Life's Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive
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- Author：Carl Zimmer
- ISBN：0593182731
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Summary
FINALIST FOR THE PEN/E。O。 WILSON LITERARY SCIENCE WRITING AWARD***A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2021***A SCIENCE NEWS FAVORITE BOOK OF 2021***A SMITHSONIAN TOP TEN SCIENCE BOOK OF 2021
"Stories that both dazzle and edify。。。 This book is not just about life， but about discovery itself。" --Siddhartha Mukherjee， New York Times Book Review
We all assume we know what life is， but the more scientists learn about the living world--from protocells to brains， from zygotes to pandemic viruses--the harder they find it is to locate life's edge。
Carl Zimmer investigates one of the biggest questions of all: What is life？ The answer seems obvious until you try to seriously answer it。 Is the apple sitting on your kitchen counter alive， or is only the apple tree it came from deserving of the word？ If we can't answer that question here on earth， how will we know when and if we discover alien life on other worlds？ The question hangs over some of society's most charged conflicts--whether a fertilized egg is a living person， for example， and when we ought to declare a person legally dead。
Life's Edge is an utterly fascinating investigation that no one but one of the most celebrated science writers of our generation could craft。 Zimmer journeys through the strange experiments that have attempted to re-create life。 Literally hundreds of definitions of what that should look like now exist， but none has yet emerged as an obvious winner。 Lists of what living things have in common do not add up to a theory of life。 It's never clear why some items on the list are essential and others not。 Coronaviruses have altered the course of history， and yet many scientists maintain they are not alive。 Chemists are creating droplets that can swarm， sense their environment， and multiply。 Have they made life in the lab？
Whether he is handling pythons in Alabama or searching for hibernating bats in the Adirondacks， Zimmer revels in astounding examples of life at its most bizarre。 He tries his own hand at evolving life in a test tube with unnerving results。 Charting the obsession with Dr。 Frankenstein's monster and how the world briefly believed radium was the source of all life， Zimmer leads us all the way into the labs and minds of researchers engineering life from scratch。
"Stories that both dazzle and edify。。。 This book is not just about life， but about discovery itself。" --Siddhartha Mukherjee， New York Times Book Review
We all assume we know what life is， but the more scientists learn about the living world--from protocells to brains， from zygotes to pandemic viruses--the harder they find it is to locate life's edge。
Carl Zimmer investigates one of the biggest questions of all: What is life？ The answer seems obvious until you try to seriously answer it。 Is the apple sitting on your kitchen counter alive， or is only the apple tree it came from deserving of the word？ If we can't answer that question here on earth， how will we know when and if we discover alien life on other worlds？ The question hangs over some of society's most charged conflicts--whether a fertilized egg is a living person， for example， and when we ought to declare a person legally dead。
Life's Edge is an utterly fascinating investigation that no one but one of the most celebrated science writers of our generation could craft。 Zimmer journeys through the strange experiments that have attempted to re-create life。 Literally hundreds of definitions of what that should look like now exist， but none has yet emerged as an obvious winner。 Lists of what living things have in common do not add up to a theory of life。 It's never clear why some items on the list are essential and others not。 Coronaviruses have altered the course of history， and yet many scientists maintain they are not alive。 Chemists are creating droplets that can swarm， sense their environment， and multiply。 Have they made life in the lab？
Whether he is handling pythons in Alabama or searching for hibernating bats in the Adirondacks， Zimmer revels in astounding examples of life at its most bizarre。 He tries his own hand at evolving life in a test tube with unnerving results。 Charting the obsession with Dr。 Frankenstein's monster and how the world briefly believed radium was the source of all life， Zimmer leads us all the way into the labs and minds of researchers engineering life from scratch。
Reviews
Allisonperkel
，
Perfectly fine book that actually is a little boring as we romp thru the recent history on what is life。
Anne
，
