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Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications)
Life in the Universe: A Beginner's Guide
Astrobiology, the study of life and its existence in the universe, is one of the hottest areas of scientific research. Lewis Dartnell considers some of the fascinating questions facing researchers today. Could life exist anywhere else in the universe? What might aliens really look like? Dartnell explains why Earth is uniquely suited for life and reveals our profound connection to the cosmos.
Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2007
49 people are currently reading
609 people want to read
About the author
Lewis Dartnell
14 books193 followersLewis Dartnell is an astrobiology researcher and professor at the University of Westminster. He has won several awards for his science writing, and contributes to the Guardian, The Times and New Scientist. He has also written for television and appeared on BBC Horizon, Sky News, and Wonders of the Universe, as well as National Geographic and History channels. A tireless populariser of science, his previous books include the bestselling The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 9, 2020
LEWIS DARTNELL, PLEASE WRITE A POPULAR SCIENCE INTRO TO ASTROBIOLOGY BOOK FOR THE 2020s! This book is just too good not to have an updated version or a to be recycled into a new book, which would be more relevant for this decade.I see a similar book published in 2011, but it looks as if it's not widely available-- there is not even a kindle version. Its title makes it seem less a popular science book than a textbook. This seems like a shame to me because Dartnell's voice seems particularly capable of conveying information for this still burgeoning field.
After finishing Dartnell's books Origins and The Knowledge, he became one of my favorite authors and I was compelled to read anything by him, no matter what year it was published. Despite being published in 2007, and despite the fact that the field of astrobiology is changing so rapidly, this book really stood up to the test of time. In fact, I would suggest that the fact that it was written in 2007 makes this one of the, if not the, best astrobiology pop sci books ever written. It was incredibly forward thinking for the time. Every single chapter set the stage for all the study now happening in that field. This is a truly excellent primer for anyone interested in intros to biochem, organic chem, and astrobiology.
The entire book focused on looking for life on other planets. In order to begin searching for signs of life in the universe, it is important we think of the most relevant questions to ask about life to inform our strategies.
How would we even recognize life if it were out there?
Are there laws that govern the emergence of life on any planet?
What types of variation might be allowed within possible laws?
How is life defined on Earth?How is life different from non life?
How does life function and can this tell us something important?
Many more
Not only did Dartnell ask the relevant questions, his writing is surprisingly exhaustive in its approach. What I mean by that is that often authors, even authors who are among the best researchers in their field, attempt to define life in order to continue with the argument they are making in their book. Since they cannot come up with a concise and accurate definition of life, because currently no one can, most of the time they opt for the definition that makes the most sense to them. Sean Carroll actually discussed this problem on a recent podcast when interviewing Sara Imari Walker. It's really challenging to try to discuss ideas related to life without defining it, but trying to define it can actually limit us if we choose too narrow a definition. Similarly, definitions of life become meaningless if they are too broad. Dartnell's approach was to thoughtfully and brilliantly go over each important definition. This produced a book that was more of a call for curious minds to figure out what life is, rather than to try to ingrain some subpar definition in his reader's mind. In fact, the entire book was a call to future researchers to help us figure out this challenging problem. Page after page Dartnell detailed the most current information known in 2007, (I would call this cutting edge for 2007, so much so, I think it wasn't even on people's radar as it should have been. I wish it had been on mine. ), simplified it for a general audience with at least some background in science, and detailed the open questions that this information might help answer.
The construction/organization of this book was exceptional. For example, he provided exquisite detail about how life is, and must be, encased in a membrane and how that membrane allowed for the ingestion of energy and the expelling of waste products. In subsequent chapters, he went into equally exquisite detail about how those membranes and the molecules inside them react to extreme conditions. All of this served to understand what constraints were placed on life. But, instead of providing a summary of this, Dartnell did a lot of handholding for people who might not be as familiar with how a cell functions.
