From the primordial soup to meteorite impact zones, the Manhattan Project to the latest research, this book is the first full history of the scientists who strive to explain the genesis of life. How did life begin? Why are we here? These are some of the most profound questions we can ask. For almost a century, a small band of eccentric scientists has struggled to answer these questions and explain one of the greatest mysteries of all: how and why life began on Earth. There are many different proposals, and each idea has attracted passionate believers who promote it with an almost religious fervor, as well as detractors who reject it with equal passion. But the quest to unravel life’s genesis is not just a story of big ideas. It is also a compelling human story, rich in personalities, conflicts, and surprising twists and turns. Along the way, the journey takes in some of the greatest discoveries in modern biology, from evolution and cells to DNA and life’s family tree. It is also a search whose end may finally be in sight. In The Genesis Quest, Michael Marshall shows how the quest to understand life’s beginning is also a journey to discover the true nature of life, and by extension our place in the universe.

"Some have argued that life began in the chemical-rich seas of the early Earth, the famous primordial soup, while others are convinced that life began in strange vents pumping hot water out of the sea floor, where the chemical reactions that sustain living cells could get started. Or perhaps life began in volcanic ponds on land, or in meteorite impact zones, or even in beds of clay. Each idea has attracted staunch believers who promote it with an almost religious fervor. But the story of life's origins is more than this: it is a story that takes in some of the greatest discoveries in modern biology, from cells to DNA, and evolution to life's family tree. This book is the first full history of the scientists who struggled to explain one of the greatest mysteries of all: how and why life began"--

Are the stories in Genesis fact, myth, legend, the word of God, philosophy, or something else? Through time, what people think or remember about Genesis has become a mixture of fact and fable. For example, if you were to ask someone what fruit Adam and Eve were tempted by, most people might say, "An apple." If you were to ask what color the apple was, most people might state that they think the fruit was red. Are these actual facts? No, people are simply using artistic imagination. The stories in Genesis are multifaceted oral traditions about the human family that originated long before the established interpretations, dogmas, and doctrines of our contemporary world. One thing the stories do indicate is that we are all genetically connected regardless of our outward appearance, yet we are divided due to multiple factors related to our situation in life and personal beliefs. The Genesis Quest examines ancient roots of human thinking to strip away veneers of progressive interpretations and reveal the evolution of a philosophy - six principles of the human spirit looking for the soul of our communal life: God/creation, good and evil, sharing, mercy, saving life, and communicating, These principles are intended to help us understand what it means to be human.

Named one of The New Yorker's BEST BOOKS OF 2022 SO FAR The next frontier in technology is inside our own bodies. Synthetic biology will revolutionize how we define family, how we identify disease and treat aging, where we make our homes, and how we nourish ourselves. This fast-growing field—which uses computers to modify or rewrite genetic code—has created revolutionary, groundbreaking solutions such as the mRNA COVID vaccines, IVF, and lab-grown hamburger that tastes like the real thing. It gives us options to deal with existential threats: climate change, food insecurity, and access to fuel. But there are significant risks. Who should decide how to engineer living organisms? Whether engineered organisms should be planted, farmed, and released into the wild? Should there be limits to human enhancements? What cyber-biological risks are looming? Could a future biological war, using engineered organisms, cause a mass extinction event? Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel’s riveting examination of synthetic biology and the bioeconomy provide the background for thinking through the upcoming risks and moral dilemmas posed by redesigning life, as well as the vast opportunities waiting for us on the horizon.

Scientist Robert Hazen attempts to offer a scientific explanation of how life on Earth began nearly four billion years ago, describing the sequence of events that caused non-living chemicals to become alive and create life.

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

"ArmorQuest is the allegorical journey of a boy named Timothy who finds his world turned upside down when the minions of the evil Dragon Prince invade his land. When the people of his town choose to ignore the danger, young Timothy chooses to leave his village to join the Knights of the Way, followers of the Emperor. Along the way, he meets some strange companions and encounters dangerous enemies, while learning to rely on the tools of the Emperor...the armor of the Knights of the Way."--p. [4] of cover.