Wow。 This book revealed just how lacking my knowledge of science is。 The premise （as stated in the title） is straightforward， but the answer is anything but。 The author， a scientist in his own right as well as a columnist for the NYT， explores the issues surrounding when life begins and when it ends， as well as what exactly is the definition of being alive。 Zimmer goes back hundreds of years to introduce various people and their experiments and hypotheses， culminating in present day research and Wow。 This book revealed just how lacking my knowledge of science is。 The premise （as stated in the title） is straightforward， but the answer is anything but。 The author， a scientist in his own right as well as a columnist for the NYT， explores the issues surrounding when life begins and when it ends， as well as what exactly is the definition of being alive。 Zimmer goes back hundreds of years to introduce various people and their experiments and hypotheses， culminating in present day research and theories。 I had difficulty keeping track of all of them， and would have found diagrams helpful， especially in the discussion of DNA related topics。 I found the book challenging and not that accessible for a lay reader。 。。。more
Tiantian Chen
，
I don’t know what life is。
Steve Mayer
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boring
JANEY MCGEARY
，
SO very interesting and very well written。 Zimmer tells many stories to illustrate the difficulties to a question that many answer by saying， "you know it when you see it。" Well， maybe not！ SO very interesting and very well written。 Zimmer tells many stories to illustrate the difficulties to a question that many answer by saying， "you know it when you see it。" Well， maybe not！ 。。。more
Ali
，
“Dare to think！”― Immanuel Kant， What is Enlightenment？ "What is life？" is a question with many different answers。 To come at a new definition of life， the author draws on both science and history in this book。 It begins with stories from ancient times about life's basic concepts and concludes with the most recent scientific findings。The book， in my opinion， could use more mythological tales about the meaning of life。Page 55As Van Leeuwenhoek put his little animals into a deathlike state， people “Dare to think！”― Immanuel Kant， What is Enlightenment？ "What is life？" is a question with many different answers。 To come at a new definition of life， the author draws on both science and history in this book。 It begins with stories from ancient times about life's basic concepts and concludes with the most recent scientific findings。The book， in my opinion， could use more mythological tales about the meaning of life。Page 55As Van Leeuwenhoek put his little animals into a deathlike state， people across Europe were worrying that they might slip into one of their own。 They read pamphlets full of terrifying tales of seizures that left their victims without breath or heartbeat。 Mistaken for dead， they were lowered into graves， waking up in their coffins when it was too late to be saved。The fear of this Gothic terror gained strength throughout the eighteenth century and only grew more terrifying in the nineteenth。 Edgar Allan Poe mined the nightmare for his story “The Premature Burial，” which he published in 1844。 “The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague，” Poe wrote。 “Who shall say where the one ends， and where the other begins？” Families made frantic by these stories bought coffins equipped with a string and a bell， so that their not-quite-departed loved ones could sound the alarm。 In the 1800s， many German cities built ornate “waiting mortuaries” where the apparently dead could be housed until they began to rot。 。。。more
Tom Walsh
，
Wide-ranging tour of Life’s BiologyEnjoyable and educational， as Zimmer introduces the reader to so many figures significant in the centuries long search for understanding of the nature of Life and its origins。 The book’s emphasis was heavier on the biology rather than the philosophical debates surrounding this issue than I would have liked but satisfying nonetheless。Four Stars。 ****
Elizabeth
，
Good book， full of information and easy to read。 Basically， no scientist has been able to define what life is--it's just too complex。 I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second。 It explored the blurry line between life and death， and different life forms， some pretty bizarre， on Earth。 The second half got into the micro scale building blocks of life， like RNA， DNA， protoplasm， things like that。 It just wasn't as interesting to me， but it's clearly a big part of the story。 Good book， full of information and easy to read。 Basically， no scientist has been able to define what life is--it's just too complex。 I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second。 It explored the blurry line between life and death， and different life forms， some pretty bizarre， on Earth。 The second half got into the micro scale building blocks of life， like RNA， DNA， protoplasm， things like that。 It just wasn't as interesting to me， but it's clearly a big part of the story。 。。。more
David Schwan
