thrilling eureka moments of discovery。
To survive the challenges that face the human race today – from climate change， to pandemics， loss of biodiversity and food security – it is vital that we all understand what life is。
Nobel prize-winner Paul Nurse has spent his career revealing how living cells work。 In this book， he takes up the challenge of defining life in a way that every reader can understand。
It is a shared journey of discovery; step by step he illuminates five great ideas that underpin biology。 He traces the roots of his own curiosity and knowledge to reveal how science works， both now and in the past。 Using his personal experiences， in and out of the lab， he shares with us the challenges， the lucky breaks， and the thrilling eureka moments of discovery。
To survive the challenges that face the human race today – from climate change， to pandemics， loss of biodiversity and food security – it is vital that we all understand what life is。
Reviews
Servando Patlan
，
We all need a science update and here is a good startWe all need a science update and here is a good start。 The author brings focus and organization to the broad field of modern science。 Breaking it into five elements helps along with the development of ideas over our history
Nitin
，
Best conceptual explanation of Biology。 By farFor all those non scientists， but curious people who have tried to educate themselves about what really is a gene， a chromosome， DNA， replication， protein making， cells， Darwinism - and then more abstract concepts like how information is really stored and replicated in biological systems。 Do yourselves a favor， read this book。 All explanations I have encountered in books， articles have suffered from one of the two issues。 Either you get rigorous but Best conceptual explanation of Biology。 By farFor all those non scientists， but curious people who have tried to educate themselves about what really is a gene， a chromosome， DNA， replication， protein making， cells， Darwinism - and then more abstract concepts like how information is really stored and replicated in biological systems。 Do yourselves a favor， read this book。 All explanations I have encountered in books， articles have suffered from one of the two issues。 Either you get rigorous but inaccessible explanations of these sophisticated concepts。 Or fail to connect all these disparate concepts tie up all together to explain the phenomenon of life on Earth。 This book succeeds on both counts， spectacularly。 And for those who might read a few pages or more， and start thinking this is all too simple and i know all this stuff， persist and keep reading。 You will start figuring out as you work through the book how those very simple explanations start getting woven into a sophisticated conceptual tapestry。 。。。more
Don
，
I loved the beginning and end of the book， and the beginning of each chapter。。。 but there aren’t as many interesting anecdotes and such as I had hoped for。It is so well written that it should probably be read in place of the actual biology textbook drivel we force on people。 If I had read this for a biology class I’d have been thrilled — but it was probably not a great choice for Memorial Day weekend。
Jenn
，
Solid biology book that takes you out of the high school bio taught definition of "life。" Especially liked the concept around "life as information" - excited to see where the field of biology evolves from here。 Solid biology book that takes you out of the high school bio taught definition of "life。" Especially liked the concept around "life as information" - excited to see where the field of biology evolves from here。 。。。more
Matt
，
The chapter that focuses on the author's specialty is interesting but what come before is overly simple and after is largely well worn platitudes。 The chapter that focuses on the author's specialty is interesting but what come before is overly simple and after is largely well worn platitudes。 。。。more
Nilendu Misra
，
I have been trying to read more short non-fiction books and， separately， ones written by Nobel winners。 The former to increase signal-to-noise ratio， the latter on how ability to lucidly explain complex stuff， rather than knowledge or talent or even hard work， is the ultimate hallmark of intelligence。 This short book is the perfect confluence of both in the field of biology。 Loved it！
Alberto Machuca
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 NATI A M
Joe
，
Nothing really new。 Nice plea for science: GMO， climate warning， stem cells。
marta
，
mocno się rozczarowałam tą książką :（（
Jon Willoughby
，
Baby don't hurt me， don't hurt me， no more！ Baby don't hurt me， don't hurt me， no more！ 。。。more
Stephen
，
What is Life is a short， easy to read book that explains the basics of life。 It may ringback memories of you High School biology class， （though with some minor updates） but it won’t bore you。 In addition to clearly explaining the concept and their history， Nurse mixies in some personal stories to make the details more memorable。He ends by defining life and exploring some of the ethical challenges we face as we learn more while also learning how much we don’t know and how equity fits into the pic What is Life is a short， easy to read book that explains the basics of life。 It may ringback memories of you High School biology class， （though with some minor updates） but it won’t bore you。 In addition to clearly explaining the concept and their history， Nurse mixies in some personal stories to make the details more memorable。He ends by defining life and exploring some of the ethical challenges we face as we learn more while also learning how much we don’t know and how equity fits into the picture。 He encourages you to think of issues like vaccine denial， genetic engineering， and genetic diagnostics from a moral perspective， and explains the problems when politics precedes science rather than forming policies once the science is understood。 This is such a short， engaging， book， I’ll suggest that its worth a read by anyone who isn’t a life sciences expert， and maybe for some who are who enjoy clear explanations of science。 。。。more
Steve
，
Lovely short book by a senior scientist explaining the basics of life using everyday language。 Even if you know a lot of this material he writes in such lovely uncomplicated prose that it’s a joy to read。 Brief memories of his childhood and career give great perspectives on the material and add a lot of humanity。 As I so often seem to think， the last couple “summing up” chapters seemed a bit weaker than the rest。 Ah well， that’s ok。
Debsuvra Ghosh
，
What is Life is undoubtedly a remarkable milestone in our journey to understand the titular question。 The Nobel winning author uses his knowledge of the subject matter， to elucidate what the current state of sciences， and to some extent their relationship with humanities and philosophy， has to offer to better realise the immense and fantastic phenomenon that is life。 A recommended read for every one who pondered on the same query and curious what solutions human progress has to offer thus far。
VictoriaEmma
，
Really enjoyed this book。 If I had this when I did my biology A'level in 1999 I definitely would have got a better grade。 Really accessible and clearly articulated book。 Didn't feel bored once。 Reminded me of things I had forgotten and introduced me to things I didn't know。 Quick read。 Really enjoyed this book。 If I had this when I did my biology A'level in 1999 I definitely would have got a better grade。 Really accessible and clearly articulated book。 Didn't feel bored once。 Reminded me of things I had forgotten and introduced me to things I didn't know。 Quick read。 。。。more
Mikko Saari
，
Paul Nurse on biologi， joka voitti vuonna 2001 lääketieteen Nobelin työstään solusyklin eli solujen jakaantumisen parissa。 Tässä pienessä kirjassa hän tarttuu nyt suureen kysymykseen: mitä elämä tarkalleen ottaen on？Kirja jakautuu viiteen osaan， joista kukin käsittelee yhden biologian perimmäisistä osa-alueista。 Nurse aloittaa perusteista: kaikki elävä rakentuu soluista， joten mitä solut ovat？ Sen jälkeen käsitellään solujen olemassaolon keskeistä ominaisuutta eli geenejä， jotka ohjaavat solujen Paul Nurse on biologi， joka voitti vuonna 2001 lääketieteen Nobelin työstään solusyklin eli solujen jakaantumisen parissa。 Tässä pienessä kirjassa hän tarttuu nyt suureen kysymykseen: mitä elämä tarkalleen ottaen on？Kirja jakautuu viiteen osaan， joista kukin käsittelee yhden biologian perimmäisistä osa-alueista。 Nurse aloittaa perusteista: kaikki elävä rakentuu soluista， joten mitä solut ovat？ Sen jälkeen käsitellään solujen olemassaolon keskeistä ominaisuutta eli geenejä， jotka ohjaavat solujen toimintaa。 Geeneistä taas päästään näppärästi luonnonvalintaan perustuvaan evoluutioon， joka selittää， miksi elämä maailmassa on niin monimuotoista。"Elämä kemiana"-luku tarkastelee sitä， miten elämän ytimessä on alettu nähdä kemialliset reaktiot: tässä Nurse viittaa sekä tieteenalan yleiseen historiaan että omaan taustaansa， kemialliset käymisprosessit johtivat Nursenkin työväenluokkaisista oloista töihin teknikoksi panimon laboratorioon ja sieltä lopulta Birminghamin yliopistoon。 Viidenneksi päästään siihen， mikä tämän kaiken tarkoitus on， eli siihen， miten nämä kemialliset reaktiot säilövät， hyödyntävät ja siirtävät informaatiota – mikä onkin sitten tietyssä mielessä kaiken elämän tarkoitus。Nurse tarkastelee maailman tilaa 70-vuotiaan kokemuksella。 Nurse kantaa huolta omaa alaansa läheisesti koskettavista aiheista， kuten luonnon monimuotoisuuden kärsimisestä， antibioottiresistenssin yleistymisestä ja väärin perustein tuomitusta ihmiskunnalle elintärkeästä geenimuuntelusta。 Lopulta Nurse iskee kiinni kirjan ydinkysymykseen ja määrittelee oman näkemyksensä siitä， mitä elämä on ja mistä se on kenties saanut alkunsa。Mitä on elämä？ on pieni， melko nopealukuinen kirja。 Paikoin se sukeltaa aika syvälle biologiaan ja asioihin， jotka eivät välttämättä heti aukea parinkymmenen vuoden takaisen lukiobiologian pohjalla， mutta toisaalta kirja on sen verran pieni ja enimmäkseen varsin yleistajuinen， ettei sen kannata antaa säikäyttää。 Tämä on oikein antoisa pieni tietokirja isoista ja tärkeistä asioista。 。。。more
Jason Furman
，
A short book by a Nobel Prize winning biologist that examines five facets of life: cells， genes， evolution， chemistry and information。 The chapters are a combination of going through fairly standard accounts （Mendel's discovery of genes， the double helix， a few pages on how epigenetics mostly does not change anything， Darwin， etc。） but gets a little more speculative and conceptual when it comes to chemistry and especially life as information。 That last， of course， was the centerpiece of a book a A short book by a Nobel Prize winning biologist that examines five facets of life: cells， genes， evolution， chemistry and information。 The chapters are a combination of going through fairly standard accounts （Mendel's discovery of genes， the double helix， a few pages on how epigenetics mostly does not change anything， Darwin， etc。） but gets a little more speculative and conceptual when it comes to chemistry and especially life as information。 That last， of course， was the centerpiece of a book also called What Is Life？ with Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches by Erwin Schrödinger （I've also read a third book with the same title， What Is Life？: Investigating the Nature of Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology that was quite interesting albeit journalistic）。There are a lot more pop science books by Nobel Prize winning physicists than biologists。 This book was perfectly good entry to the genre but most of it was not profoundly original。 In some ways the parts that were the most interesting were describing his own research on yeast， how he pieced together various discoveries and the excitement and serendipity。 I wish there had been more of that。 。。。more
Jerry Pogan
，
This is the fourth book titled "What is Life？" that I've read and they have all been fascinating。 The first was by Erwin Schrodinger a book that I read over forty years ago， of the others， one was by Andy Pross about the chemistry of life and one was by Lynn Margulis about symbiosis and finally this book by Paul Nurse。 This is a fairly short book that gives very informative but brief overviews of various aspects of life。 For me the most interesting discussions were about Life as Chemistry and Li This is the fourth book titled "What is Life？" that I've read and they have all been fascinating。 The first was by Erwin Schrodinger a book that I read over forty years ago， of the others， one was by Andy Pross about the chemistry of life and one was by Lynn Margulis about symbiosis and finally this book by Paul Nurse。 This is a fairly short book that gives very informative but brief overviews of various aspects of life。 For me the most interesting discussions were about Life as Chemistry and Life as Information。 In these he talks about the incomprehensible complexity of life at the cellular level and the fact that each cell is conducting millions of chemical reactions every second and has infinitesimally small "motors" that walk around the cell like tiny robots。 The last chapter in the book gave his answer to the question "what is life" but I didn't find it very satisfying。 His definition is that life evolves through natural selection has physical entities like a cell and is a chemical， physical and informational machine。 This describes aspects of life but really doesn't answer what it is。 。。。more
Mafalda
，
made me remember how fascinating everything is :）
Madina Akan
，
Nice short reading for afternoon。
Rebecca
，
More than （not quite） answering What Is Life？ The author also spends time discussing his life， to illustrate his points。 Reads quite like a visiting lecturer or a guest lecture at a conference。 The book covers more than five chapters， and discusses other issues such as climate change。 The chapter on Life As Information is particularly interesting， as are the tidbits from the author’s meetings with other famous scientists。 Although this is quite the man’s club， I note Rosalind Franklin gets a nam More than （not quite） answering What Is Life？ The author also spends time discussing his life， to illustrate his points。 Reads quite like a visiting lecturer or a guest lecture at a conference。 The book covers more than five chapters， and discusses other issues such as climate change。 The chapter on Life As Information is particularly interesting， as are the tidbits from the author’s meetings with other famous scientists。 Although this is quite the man’s club， I note Rosalind Franklin gets a name check but no more， whereas Crick & Watson are intimately described， there is no note of her role in uncovering the structure of DNA， or what was done to cover this up。 。。。more
Randy
，
It's a concise and very accessible book for the general readers， although I personally like more details， the personal touch greatly enhanced the appeal。 A couple of items I want to make:The editing was sloppy， some long words had "-" even they're on the same line， and in one occasion， a word was cut into different lines。When amino acids and proteins were discussed， the author used "molecule" to describe the side group of the amino acids， that's definitely wrong。 It's a concise and very accessible book for the general readers， although I personally like more details， the personal touch greatly enhanced the appeal。 A couple of items I want to make:The editing was sloppy， some long words had "-" even they're on the same line， and in one occasion， a word was cut into different lines。When amino acids and proteins were discussed， the author used "molecule" to describe the side group of the amino acids， that's definitely wrong。 。。。more
Stuart Stearn
，
First rate guide to this towering issue。 I feel just a bit less daunted havread itI liked the systematic layout of the book and the lack of over complicated language。 I particularly appreciated the junction between evolution and cell behaviour and the links to quantum mechanics in biology
Al Maki
，
One of my favourite things is when someone who undertands their field thoroughly explains its basis simply but comprehensively。 This book by a Nobel laureate does that with our current （2020） level of thinking about biology。 He describes life from five different points of view to give us an overall grasp and then offers a plausible definition。 I think readrs at almost any level of knowledge could find it enlightening。
Bob
，
Started off well enough for me， in that it seemed to adhere to what I thought was the premise， which is to help a dunderhead like me really understand the fundamentals of Life in five easy lessons。 :） Chapters 1 and 2 （cells and genes） roll along nicely， confirming what I knew while adding interesting nuance。 Chapter 3 （natural selection） succeeds less well in the adding interesting things department。 Chapter 4 suffers from the opposite affliction of information overload。 While I was able to fee Started off well enough for me， in that it seemed to adhere to what I thought was the premise， which is to help a dunderhead like me really understand the fundamentals of Life in five easy lessons。 :） Chapters 1 and 2 （cells and genes） roll along nicely， confirming what I knew while adding interesting nuance。 Chapter 3 （natural selection） succeeds less well in the adding interesting things department。 Chapter 4 suffers from the opposite affliction of information overload。 While I was able to feel in the moment like I was following along， I don't know how much of it stuck。 And yes of course， that's ultimately my fault， but I would have appreciated more attention being paid toward additionally breaking things down into layperson's terms and less personal history， which just didn't feel like it belonged in this book。 The final chapter devoted to information was where the book kinda fell apart for me in terms of being a truly useful tome， in that it seemed a mishmash of obvious-guy-says and an overall survey of work being done and questions being asked。 These are obviously interesting topics， but maybe for another book。 All in all， if anyone is looking for a truly break-it-down-once-and-for-all science book a la Carlo Rovelli， this may not be for you。 If your more patient and maybe smarter， though， you may dig it。 。。。more
Nathan
，
A lot of it feels like GCSE biology revision。
Ceil
，
I'm not sure how such a slim volume can answer the question the title poses， but it does。 A layperson's tour of cells， genes， chemical and biological processes， and evolution， each offering new layers of understanding。 Worth it！ I'm not sure how such a slim volume can answer the question the title poses， but it does。 A layperson's tour of cells， genes， chemical and biological processes， and evolution， each offering new layers of understanding。 Worth it！ 。。。more
Mayumi Poe
，
An exuberant embrace of life itself， Paul Nurse’s “What Is Life？” takes up， examines， ponders， and poses myriad ways of answering that deceptively simple question。 It’s gorgeously and mostly clearly written， and it’ll make you fall in love with the wonder of being alive and the pure alchemy of our planet。 The slender last chapter particularly invites application for changing our lives and health and for tiny， manageable goals like， you know， saving the PLANET。 It took me a while to read because An exuberant embrace of life itself， Paul Nurse’s “What Is Life？” takes up， examines， ponders， and poses myriad ways of answering that deceptively simple question。 It’s gorgeously and mostly clearly written， and it’ll make you fall in love with the wonder of being alive and the pure alchemy of our planet。 The slender last chapter particularly invites application for changing our lives and health and for tiny， manageable goals like， you know， saving the PLANET。 It took me a while to read because I struggled with some of the chemistry and genetics chunks， but the whole book is honestly so delightful I stuck with it。 。。。more
Kay
，
A little pocket rocket of wisdom， although not a bedtime read : needed to concentrate！
wmoichksiążkach
，
3，5Jako， że dużą część swojego życia chciałam zostać biolożką miło mi był tą książkę czytać。 Na pewno dowiedziałam się dużo nowych rzeczy， ale polubiłam się też bardzo że stylem autora。 Przechodzi od szczegółu， daje jakiś przykład， daje kilka szczegółów i opowiada jakąś anegdotę ze swojego życia albo opowiada o osobie o której wspomina， i jeszcze dodatkowo ma świetne poczucie humoru。 Jednak przyznaję， że kiedy był jakiś moment z większą ilością szczegółów， jako osoba którą te rzeczy nie zbyt int 3，5Jako， że dużą część swojego życia chciałam zostać biolożką miło mi był tą książkę czytać。 Na pewno dowiedziałam się dużo nowych rzeczy， ale polubiłam się też bardzo że stylem autora。 Przechodzi od szczegółu， daje jakiś przykład， daje kilka szczegółów i opowiada jakąś anegdotę ze swojego życia albo opowiada o osobie o której wspomina， i jeszcze dodatkowo ma świetne poczucie humoru。 Jednak przyznaję， że kiedy był jakiś moment z większą ilością szczegółów， jako osoba którą te rzeczy nie zbyt interesują， potrafiłam troszkę się nudzić。 。。。more
Mary
，