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In just a half century, humanity has made an astounding leap
in its understanding of life. Now, one of the giants of biological science, Christian
de Duve, discusses what we've learned in this half century, ranging from the tiniest
cells to the future of our species and of life itself. With
wide-ranging erudition, De Duve takes us on a dazzling tour of the biological
world, beginning with the invisible workings of the cell, the area in which he
won his Nobel Prize. He describes how the first cells may have arisen and suggests
that they may have been like the organisms that exist today near deep-sea hydrothermal
vents. Contrary to many scientists, he argues that life was bound to arise and
that it probably only took millennia -- maybe tens of thousands of years -- to
move from rough building blocks to the first organisms possessing the basic properties
of life. With equal authority, De Duve examines topics such as the evolution of
humans, the origins of consciousness, the development of language, the birth of
science, and the origin of emotion, morality, altruism, and love. He concludes
with his conjectures on the future of humanity -- for instance, we may evolve,
perhaps via genetic engineering, into a new species, and he shares his personal
thoughts about God and immorality. In Life Evolving,
one of our most eminent scientists sums up what he has learned about the nature
of life and our place in the universe. An extraordinarily wise and humane volume,
it will fascinate readers curious about the world around them and about the impact
of science on philosophy and religion. Christian de
Duve won the Nobel Prize in 1974 for his work on the organization of the cell.
One of the best-known pioneers of cell biology, he is head of the Christian de
Duve Institute of Cellular Pathology. He is the author of Vital Dust: Life
as a Cosmic Imperative, Blueprint for a Cell: The Nature and Origins of
Life, and A Guided Tour of the Living Cell. He shares his time between
New York and Brussels. |