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Interesting book， not quite what I expected based on previous books by the author。 Probably some of my lowered score is that some of this material I covered as a philosophy major in college。 For those not familiar with the topics talked about a good introduction to the subject。
John
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Equal parts history， philosophy and science， this is a fun read that meanders a bit， but covers the bases for what life might be。 That we don't exactly KNOW what life is doesn't faze the author at all， and this becomes the fascinating core of the book。 Maybe in a few years there will be better answers to life's questions， but until then this gives the reader a great idea of what and how we （as living things） think about life。 Equal parts history， philosophy and science， this is a fun read that meanders a bit， but covers the bases for what life might be。 That we don't exactly KNOW what life is doesn't faze the author at all， and this becomes the fascinating core of the book。 Maybe in a few years there will be better answers to life's questions， but until then this gives the reader a great idea of what and how we （as living things） think about life。 。。。more
Grandpa
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What is Life？ Not the George Harrison song， but the definition of what is life。It turns out that there is no universally agreed upon definition of life or as mentioned by an individual in the book， there are as many definitions as there are providing the definition。 A fascinating story about the search for the definition and the fine line between alive or not。
Bex
，
This book makes your head spin。 There are some pretty fundamental things in here which most people would know about the origins of life， some peculiar discoveries which unpick that origin which you may have heard of and some important scientists and their bizarre experiments which made significant steps to bringing those to light。 The author takes us through time， identifying those discoveries and relating them to “real life” or at least translating them into a meaningful and perhaps more access This book makes your head spin。 There are some pretty fundamental things in here which most people would know about the origins of life， some peculiar discoveries which unpick that origin which you may have heard of and some important scientists and their bizarre experiments which made significant steps to bringing those to light。 The author takes us through time， identifying those discoveries and relating them to “real life” or at least translating them into a meaningful and perhaps more accessible way to illustrate his points。 Which all demonstrably point to the same conclusion - we don’t really know what qualities are required to be considered “alive”。 We know that， for humans at least， there are some set requirements but actually even those are able to be questioned sometimes， and he uses great examples to illustrate this too！ For example， we believe， as humans， that to be alive requires brain function。 But， all of the brain？ Or which parts？ And is it that cut and dry？ No， not really。 That’s why there are historical accounts （and not from very long ago at all！） of a young girl who was categorised as brain dead， but who subsequently menstruated （which isn’t possible if the hypothalamus， in the brain， isn’t functioning）。 So， even if the rest of the brain is dead， if one piece isn’t， are we truly alive？ The examples are endless， the ethical considerations are truly mind-boggling and the answers are never crystal clear。 Such is the nature of life， I suppose。 。。。more
Elmira
，
I am amazed that Zimmer was able to take such a complex subject and parse it into a simple and logical form that is easily understood by a lay reader。 Absolutely amazing。 I intend to read the rest of his books。
Marcin Jakubowski
，
I have really enjoyed this book。 Carl Zimmer asks the question “What is life？” and explains how difficult it is to answer this question。 Large part of the book shows a breadth of research， which tries to understand how life emerge on Earth， how did it evolve from first cells to complex structures， can it appear outside of Earth， etc。 At the end of the book， equipped with knowledge of many generations of scientists we can appreciate with the author how complex and difficult is the answer to the q I have really enjoyed this book。 Carl Zimmer asks the question “What is life？” and explains how difficult it is to answer this question。 Large part of the book shows a breadth of research， which tries to understand how life emerge on Earth， how did it evolve from first cells to complex structures， can it appear outside of Earth， etc。 At the end of the book， equipped with knowledge of many generations of scientists we can appreciate with the author how complex and difficult is the answer to the question “What is life？” Great reading！ 。。。more
Terry Morris