I was really struck by how good Dartnell's explanation of redox reactions was. You might not think this is such an accomplishment. After all, you can find a summary of redox reactions in any intro to biology textbook. But, have you really understood why redox reactions are so important when thinking about life on our planet or elsewhere? If you have not thought about that deeply enough, I highly recommend reading Dartnell's version.
He was similarly skilled in discussing the habitable zone of a galaxy or if indeed certain types of galaxies could even serve as a habitable zone. When explaining the difference between archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes, Dartnell again showed his talents in being extremely concise and making the subject more understandable than many other authors trying to explain the concept.
Interestingly, his last chapter was speculation about how life might emerge on other planets. If you read Dartnell's The Knowledge, you will see the seeds of that entire book packaged into that final chapter of this book.
I really cannot recommend this book highly enough, even if you are reading it in 2020. If you are looking for an intro to astrobiology, it will be harder to do better than this book, because it is so thorough, so readable, and so incredibly informative.
After finishing Dartnell's books Origins and The Knowledge, he became one of my favorite authors and I was compelled to read anything by him, no matter what year it was published. Despite being published in 2007, and despite the fact that the field of astrobiology is changing so rapidly, this book really stood up to the test of time. In fact, I would suggest that the fact that it was written in 2007 makes this one of the, if not the, best astrobiology pop sci books ever written. It was incredibly forward thinking for the time. Every single chapter set the stage for all the study now happening in that field. This is a truly excellent primer for anyone interested in intros to biochem, organic chem, and astrobiology.
The entire book focused on looking for life on other planets. In order to begin searching for signs of life in the universe, it is important we think of the most relevant questions to ask about life to inform our strategies.
How would we even recognize life if it were out there?
Are there laws that govern the emergence of life on any planet?
What types of variation might be allowed within possible laws?
How is life defined on Earth?How is life different from non life?
How does life function and can this tell us something important?
Many more
Not only did Dartnell ask the relevant questions, his writing is surprisingly exhaustive in its approach. What I mean by that is that often authors, even authors who are among the best researchers in their field, attempt to define life in order to continue with the argument they are making in their book. Since they cannot come up with a concise and accurate definition of life, because currently no one can, most of the time they opt for the definition that makes the most sense to them. Sean Carroll actually discussed this problem on a recent podcast when interviewing Sara Imari Walker. It's really challenging to try to discuss ideas related to life without defining it, but trying to define it can actually limit us if we choose too narrow a definition. Similarly, definitions of life become meaningless if they are too broad. Dartnell's approach was to thoughtfully and brilliantly go over each important definition. This produced a book that was more of a call for curious minds to figure out what life is, rather than to try to ingrain some subpar definition in his reader's mind. In fact, the entire book was a call to future researchers to help us figure out this challenging problem. Page after page Dartnell detailed the most current information known in 2007, (I would call this cutting edge for 2007, so much so, I think it wasn't even on people's radar as it should have been. I wish it had been on mine. ), simplified it for a general audience with at least some background in science, and detailed the open questions that this information might help answer.
The construction/organization of this book was exceptional. For example, he provided exquisite detail about how life is, and must be, encased in a membrane and how that membrane allowed for the ingestion of energy and the expelling of waste products. In subsequent chapters, he went into equally exquisite detail about how those membranes and the molecules inside them react to extreme conditions. All of this served to understand what constraints were placed on life. But, instead of providing a summary of this, Dartnell did a lot of handholding for people who might not be as familiar with how a cell functions.
I was really struck by how good Dartnell's explanation of redox reactions was. You might not think this is such an accomplishment. After all, you can find a summary of redox reactions in any intro to biology textbook. But, have you really understood why redox reactions are so important when thinking about life on our planet or elsewhere? If you have not thought about that deeply enough, I highly recommend reading Dartnell's version.
He was similarly skilled in discussing the habitable zone of a galaxy or if indeed certain types of galaxies could even serve as a habitable zone. When explaining the difference between archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes, Dartnell again showed his talents in being extremely concise and making the subject more understandable than many other authors trying to explain the concept.
