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Genesis: The Story of How Everything Began
by Guido TonelliA breakout bestseller in Italy, now available for American readers for the first time, Genesis: The Story of How Everything Began is a short, humanistic tour of the origins of the universe, earth, and life—drawing on the latest discoveries in physics to explain the seven most significant moments in the creation of the cosmos.Curiosity and wonderment about the origins of the universe are at the heart of our experience of the world. From Hesiod’s Chaos, described in his poem about the origins of the Greek gods, Theogony, to today’s mind-bending theories of the multiverse, humans have been consumed by the relentless pursuit of an answer to one awe inspiring question: What exactly happened during those first moments?Guido Tonelli, the acclaimed, award-winning particle physicist and a central figure in the discovery of the Higgs boson (the “God particle”), reveals the extraordinary story of our genesis—from the origins of the universe, to the emergence of life on Earth, to the birth of human language with its power to describe the world. Evoking the seven days of biblical creation, Tonelli takes us on a brisk, lively tour through the evolution of our cosmos and considers the incredible challenges scientists face in exploring its mysteries. Genesis both explains the fundamental physics of our universe and marvels at the profound wonder of our existence.
Genesis: The Ultimate Origin Story
by Guido TonelliWhat if the ancient Greeks were right, and the universe really did spring into being out of chaos and the void? How could we know? And what must its first moments have been like?To answer these questions, scientists are delving into all the hidden crevices of creation. Armed with giant telescopes and powerful particle accelerators, they probe the subtle mechanisms by which our familiar world came to be, and try to foretell the manner in which it will end.The result of all this collective effort is a complex story, stranger at times than even our most ancient creation myths. But its building blocks give us the power to work marvels our predecessors could scarcely comprehend. In Genesis, the CERN physicist and bestselling author Guido Tonelli sets out to do justice to that great story.
Genesis: The Deep Origin Of Societies
by Edward O. WilsonForming a twenty-first-century statement on Darwinian evolution, one shorn of “religious and political dogma,” Edward O. Wilson offers a bold work of scientific thought and synthesis. Asserting that religious creeds and philosophical questions can be reduced to purely genetic and evolutionary components, and that the human body and mind have a physical base obedient to the laws of physics and chemistry, Genesis demonstrates that the only way for us to fully understand human behavior is to study the evolutionary histories of nonhuman species. Of these, Wilson demonstrates that at least seventeen—among them the African naked mole rat and the sponge- dwelling shrimp—have been found to have advanced societies based on altruism and cooperation. Whether writing about midges who “dance about like acrobats” or schools of anchovies who protectively huddle “to appear like a gigantic fish,” or proposing that human society owes a debt of gratitude to “postmenopausal grandmothers” and “childless homosexuals,” Genesis is a pithy yet path-breaking work of evolutionary theory, braiding twenty-first-century scientific theory with the lyrical biological and humanistic observations for which Wilson is known.
Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact
by Thaddeus J. Trenn Robert K. Merton Fred BradleyOriginally published in German in 1935, this monograph anticipated solutions to problems of scientific progress, the truth of scientific fact and the role of error in science now associated with the work of Thomas Kuhn and others. Arguing that every scientific concept and theory--including his own--is culturally conditioned, Fleck was appreciably ahead of his time. And as Kuhn observes in his foreword, "Though much has occurred since its publication, it remains a brilliant and largely unexploited resource." "To many scientists just as to many historians and philosophers of science facts are things that simply are the case: they are discovered through properly passive observation of natural reality. To such views Fleck replies that facts are invented, not discovered. Moreover, the appearance of scientific facts as discovered things is itself a social construction, a made thing. A work of transparent brilliance, one of the most significant contributions toward a thoroughly sociological account of scientific knowledge."--Steven Shapin, Science.