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A profoundly mind stretching book exploring the search for a definition of what life is。 As Socrates is reported as saying "I know that I know nothing。" What is life？ I still don't know but it's amazing！ A profoundly mind stretching book exploring the search for a definition of what life is。 As Socrates is reported as saying "I know that I know nothing。" What is life？ I still don't know but it's amazing！ 。。。more
Alice
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The writing is very accessible and it's not a hard book to get through。 I think it only partially lives up to its title though （the second half of the book seems to focus more on *how* life came to be rather than *what* life is from a philosophical standpoint） and I feel it would've benefited from some photos or drawing to illustrate the interesting subject matter it talks about。 The writing is very accessible and it's not a hard book to get through。 I think it only partially lives up to its title though （the second half of the book seems to focus more on *how* life came to be rather than *what* life is from a philosophical standpoint） and I feel it would've benefited from some photos or drawing to illustrate the interesting subject matter it talks about。 。。。more
Dave Black
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Interesting， but largely unfocused and shallow。 I enjoyed the book， but while it encouraged an appreciation for the variability and tenacity of life， it was meandering。 Rather than a deep dive into any one scientific pursuit， it covered everything from abortion to python digestion， brain death to the search for extraterrestrial life， Darwin to maple trees。 Decent book， but needed either some serious editing， or to simply be repackaged as a series of essays。
Scott Humphries
，
An excellent survey of the biology， chemistry， physics， history， disputes， meaning and ontology of the concept of "life" and what it means to be "alive，" from antiquity to modern day， from the depths of the ocean to space。 Much more approachable， but less penetrating， than Nick Lane's "The Vital Question。" An excellent survey of the biology， chemistry， physics， history， disputes， meaning and ontology of the concept of "life" and what it means to be "alive，" from antiquity to modern day， from the depths of the ocean to space。 Much more approachable， but less penetrating， than Nick Lane's "The Vital Question。" 。。。more
Max
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Zimmer takes us through several centuries of discoveries in biology focused on the search for the origin of and the definition of life。 The book is a selective biology history mixed with some philosophy and modern research。 Zimmer’s vignettes keep us entertained with a series of interesting characters and events。 The style is breezy， definitely not intimidating， mixing in a lot of human interest with the science。 It is a readable if somewhat meandering introduction to what life is and how it cam Zimmer takes us through several centuries of discoveries in biology focused on the search for the origin of and the definition of life。 The book is a selective biology history mixed with some philosophy and modern research。 Zimmer’s vignettes keep us entertained with a series of interesting characters and events。 The style is breezy， definitely not intimidating， mixing in a lot of human interest with the science。 It is a readable if somewhat meandering introduction to what life is and how it came about。Zimmer explores the boundary between life and death。 He visits a lab where brain organoids are grown in a chemical solution。 The brain cells were developed from human skin cells chemically reprogrammed to become neurons。 The neurons in the small globular mass of cells comprising the organoid communicate with each other and form brain waves just like a normal brain。 If one taps a beat on a surface near the organoid， the waves from the organoid will learn to respond in kind。 The cells are functioning as would those in the cerebral cortex。 They are alive as cells， but are they experiencing any form of greater consciousness。 What does it mean to be alive as a human being？ The issue is an endless controversy that rages on the issue of abortion and death。 Is death when the heart stops or when brain waves can no longer be detected？Zimmer looks at the different ways animals suspend activity to survive。 Bats and bears eat hearty then hibernate in the winter。 Maple trees shut down their leaf factories in the fall， but store the precious chlorophyll in the branches to use for a fast start in the spring。 Pythons go long stretches between meals。 But when they eat， they eat big。 Eating a rat that was a quarter of its body weight， a python named Haydee grew her heart 40% bigger， her kidneys， intestines and liver doubled in weight， her metabolism ramped up ten times， the internal projections in her intestines grew six times longer， then after digestion her organs and metabolism returned to their normal size and pace。 Nematodes， rotifers and tardigrades can dry out and be resurrected when hydrated again。 Tardigrades have been put in cold storage for thirty years and with a little warmth and water returned to normal。 