Interestingly, his last chapter was speculation about how life might emerge on other planets. If you read Dartnell's The Knowledge, you will see the seeds of that entire book packaged into that final chapter of this book.
I really cannot recommend this book highly enough, even if you are reading it in 2020. If you are looking for an intro to astrobiology, it will be harder to do better than this book, because it is so thorough, so readable, and so incredibly informative.
September 8, 2017
A ver. Le pongo 3 estrellas no porque no me haya gustado (me ha encantado, en realidad), sino porque no creo que cumpla su función principal, que es la divulgación científica. Y me explico.
La divulgación científica tiene que estar al alcance de todos y, sobre todo, tiene que mantener tu atención. Eso quiere decir que nada de tecnicismos ni de teorías complejas y que, en cambio, tienes que intentar apelar al conocimiento que el lector ya tiene.
En este libro hay muchísima bioquímica, y química orgánica e inorgánica. Pero mucha. Para mí, esto es perfecto porque tengo los conocimientos, la base y la experiencia; pero para un lector que no tenga ninguna base o entrenamiento en biología o química, esto es un truño de grandes dimensiones, y ni siquiera se va a enterar de la mitad.
Así que para mí es un 4/4.25, pero como divulgación científica no llega al 3.
La divulgación científica tiene que estar al alcance de todos y, sobre todo, tiene que mantener tu atención. Eso quiere decir que nada de tecnicismos ni de teorías complejas y que, en cambio, tienes que intentar apelar al conocimiento que el lector ya tiene.
En este libro hay muchísima bioquímica, y química orgánica e inorgánica. Pero mucha. Para mí, esto es perfecto porque tengo los conocimientos, la base y la experiencia; pero para un lector que no tenga ninguna base o entrenamiento en biología o química, esto es un truño de grandes dimensiones, y ni siquiera se va a enterar de la mitad.
Así que para mí es un 4/4.25, pero como divulgación científica no llega al 3.
March 28, 2024
Excelente recorrido por los fundamentales de la astrobiología. Puede ser más aprovechable para aquellos con conocimientos afianzados en química y biología; para los que no, resulta por algunas partes un poco desafiante, pero igualmente enriquecedor. Si este último es el caso del lector, es muy recomendable leerlo por completo aunque no se entienda del todo, porque de todas maneras dará un conocimiento general sobre la astrobiología y sobre cómo funciona la vida. Posteriormente una segunda lectura más pausada, permitirá ir comprendiendo mejor los detalles de química y biología.
Muy recomendado.
Muy recomendado.
October 8, 2020
Read this book cover to cover in about 2 nights and I couldn't put it down.
First off, don't let the "beginner's guide" turn you off. It's definitely a beginner's guide if you're an astrobiologist, but it's heavy on chemistry and physics (without the math) and not a book you'd give to your middle schooler.
In addition to being a fascinating read, the author convincingly changed my laymens view of the universe and its ability to support life. I was previously in the "life is everywhere" camp, but the book makes very convincing points about the environments necessary for organic chemistry and energy transfer, that put me into the "life is everywhere, but probably extremophile" camp.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who ever wonders whether or not we're alone in the universe. If nothing else, you'll come away from reading it with a better appreciation of just how special this planet, and life, really is.
First off, don't let the "beginner's guide" turn you off. It's definitely a beginner's guide if you're an astrobiologist, but it's heavy on chemistry and physics (without the math) and not a book you'd give to your middle schooler.
In addition to being a fascinating read, the author convincingly changed my laymens view of the universe and its ability to support life. I was previously in the "life is everywhere" camp, but the book makes very convincing points about the environments necessary for organic chemistry and energy transfer, that put me into the "life is everywhere, but probably extremophile" camp.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who ever wonders whether or not we're alone in the universe. If nothing else, you'll come away from reading it with a better appreciation of just how special this planet, and life, really is.