Genesis and the Big Bang Theory: The Discovery Of Harmony Between Modern Science And The Bible
by Gerald SchroederIn this groundbreaking book, physicist Gerald Schroeder takes on skeptics from both sides of the cosmological debate, arguing that science and the Bible are not at odds concerning the origin of the universe.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Genesis Enigma
by Andrew ParkerDoes modern science - while agreeing with Darwinian evolution, the big bang theory and the complexity and deep age of the universe - prove the order of creation as described in the Bible to be true? It takes just one page in the Bible to describe the creation of the universe, the Earth, the sky, the seas and all life on the planet. But a close reading will reveal that it is written in a very odd order. Light is mentioned twice - in 'let there be light' and secondly in 'let there be lights . . . to divide the day from night'. Whales appear before birds. Vegetation appears after 'let there be light' but before day is separated from night. In The Genesis Enigma Andrew Parker argues that the reason the Genesis account is strangely ordered is, amazingly, that it precisely reflects the order of events as we now understand them. The latest reinterpretation of Earth's ancient rocks and fossils and their comparisons with animals today has completed our understanding of the history of the Earth and of life. By comparing the data of science with the words and phrases of Genesis 1-11 the remarkable parallels become clear. In a fascinating and controversial scientific detective story Andrew Parker reveals how the latest modern understanding corresponds in unerring detail with the creation account in Genesis. His astonishing conclusions will revolutionise how many of us view the debate between science and religion, and asks the question: in a scientific world is there still a place for God?
Génesis: The Story Of How Everything Began
by Guido TonelliTudo nasce de uma simples e inevitável pergunta: «De onde vem tudo isto?» Um ensaio admirável sobre o início de tudo que devolve à Humanidade a verdadeira história das suas origens. No princípio, era o caos. Talvez os gregos tivessem razão, já que muitas observações da física moderna parecem confirmá-lo. Mas o que aconteceu realmente nos primeiros instantes da vida do universo? Do caos descrito por Hesíodo ao bosão de Higgs, Guido Tonelli, renomado físico do CERN e professor na universidade de Pisa, emula a estrutura narrativa bíblica da criação do mundo em sete dias para relatar, em sete capítulos e assinalável fascínio, a estranha singularidade que permitiu a formação do universo e a sopa primordial de onde surgiu a Vida. Com inesperada simplicidade e incontestável poesia, Tonelli segue o fio condutor da consciência para responder à sempiterna pergunta: De onde vem tudo isto? A narração de como tudo começou, da formação das partículas, da matéria, das estrelas, dos humanos e do seu pensamento simbólico, de tudo quanto existe, portanto, é acompanhada pela recuperação dos mitos ancestrais criados e transmitidos de geração em geração em torno da origem do universo, bem como do relato de histórias fascinantes de cientistas que dedicaram a vida à investigação do enigma da origem, de Galileu a Stephen Hawking, com os seus momentos Eureka! e as histórias anedócticas que entraram para a história da ciência e do mundo. «Nós, os cientistas, somos como os homens na caverna de Platão: tentamos libertar-nos dos grilhões - conclusões erradas -, tentamos dar um nome às sombras, tentamos sair da caverna para ver a luz.» Guido Tonelli
Genesis - In The Beginning
by Joseph SeckbachGenesis - In The Beginning deals with the origin and diversity of Life and early biological evolution and discusses the question of where (hot or cold sources) and when the beginning of Life took place. Among the sections are chapters dealing with prebiotic chemical processes and considering self-replication of polymers in mineral habitats. One chapter is dedicated to the photobiological regime on early Earth and the emergence of Life. This volume covers the role of symmetry, information and order (homochrial biomolecules) in the beginning of Life. The models of protocells and the genetic code with gene transfer are important topics in this volume. Three chapters discuss the Panspermia hypothesis (to answer "Are we from outer Space?"). Other chapters cover the Astrobiological aspects of Life in the Universe in extraterrestrial Planets of the Solar System and deal with cometary hydrosphere (and its connection to Earth). We conclude with the history and frontiers of Astrobiogy.
The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology
by Amy Webb Andrew HesselNamed one of The New Yorker's BEST BOOKS OF 2022 SO FARThe 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.
Genesis Machines: The New Science of Biocomputing
by Martyn AmosThe paperback version of the groundbreaking book about the next generation of computers: not only are they smaller—they're alive. Cells, gels, and DNA strands are the "wetware" of the twenty-first century. Imagine taking cells from a cancer patient and programming them to detect disease and then prompt the body to cure itself. Or clothes woven with microchips, nanofibers, and living cells to form wearable bio-weapons detection systems. Both of these revolutionary applications are closer than we think. Some scientists are pushing the boundaries even further by creating synthetic biology where brand new creatures are engineered in the laboratory. In this breathtaking book, a leading expert in the field reveals just how the stuff of science fiction is rapidly becoming a reality. This new technology will change the way we think—not just about computers, but about the nature of life itself.