Perhaps most fascinating of Zimmer’s menagerie are slime molds which can dry out， break into fragments and be carried by the wind to land on a wet spot where each piece then is resurrected as a fully functional slime mold。 Zimmer’s discussion reveals many more amazing attributes of slime molds。Zimmer profiles scientists who focused on what makes something alive。 He begins in the 18th century in Holland with Abraham Trembley who discovered Hydra in a nearby stream。 He was amazed that he could cut it in half and each half would regenerate the other half。 What made this possible？ If the soul was the essence of life， did it split in Half？ Next was Albrecht von Haller whose gruesome experiments on animals showed that when its heart stopped beating it died。 The ability of muscle fibers to contract signified life， apparently independent of the soul。 In the 19th century Friedreich Wohler showed that urea he made artificially in a lab was the same as that produced by the human body。 At that time people did not believe the human body was made from the same elements as inorganic materials。 By the late 1800s scientist knew living things produced enzymes。 In the 1890s Eduard Buchner showed that yeast used enzymes to break down sugar and make alcohol。 He was awarded the noble prize in 1907。 In the early twentieth century scientist began to see that a cell wasn’t just a blob of protoplasm but a miniature factory with numerous components moving about。 Noble prize winner Albert Szent-Gyorgyi who discovered vitamin C in 1928 went on to show that the molecule ATP produced in the cells from carbohydrates provided the power for muscles and other reactions in cells。 But how did cells reproduce。 Scientists began to closing on chromosomes as the suspect。 Nobel Prize winner Erwin Schrödinger turned to cellular biology writing What is Life in 1944。 Inspired by Schrödinger’s book， nine years later Francis Crick and James Watson with the critical help of Rosalind Franklin figured out the structure of DNA， the code book of life。In the 1920s and 30s， Soviet biochemist Alexander Oparin wrote books that opened eyes to the fact that the earth on which life started was far different than the one we inhabit today。 The atmosphere had almost no oxygen and lots of carbon dioxide。 Volcanoes and seismic activity proliferated spewing and mixing chemicals producing hydrocarbons。 Somehow life emerged from this orbiting laboratory。 In the ongoing search to define life Oparin noted ”Life is not characterized by any special properties， but by a definite， specific combination of these properties。” In 1953 Stanly Miller took some gases believed to have been in the early earth’s atmosphere （methane， ammonia， hydrogen and water vapor） enclosed them a glass container with some water， a condenser to make rain， and an electrode simulate lightening。 Running overnight it produced amino acids， the building blocks of life and other carbon molecules。 His experiment made big news and scientists began conducting many more similar experiments。Zimmer does a long piece on David Deemer who began in the 1970s experimenting with lipids which form cell membranes。 His goal was to show how chemical reactions， particularly those that take place in a volcanic or superheated undersea vent environment， could organize lipids that would capture chemicals needed to make RNA。 Many scientists believe RNA based life preceded DNA based life。 His experiments were promising， but still required lots of interventions。 Zimmer goes on to describe NASA’s search for life outside the earth and ends musing on the seeming impossibility of defining exactly what life is。 For readers interested in digging a little deeper a couple of books come to mind: Adam Rutherford’s Creation: How Science Is Reinventing Life Itself about the creation of synthetic life and Nick Lane’s The Vital Question: Energy， Evolution， and the Origins of Complex Life about the creation of natural life。 Also relevant is Robert Hazen’s The Story of Earth: The First 4。5 Billion Years， from Stardust to Living Planet。 。。。more
Sharon
，
Incredibly interesting！ The author does a wonderful job through his research to delve into the question of what constitutes life。
Kendra Potter
，
As someone with a formal education in the biology field， this book was very enjoyable。 I feel like an education level could read this and understand the concepts， even without knowing much about biology， but I still learned a lot and gained new perspective even with a background in the field。I am beyond looking forward to reading more from this author， because I enjoyed his writing style and the personality that shines through while reading。
Igor Podoprygora
，
A good overview of history of thought on the matter。 Easy to read and has some impressive examples of experiments and thoughts。 My only issue with this books is that it’s skips through topics without going into detail。
Ren
，
