Life on the edge
by Johnjoe McFadden · first published 2014
7mentions
3recommended by
3HN commenters
2016–2024first – last mentioned
75% recommend25% critical
Life is the most extraordinary phenomenon in the known universe; but how does it work? It is remarkable that in this age of cloning and even synthetic biology, nobody has ever made anything living entirely out of dead material. Life remains the only way to make life. Are we missing a vital ingredient in its creation? Like Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene which provided a new perspective on evolution by shifting the focus of natural selection from organisms to genes, Life On The Edge alters our understanding of life from cells or biomolecules to the fundamental particles that drive life's dyna
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"Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology," by Johnjoe McFadden is a great book for history and details on these topics. The author does a very good job explaining alien theories to curious layfolk.
on “Organisms might be quantum machines” ↗If you liked this story, I recommend you "Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology". https://www.amazon.com/Life-Edge-Coming-Quantum-Biology/dp/0...
on “Birds can see Earth's magnetic fields because of cryptochromes in their eyes” ↗…"Life's Edge" (haven't finished it yet, seems good). Honestly, the details change, and the emphasis of each author, but they are all speculative and hand-wavey. Pre-paradigmatic. My favorite quote is from "Life on the Edge" by McFadden and Al-Khalili: "Biologists cannot even agree on a unique definition of life itself; but that hasn’t stopped them from unraveling aspects of the cell, the double helix, photosynthesis, enzymes…
on “Is the emergence of life an expected phase transition in the evolving universe?” ↗Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology by Johnjoe McFadden (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RKO0KWM/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?...) concludes with speculation about the role of quantum mechanics in consciousness.…
on “Theories about a link between the human mind and quantum physics” ↗Several writers have argued that Life is just what biologists study, which sounds circular but is really saying the subject is more interesting than the definition. From “Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology”: Indeed, it is our view that the quest to understand this strangest of biological phenomena is often hindered by a persnickety insistence on defining it. Biologists…
on “Why Life Does Not Really Exist (2013)” ↗From “Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology”: Biologists cannot even agree on a unique definition of life itself; but that hasn’t stopped them from unraveling aspects of the cell, the double helix, photosynthesis,…
on “An Existential Problem in the Search for Alien Life” ↗More discussion in "Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology." I can't recommend the book unreservedly, but it's worth checking out reviews.
on “Too much serendipity” ↗