Genesis Of The Cosmos: The Ancient Science of Continuous Creation
by Paul A. LavioletteThe author compares what we know scientifically with ancient myths across time
Genesis of Diamonds and Associated Phases (Springer Mineralogy)
by Yuriy A. LitvinThis book presents an overview of recent advances in our understanding of the genesis of diamonds and the associated phases. It is divided into three main parts, starting with an introduction to the analysis of diamond inclusions to infer the formation processes. In turn, the second part of the book presents high-pressure experimental studies in mantle diamond-parental mineral systems with representative multicomponent boundary compositions. The experimental syngenesis phase diagrams provided reveal the physicochemical mechanisms of diamond nucleation and substantiate the mantle-carbonatite concept of the genesis of diamonds and associated phases. Lastly, the book describes the genetic classification of diamond-hosted mineral inclusions and experimentally determined RE “mineral-parental melt” partition coefficients. The physicochemical experimental evidence presented shows the driving forces behind the fractional evolution of the mantle magmas and diamond-parental melts.Given the depth and breadth of its coverage, the book offers researchers essential new insights into the ways diamonds and associated minerals and rocks are naturally created.
The Genesis of Feynman Diagrams
by Adrian WüthrichIn a detailed reconstruction of the genesis of Feynman diagrams the author reveals that their development was constantly driven by the attempt to resolve fundamental problems concerning the uninterpretable infinities that arose in quantum as well as classical theories of electrodynamic phenomena. Accordingly, as a comparison with the graphical representations that were in use before Feynman diagrams shows, the resulting theory of quantum electrodynamics, featuring Feynman diagrams, differed significantly from earlier versions of the theory in the way in which the relevant phenomena were conceptualized and modelled. The author traces the development of Feynman diagrams from Feynman's "struggle with the Dirac equation" in unpublished manuscripts to the two of Freeman Dyson's publications which put Feynman diagrams into a field theoretic context. The author brings to the fore that Feynman and Dyson not only created a powerful computational device but, above all, a new conceptual framework in which the uninterpretable infinities that had arisen in the old form of the theory could be precisely identified and subsequently removed in a justifiable manner.
The Genesis of Geopolitics and Friedrich Ratzel: Dismissing The Myth Of The Ratzelian Geodeterminism (Historical Geography and Geosciences)
by Alexandros StogiannosThis book discusses the influence of Friedrich Ratzel's ideas in more contemporary geopolitical analytical systems and the geodeterminism commonly attributed to him. The author thoroughly analyzes the structural components of Ratzel's thought. The research is inspired by the numerous contradictory approaches in the secondary literature, presenting Ratzel as both humanist and racist, geo-determinist and multidimensional analyst, organicist and social scientist, precursor of Geopolitics and opponent to the same idea. In this work, more particular issues are approached: the establishment of a scientific Political Geography; the methodological approach of his multidisciplinary work; the redefinition of his geopolitical period; his notion of state and the evaluation of sociological and cultural parameters as factors of state power; the biogeographical content of the notion of Lebensraum; his attitude towards the racist theories as well as towards the Darwinian theories; his overall worldview and the confrontation with cosmopolitism; his contribution to an interdisciplinary, positivist and scientific approach in analyzing social and international affairs; his thoughts on the architecture of Europe. The book will be useful for researchers and students in many scientific fields, such as International Relations, Geopolitics, Geography and History of Geography.