I read this book with my science book club and well。。。。 I am whelmed by this。 This is a topic I have been extremely interested in since I first read the textbook description of "what is life" in my first college bio classes。 I'll start with the good: there were some very interesting chapters in here and case studies that really gave me a lot to think about。 It's more obvious than ever after reading this that scientists do not have a good definition for what life is。 I think the author did a good I read this book with my science book club and well。。。。 I am whelmed by this。 This is a topic I have been extremely interested in since I first read the textbook description of "what is life" in my first college bio classes。 I'll start with the good: there were some very interesting chapters in here and case studies that really gave me a lot to think about。 It's more obvious than ever after reading this that scientists do not have a good definition for what life is。 I think the author did a good job presenting that。 The bad: this book was very disorganized。 I thought the author did a poor job of articulating why certain boring historical accounts were included。 He was not clear about making sure the audience knows what topic he is discussing （and I'm a biologist so I should have known what he was getting at but often didn't）。 If he was having each chapter display a quality of life from the "standard definitions"， he needed to express that better。 Also， a personal pet peeve of mine that I wish people would stop doing: STOP DESCRIBING WHAT THE SCIENTIST IS WEARING OR WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE， NOBODY CARES。 He literally describes the brand of sunglasses a scientist puts on。 That is not relevant to the story。 He also describes a scientist as another scientist's wife when that isn't relevant to any part of the narrative， and I take issue with that。 The other scientists he mentioned in that section were "grad student， post doc， etc" and this scientist was "other scientist's wife"。 。。。more
Peggy
，
I was pleasantly surprised by this book。 I am not a science reader， and often struggle to read non-fiction。 I challenged myself this year to engage more with non-fiction， and this is my first selection。 Even though I was not able to follow completely many of the experiments， I was able to get the gist of this book’s premise and gain a basic understanding of and appreciation for the challenges to defining life。 I had to agree with Cleland ultimately; it seems we are thinking too “small。” But to r I was pleasantly surprised by this book。 I am not a science reader， and often struggle to read non-fiction。 I challenged myself this year to engage more with non-fiction， and this is my first selection。 Even though I was not able to follow completely many of the experiments， I was able to get the gist of this book’s premise and gain a basic understanding of and appreciation for the challenges to defining life。 I had to agree with Cleland ultimately; it seems we are thinking too “small。” But to read about what’s out there， what’s been thought and seen and done was just fascinating to me。 I found myself rereading parts and sharing them with my son。 Give it a try！ It’s very readable， and as I said， you don’t need to be a scientist to appreciate its content。 。。。more
Jennifer Wallis
，
3。5 stars。 Interesting exploration of what it means to be alive and how life could have begun
Richard Archambault
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3。5 but I'll bump it up to 4 because there was nothing really objectionable （except for a bit of a fetish for brand names: "I got out of my Lyft" and "she put on X brand sunglasses"; like， what do I care what kind of sunglasses this scientist had？？）。Very interesting and varied chapters on the history of science and biology in particular， and explanations of what RNA and DNA are， etc。 But， "varied" is the key word here: the book was very meandering。 The thread connecting the chapters and sections 3。5 but I'll bump it up to 4 because there was nothing really objectionable （except for a bit of a fetish for brand names: "I got out of my Lyft" and "she put on X brand sunglasses"; like， what do I care what kind of sunglasses this scientist had？？）。Very interesting and varied chapters on the history of science and biology in particular， and explanations of what RNA and DNA are， etc。 But， "varied" is the key word here: the book was very meandering。 The thread connecting the chapters and sections was there， but， a bit thinner in some parts than others。 It didn't feel very coherent as a book; it felt more like a series of articles on a subject， which is fine in a serialized form， but felt a bit out of place as a book。 Still， interesting enough， for anyone interested in science in general。 。。。more
PottWab Regional Library
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E
Spencer
