Download or read book Weird Life The Search for Life That Is Very Very Different from Our Own written by David Toomey and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2013-02-26 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Weird indeed, and not a little wonderful.”—Nature In the 1980s and 1990s, in places where no one thought it possible, scientists found organisms they called extremophiles: lovers of extremes. There were bacteria in volcanic hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, single-celled algae in Antarctic ice floes, and fungi in the cooling pools of nuclear reactors. But might there be life stranger than the most extreme extremophile? Might there be, somewhere, another kind of life entirely? In fact, scientists have hypothesized life that uses ammonia instead of water, life based not in carbon but in silicon, life driven by nuclear chemistry, and life whose very atoms are unlike those in life we know. In recent years some scientists have begun to look for the tamer versions of such life on rock surfaces in the American Southwest, in a “shadow biosphere” that might impinge on the known biosphere, and even deep within human tissue. They have also hypothesized more radical versions that might survive in Martian permafrost, in the cold ethylene lakes on Saturn’s moon Titan, and in the hydrogen-rich atmospheres of giant planets in other solar systems. And they have imagined it in places off those worlds: the exotic ices in comets, the vast spaces between the stars, and—strangest of all—parallel universes. Distilling complex science in clear and lively prose, David Toomey illuminates the research of the biological avant-garde and describes the workings of weird organisms in riveting detail. His chapters feature an unforgettable cast of brilliant scientists and cover everything from problems with our definitions of life to the possibility of intelligent weird life. With wit and understanding that will delight scientists and lay readers alike, Toomey reveals how our current knowledge of life forms may account for only a tiny fraction of what’s really out there.
Download or read book Mars and the Search for Life written by Elaine Scott and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2008 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the theories about life on Mars, providing both historical and current information about our exploration of the Red Planet.
Download or read book Life s Edge written by Carl Zimmer and published by Pan Macmillan. This book was released on 2021-03-18 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘This book is not just about life, but about discovery itself. It is about error and hubris, but also about wonder and the reach of science. And it is bookended with the ultimate question: How do we define the thing that defines us?’ – Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Gene 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 to locate the edges of life, where it begins and ends. What exactly does it mean to be alive? Is a virus alive? Is a foetus? 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 by one of the most celebrated science writers of our time. Zimmer journeys through the strange experiments that have attempted to recreate 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 Coleridge came to believe the whole universe was alive, Zimmer leads us all the way into the labs and minds of researchers working on engineering life from the ground up.
Download or read book Who She Was written by Samuel G. Freedman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-04-10 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Documents the author's efforts to learn about his mother's life in the years after her death, a personal quest during which he rediscovered the Jewish immigrant Bronx of the 1930s and 1940s and his grandparent's impact on his mother's dreams to flee her home and acquire an education. By the author of Jew vs. Jew. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.
Download or read book In Search Of the Meaning of Life written by Scott E. Hardy and published by . This book was released on 2010-05 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed to guide and inspire those who may be in search of answers, this book of thoughtful quotes from eminent people around the globe, and touching photographs associated to each quote, offers insight into the deepest questions about life meaning for human kind.
Download or read book In Search of Wisdom written by Joyce Meyer and published by FaithWords. This book was released on 2021-01-19 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer takes us on a journey through the wisdom of Proverbs that leaves us transformed and prepared to face daily choices and challenges. The book of Proverbs is a treasure trove of spiritual and practical wisdom that equips us to live our best lives. Knowledge is important, but if it isn't converted into action, it fails to create transformational change in our lives. It is important to gain a thoughtful and practical understanding of the seven foundational principles in the book of Proverbs: Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence, Knowledge, Discretion, Discernment, and Fear of the Lord. If we desire to possess these qualities, we must make a commitment to a deeper understanding and implementation of these values in our daily lives. Featuring inspiring questions to promote thoughtful reflection, In Search of Wisdom will enlighten you with God's understanding and teach you the foundational principles and secure God's help in practicing them.
Download or read book The Shape of a Life written by Shing-Tung Yau and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Fields medalist recounts his lifelong effort to uncover the geometric shape—the Calabi-Yau manifold—that may store the hidden dimensions of our universe. Harvard geometer Shing-Tung Yau has provided a mathematical foundation for string theory, offered new insights into black holes, and mathematically demonstrated the stability of our universe. In this autobiography, Yau reflects on his improbable journey to becoming one of the world’s most distinguished mathematicians. Beginning with an impoverished childhood in China and Hong Kong, Yau takes readers through his doctoral studies at Berkeley during the height of the Vietnam War protests, his Fields Medal–winning proof of the Calabi conjecture, his return to China, and his pioneering work in geometric analysis. This new branch of geometry, which Yau built up with his friends and colleagues, has paved the way for solutions to several important and previously intransigent problems. With complicated ideas explained for a broad audience, this book offers not only insights into the life of an eminent mathematician, but also an accessible way to understand advanced and highly abstract concepts in mathematics and theoretical physics. “The remarkable story of one of the world’s most accomplished mathematicians . . . Yau’s personal journey—from escaping China as a youngster, leading a gang outside Hong Kong, becoming captivated by mathematics, to making breakthroughs that thrust him on the world stage—inspires us all with humankind’s irrepressible spirit of discovery.” —Brian Greene, New York Times–bestselling author of The Elegant Universe “An unexpectedly intimate look into a highly accomplished man, his colleagues and friends, the development of a new field of geometric analysis, and a glimpse into a truly uncommon mind.” —The Boston Globe “Engaging, eminently readable. . . . For those with a taste for elegant and largely jargon-free explanations of mathematics, The Shape of a Life promises hours of rewarding reading.” —American Scientist
Download or read book A Story to Save Your Life written by Sarah Bishop and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2022-08-16 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner, 2023 OHA Book Award, Oral History Association A young woman flees violence in Mexico and seeks protection in the United States—only to be trafficked as a domestic worker in the Bronx. A decorated immigration judge leaves his post when the policies he proudly upheld capsize in the wake of political turmoil. A Gambian translator who was granted asylum herself talks with other African women about how immigration officers expect victims of torture to behave. A border patrol officer begins to question the training that instructs him to treat the children he finds in the Arizona desert like criminals. Through these and other powerful firsthand accounts, A Story to Save Your Life offers new insight into the harrowing realities of seeking protection in the United States. Sarah C. Bishop argues that cultural differences in communication shape every stage of the asylum process, playing a major but unexamined role. Migrants fleeing persecution must reconstruct the details of their lives so governmental authorities can determine whether their experiences justify protection. However, Bishop shows, many factors influence whether an applicant is perceived as credible, from the effects of trauma on the ability to recount an experience chronologically to culturally rooted nonverbal behaviors and displays of emotion. For asylum seekers, harnessing the power of autobiographical storytelling can mean the difference between life and death. A Story to Save Your Life emphasizes how memory, communication, and culture intertwine in migrants’ search for safety.