The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution
by James HannamThe Not-So-Dark Dark AgesWhat they forgot to teach you in school:People in the Middle Ages did not think the world was flatThe Inquisition never executed anyone because of their scientific ideologiesIt was medieval scientific discoveries, including various methods, that made possible Western civilization's "Scientific Revolution"As a physicist and historian of science James Hannam debunks myths of the Middle Ages in his brilliant book The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution. Without the medieval scholars, there would be no modern science.Discover the Dark Ages and their inventions, research methods, and what conclusions they actually made about the shape of the world.dle Ages were a time of one intellectual triumph after another. As Dr. Hannam writes, "The people of medieval Europe invented spectacles, the mechanical clock, the windmill, and the blast furnace by themselves. Lenses and cameras, almost all kinds of machinery, and the industrial revolution itself all owe their origins to the forgotten inventors of the Middle Ages."In The Genesis of Science you will discoverWhy the scientific accomplishments of the Middle Ages far surpassed those of the classical worldHow medieval craftsmen and scientists not only made discoveries of their own, but seized upon Eastern inventions-printing, gunpowder, and the compass-and improved them beyond the dreams of their originatorsHow Galileo's notorious trial before the Inquisition was about politics, not scienceWhy the theology of the Catholic Church, far from being an impediment, led directly to the development of modern scienceProvocative, engaging, and a terrific read, James Hannam's Genesis of Science will change the way you think about our past-and our future.
Genesis of Symbolic Thought
by Alan BarnardSymbolic thought is what makes us human. Claude Lévi-Strauss stated that we can never know the genesis of symbolic thought, but in this powerful new study Alan Barnard argues that we can. Continuing the line of analysis initiated in Social Anthropology and Human Origins (Cambridge University Press, 2011), Genesis of Symbolic Thought applies ideas from social anthropology, old and new, to understand some of the areas also being explored in fields as diverse as archaeology, linguistics, genetics and neuroscience. Barnard aims to answer questions including: when and why did language come into being? What was the earliest religion? And what form did social organization take before humanity dispersed from the African continent? Rejecting the notion of hunter-gatherers as 'primitive', Barnard hails the great sophistication of the complex means of their linguistic and symbolic expression and places the possible origin of symbolic thought at as early as 130,000 years ago.
The Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions: Rethinking the Nature and Nurture of Research
by Venkatesh Narayanamurti Jeffrey Y. TsaoResearch powers innovation and technoscientific advance, but it is due for a rethink, one consistent with its deeply holistic nature, requiring deeply human nurturing. Research is a deeply human endeavor that must be nurtured to achieve its full potential. As with tending a garden, care must be taken to organize, plant, feed, and weed—and the manner in which this nurturing is done must be consistent with the nature of what is being nurtured. In The Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions, Venkatesh Narayanamurti and Jeffrey Tsao propose a new and holistic system, a rethinking of the nature and nurturing of research. They share lessons from their vast research experience in the physical sciences and engineering, as well as from perspectives drawn from the history and philosophy of science and technology, research policy and management, and the evolutionary biological, complexity, physical, and economic sciences. Narayanamurti and Tsao argue that research is a recursive, reciprocal process at many levels: between science and technology; between questions and answer finding; and between the consolidation and challenging of conventional wisdom. These fundamental aspects of the nature of research should be reflected in how it is nurtured. To that end, Narayanamurti and Tsao propose aligning organization, funding, and governance with research; embracing a culture of holistic technoscientific exploration; and instructing people with care and accountability.
Genesis of the Cosmos: The Ancient Science of Continuous Creation
by Paul A. LavioletteProvides compelling evidence that creation myths from the dawn of civilization correspond to cutting edge astronomical discoveries • Exposes the contradictions in current cosmological theory and offers a scientific basis for the ancient myths and esoteric lore that encode a theory of continuous creation• By the scientist who was the first to disprove the Big Bang theory on the basis of observational dataRecent developments in theoretical physics, including systems theory and chaos theory, are challenging long-held mechanistic views of the universe. Many thinkers have speculated that the remnants of an ancient science survive today in mythology and esoteric lore, but until now the scientific basis for this belief has remained cloaked in mystery. Paul LaViolette reveals the remarkable parallels between the cutting edge of scientific thought and creation myths from the dawn of civilization. With a scientific sophistication rare among mythologists, LaViolette deciphers the forgotten cosmology of ancient lore in a groundbreaking scientific tour de force. In direct, nontechnical language, he shows how these myths encode a theory of cosmology in which matter is continually growing from seeds of order that emerge spontaneously from the surrounding subquantum chaos.Exposing the contradictions that bedevil the big bang theory, LaViolette offers both the specialist and the general reader a controversial and highly stimulating critique of prevailing misconceptions about the seldom-questioned superiority of modern science over ancient cosmology. By restoring and reanimating this ancient scientific worldview, Genesis of the Cosmos leads us beyond the restrictive metaphors of modern science and into a new science for the 21st century.