August 28, 2011
astrobiology... most made-up subject ever.
November 19, 2023
Most of the main info is available in well known documentaries, but it delivers in details on details in chemistry and current physics.
November 26, 2024
An overview of current thinking of life in the Universe. A large part of the book is taken up by life on Earth, as that's the only place we have definite proof. The book goes on to explain how incredibly diverse life on earth is, before hypothesizing about life elsewhere. Life seems to have evolved very quickly, as soon as conditions were favourable, so it's not unreasonable to imagine that life will also have appeared on other heavenly bodies.
Deep underground on Mars, there looks like there is available water as well as energy gradients that seem reasonably similar to the kind of underground biotopes found deep underground on Earth, and that have here been shown to harbour an impressive biodiversity, so it's not outlandish to presume that there may be biological activity in underground martian rocks. And so on.
As usual when an expert on the topic tries to write for a general audience, he struggles to get the level right. In one paragraph he first explains how photosynthesis absorbs sunlight - and in the next sentence tries to explain that psychrophile autochemotrophes may struggle in hyper-haline environments.
Deep underground on Mars, there looks like there is available water as well as energy gradients that seem reasonably similar to the kind of underground biotopes found deep underground on Earth, and that have here been shown to harbour an impressive biodiversity, so it's not outlandish to presume that there may be biological activity in underground martian rocks. And so on.
As usual when an expert on the topic tries to write for a general audience, he struggles to get the level right. In one paragraph he first explains how photosynthesis absorbs sunlight - and in the next sentence tries to explain that psychrophile autochemotrophes may struggle in hyper-haline environments.
August 30, 2018
I bought this book several years ago after attending a talk given by the author. I found it fascinating. It was very informative and I learned something new on every page. As someone who hasn't studied biology intensively for quite some time, I was worried that I would find this book slow going but the concepts were clearly explained and not too difficult to follow. I now have a greater understanding not only of this fledgling science, but also how life exists here on Earth. Truly a fantastic beginner's guide.
The only reason I am giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is that there were a number of typos and the sentence structure was sometimes a little clumsy. It could have done with a more thorough edit before publication.
The only reason I am giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is that there were a number of typos and the sentence structure was sometimes a little clumsy. It could have done with a more thorough edit before publication.
January 20, 2018
Excellent primer on the conditions believed necessary for life to exist outside of Earth. Would recommend to anyone interested in the matter.
November 8, 2021
Loved it from the start to the very end. Exceptional praise for the first chapter The Workings of Life. It could go as an excelent introduction before Basic Biology lectures.
March 14, 2022
Fácil de leer y entender.
October 17, 2024
Good book, easy to read, but just a little bit outdated but that's to be expected for an emerging science field.
October 9, 2012
I loved this book even though it requires a fair bit of knowledge in biology to be able to follow it. The book is very well written, explains everything precisely and understandably. The book was an amazing journey through possibilities and science, the universe and it's components. Well done to Lewis Dartnell.
November 2, 2016
Brilliant little book. I read it twice in a row! I'm an astrophysicist, i.e., not an astrobiologist, and what I found most amazing is that I learned something on almost every page of the book. Really good.
June 11, 2011
Fascinating walk through the prerequisites for life and where it may be found.
August 7, 2016
Informative. Recommend to astrobiology courses, or any reader with at least some science background.
October 3, 2013
Very enjoyable overview of the state of the "is there life on other planets?" question.
July 6, 2015
Hyvä perusteos, jossa kattavat listat taas syvempään opiskeluun. Eiköhän tämänkin kirjallisuuslistan joudu kahlaamaan läpi.
September 1, 2016
What a wonderfully concise scientific look at astrobiology! Thoroughly enjoyed the alfoil-hat free experience.
December 20, 2013
Pretty good read, some interesting ideas. He signed my copy too!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews