MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 02134cam a22003254a 4500
001 2011036888
003 DLC
005 20120524160638.0
008 110929s2012 nyua b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2011036888
020 $a9780465021932 (hardback)
020 $a9780465023400 (e-book)
040 $aDLC$cDLC
042 $apcc
050 00 $aQH326$b.S27 2012
082 00 $a576.8/39$223
084 $aSCI005000$aSCI088000$2bisacsh
100 1 $aSasselov, Dimitar D.
245 14 $aThe life of super-Earths :$bhow the hunt for alien worlds and artificial cells will revolutionize life on our planet /$cDimitar Sasselov.
260 $aNew York :$bBasic Books,$cc2012.
300 $axvi, 202 p. :$bill. ;$c22 cm.
520 $a"In the past year, we have witnessed unprecedented breakthroughs in the seemingly unrelated fields of synthetic biology and exoplanetary astronomy. Just recently, arsenic-based bacteria was discovered in a California lake-both puzzling and electrifying the scientific world. In The Life of Super-Earths, expert astronomer Dimitar Sasselov aims to highlight these groundbreaking findings and explain how what we learn in the laboratory informs our investigation of the universe, and vice versa. The discovery of a New Earth, or other world, may be in our future. But a truly 'alien' life form is more likely to emerge from our planet's natural environment or in a petri dish at a research lab. We may cross a milestone into the era of synthetic biology under the microscope. These breakthroughs will shed new light on our place in the universe and answer the age-old question: Are we alone in the universe? The Life of Super-Earths offers nothing short of a revolution in our understanding of life and its place in the cosmos"--$cProvided by publisher.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
650 0 $aExobiology.
650 0 $aSynthetic biology.
650 0 $aExtrasolar planets.
650 0 $aLife$xOrigin.
650 0 $aLife on other planets.
650 7 $aSCIENCE / Astrophysics & Space Science.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aSCIENCE / Life Sciences / Biological Diversity.$2bisacsh