Download or read book In Search of Us written by Ava Dellaira and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). This book was released on 2018-03-06 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This sweeping multi-generational love story introduces readers to mother-and-daughter pair Marilyn and Angie. To seventeen-year-old Angie, who is mixed-race, Marilyn is her hardworking, devoted white single mother. But Marilyn was once young, too. When Marilyn was seventeen, she fell in love with Angie's father, James, who was African-American. But Angie's never met him, and Marilyn has always told her he died before she was born. When Angie discovers evidence of an uncle she's never met she starts to wonder: What if her dad is still alive, too? So she sets off on a journey to find him, hitching a ride to LA from her home in New Mexico with her ex-boyfriend, Sam. Along the way, she uncovers some hard truths about herself, her mother, and what truly happened to her father.
Download or read book Search for the Meaning of Life written by Willigis Jäger and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of gem-like reflections distills the most popular messages theauthor has delivered, along with responses from his hearers. He describes the basic routes by which people travel on their mystical quests, including controlled breathing, quiet sitting and reciting mantras--methods that lead to states of "non-thinking" that may produce lucid, even life-transforming insights.
Download or read book The Work written by Wes Moore and published by One World. This book was released on 2015-01-13 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The acclaimed author of The Other Wes Moore and governor-elect of Maryland continues his inspirational quest for a meaningful life and shares the powerful lessons—about self-discovery, service, and risk-taking—that led him to a new definition of success for our times. “This book is about how to make our journeys not just about surviving and succeeding, but about coming truly alive.”—Arianna Huffington The Work is the story of how one young man traced a path through the world to find his life’s purpose. Wes Moore graduated from a difficult childhood in the Bronx and Baltimore to an adult life that would find him at some of the most critical moments in our recent history: as a combat officer in Afghanistan; a White House fellow in a time of wars abroad and disasters at home; and a Wall Street banker during the financial crisis. In this insightful book, Moore shares the lessons he learned from people he met along the way—from the brave Afghan translator who taught him to find his fight, to the resilient young students in Katrina-ravaged Mississippi who showed him the true meaning of grit, to his late grandfather, who taught him to find grace in service. Moore also tells the stories of other twenty-first-century change-makers who’ve inspired him in his search, from Daniel Lubetzky, the founder of KIND, to Esther Benjamin, a Sri Lankan immigrant who rose to help lead the Peace Corps. What their lives—and his own misadventures and moments of illumination—reveal is that our truest work happens when we serve others, at the intersection between our gifts and our broken world. That’s where we find the work that lasts. An intimate narrative about finding meaning in a volatile age, The Work will inspire readers to see how we can each find our own path to purpose and help create a better world.
Download or read book Man s Search For Meaning written by Viktor E Frankl and published by Random House. This book was released on 2013-12-09 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over 16 million copies sold worldwide 'Every human being should read this book' Simon Sinek One of the outstanding classics to emerge from the Holocaust, Man's Search for Meaning is Viktor Frankl's story of his struggle for survival in Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps. Today, this remarkable tribute to hope offers us an avenue to finding greater meaning and purpose in our own lives.
Download or read book JOURNEYS IN THE SEARCH FOR THE MEANING OF LIFE A story of those who have found it written by Rami Bleckt and published by Balboa Press. This book was released on 2024-03-04 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a captivating collection of stories about fascinating individuals. The book is an easy read, that provides an enjoyable way to spend your free time but also imparts valuable lessons. Each reader can find something meaningful within its pages that has the potential to significantly improve their life.
Download or read book LIFE written by and published by . This book was released on 1936-11-23 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.
Download or read book The Search for Life s Origins written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1990-02-01 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The field of planetary biology and chemical evolution draws together experts in astronomy, paleobiology, biochemistry, and space science who work together to understand the evolution of living systems. This field has made exciting discoveries that shed light on how organic compounds came together to form self-replicating molecules-the origin of life. This volume updates that progress and offers recommendations on research programs-including an ambitious effort centered on Mars-to advance the field over the next 10 to 15 years. The book presents a wide range of data and research results on these and other issues: The biogenic elements and their interaction in the interstellar clouds and in solar nebulae. Early planetary environments and the conditions that lead to the origin of life. The evolution of cellular and multicellular life. The search for life outside the solar system. This volume will become required reading for anyone involved in the search for life's beginnings-including exobiologists, geoscientists, planetary scientists, and U.S. space and science policymakers.
Download or read book LIFE written by and published by . This book was released on 1946-01-07 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.
Download or read book LIFE written by and published by . This book was released on 1967-09-08 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.