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I am a longtime fan of Carl Zimmer， having heard him appear several times on some of my favorite podcasts as well as having read one of his books before。 I was excited to see this new book by Zimmer and eagerly started reading it after receiving it on Christmas Day。 In this book， the author summarizes the scientific quest to define what it means for something to be alive。 In other words， what characteristics， qualities or abilities determines whether an object is a living thing or not。 This fund I am a longtime fan of Carl Zimmer， having heard him appear several times on some of my favorite podcasts as well as having read one of his books before。 I was excited to see this new book by Zimmer and eagerly started reading it after receiving it on Christmas Day。 In this book， the author summarizes the scientific quest to define what it means for something to be alive。 In other words， what characteristics， qualities or abilities determines whether an object is a living thing or not。 This fundamental question of life， at first glance， seems like it would not be too difficult to define because we as humans generally have an intuition for what are living things and what are not。 However， once one undertakes the challenge of putting into words a definition for what it means to be alive， a clear answer becomes elusive。 I had not previously thought much about this question but was fascinating to hear of the previous research that has been （and is currently being conducted） to elucidate a clearer understanding of this topic。 This book summarizes several centuries of scientific thought and investigation that have sought to determine the baseline qualities of "life"。 Along the way， we hear about research into snakes， viruses， fascinating creatures called hydra， maple trees， slime molds， bats， bacteria and the brain。 The author delves into topics in the subjects of biology， of course， but also neuroscience， biochemistry， geology， philosophy， exobiology， physics， and many other subspecialties of science。 Zimmer gives enough detail to each vignette to provide the reader with some understanding and appreciation， but doesn't dwell on one topic long enough to get lost in the scientific minutiae。 The book moved along at a rapid pace that kept me interested and engaged throughout。 In the end， Zimmer shares the perspective of a philosopher who contends that trying to come up with a formal definition of what it means to be alive is a pointless exercise because life "is not the sort of thing that can be defined simply by linking together concepts。" Instead， this philosopher suggests that scientists should "work toward a theory that explains life。" It's a fascinating argument， which I won't try to give a full summary of here， that suggests that working towards understanding how life works， particularly in some of the very unique and fascinating examples in nature， is more important that trying to come to a simple and concise list of characteristics that defines something as "alive"。 All in all， I thought this was a fascinating book on a wonderfully complex topic。 。。。more
Nancy
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The Intriguing Question: What is Life？I think most of us believe we know what life is until we think about it hard。 After all， we’re alive， but so are many things that don’t share the characteristics of ourselves or even other vertebrates。 A fascinating question in this time of Covid19 is whether viruses are alive。 Many researchers don’t think so。 Then there are slime molds that can move toward food and tardigrades who apparently die from losing all their water， but come back to life when water The Intriguing Question: What is Life？I think most of us believe we know what life is until we think about it hard。 After all， we’re alive， but so are many things that don’t share the characteristics of ourselves or even other vertebrates。 A fascinating question in this time of Covid19 is whether viruses are alive。 Many researchers don’t think so。 Then there are slime molds that can move toward food and tardigrades who apparently die from losing all their water， but come back to life when water is restored。 This is only a sampling of the many life forms discussed in this book。 The book is basically the story of the author’s odyssey searching for various life forms to see if the question has an answer。 From looking at living animals to discussions with scientists who are trying to create life， this is a fascinating journey。 The book started slowly for me with stories of life forms that are familiar。 However， the further he progressed on his journey， the more unusual the life forms were。 I found it hard to put down。 The book is well written and easy to understand even if you aren’t normally into science。 I was particularly interested in the techniques that relate to medicine which include using skin cells to grow neurons to study diseases。 This book is well worth reading if you’re interested in what life is even if there are no solid answers。 I highly recommend it。 I received this book from Dutton for this review。 。。。more
Sebastian Magri
，