"The renowned Nobel Prize-winning scientist's elegant and concise explanation of the fundamental ideas in biology and their uses today. Hailed by Philip Pullman as "a great communicator" who is also "as distinguished a scientist as there could be," Paul Nurse writes with delight at life's richness and a sense of the urgent role of biology in our time. With What Is Life? he delivers a brief but powerful work of popular science in the vein of Carlo...

Presents a history of life on Earth, from the first appearance of microscopic life forms 3.5 billions years ago, to the evolution of more complex forms, including the dinosaurs, to the present Holocene Era, which followed the last Ice Age.

Biology is the study of life, and life is all around you. You can find life thriving in the city and in the country, teeming in ecosystems around the planet--in deserts, oceans, and even the Arctic. Backyard Biology: Discover the Life Cycles and Adaptations Outside Your Door with Hands-On Science Activities introduces readers ages 9 to 12 to the amazing world of life science right outside their doors, no matter where they live. Plentiful text-to-self...

"What defines who we are? For decades, the biological answer has been our genes. In The Master Builder, leading biologist Alfonso Martinez Arias breaks with decades of scientific and popular tradition to make a bold argument: what defines us is our cells. Drawing on new research from his lab and others, Martinez Arias reveals that we are composed of a thrillingly complex, constantly rearranging symphony of cells that know how to count, feel, and ultimately...