Genesis of the Salk Institute
by Suzanne BourgeoisThis work is a personal account of the origins and early years of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Bourgeois crafts an engaging study that draws on her involvement with the Institute and on related archives, interviews, and informal conversations.The volume discusses the people who founded the Institute and built a home for renowned research--leading scientists of the time as well as non-scientists of stature in finance, politics, philanthropy, publishing, and the humanities. The events that brought people together, the historic backdrop in which they worked, their personalities, their courage and their visions, their clash of egos and their personal vanities are woven together in a rich, engaging narrative about the founding of a world-premier research institution.
The Genesis Quest: The Geniuses and Eccentrics on a Journey to Uncover the Origin of Life on Earth
by Michael Marshall'The story of the quest to understand life's genesis is a universal one, in which everyone can find pleasure and fascination. By asking how life came to be, we are implicitly asking why we are here, whether life exists on other planets, and what it means to be alive. This book is the story of a group of fragile, flawed humans who chose to wrestle with these questions. By exploring the origin of life, we can catch a glimpse of the infinite.'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 fervour, 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.
The Genesis Quest: The Geniuses and Eccentrics on a Journey to Uncover the Origin of Life on Earth
by Michael Marshall'The story of the quest to understand life's genesis is a universal one, in which everyone can find pleasure and fascination. By asking how life came to be, we are implicitly asking why we are here, whether life exists on other planets, and what it means to be alive. This book is the story of a group of fragile, flawed humans who chose to wrestle with these questions. By exploring the origin of life, we can catch a glimpse of the infinite.'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 fervour, 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.
The Genesis Quest: The Geniuses and Eccentrics on a Journey to Uncover the Origin of Life on Earth
by Michael MarshallHow 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.
The Genetic Age: Our Perilous Quest To Edit Life
by Matthew Cobb'Brilliant .. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough' - Henry Marsh, New Statesman (about The Idea of the Brain)A new gene editing technology, invented just seven years ago, has turned humanity into gods. Enabling us to manipulate the genes in virtually any organism with exquisite precision, CRISPR has given scientists a degree of control that was undreamt of even in science fiction.But CRISPR is just the latest, giant leap in a long journey to master genetics. The Genetic Age shows the astonishing, world-changing potential of the new genetics and the possible threats it poses, sifting between fantasy and the reality when it comes to both benefits and dangers.By placing each phase of discovery, anticipation and fear in the context of over fifty years of attempts to master the natural world, Matthew Cobb, the Baillie-Gifford-shortlisted author of The Idea of the Brain, weaves the stories of science, history and culture to shed new light on our future. With the powers now at our disposal, it is afuture that is almost impossible to imagine - but it is one we will create ourselves.
Genetic Algorithms and Machine Learning for Programmers
by Frances BuontempoSelf-driving cars, natural language recognition, and online recommendation engines are all possible thanks to Machine Learning. Now you can create your own genetic algorithms, nature-inspired swarms, Monte Carlo simulations, cellular automata, and clusters. Learn how to test your ML code and dive into even more advanced topics. If you are a beginner-to-intermediate programmer keen to understand machine learning, this book is for you. Discover machine learning algorithms using a handful of self-contained recipes. Build a repertoire of algorithms, discovering terms and approaches that apply generally. Bake intelligence into your algorithms, guiding them to discover good solutions to problems. In this book, you will: Use heuristics and design fitness functions.Build genetic algorithms.Make nature-inspired swarms with ants, bees and particles.Create Monte Carlo simulations.Investigate cellular automata.Find minima and maxima, using hill climbing and simulated annealing.Try selection methods, including tournament and roulette wheels.Learn about heuristics, fitness functions, metrics, and clusters. Test your code and get inspired to try new problems. Work through scenarios to code your way out of a paper bag; an important skill for any competent programmer. See how the algorithms explore and learn by creating visualizations of each problem. Get inspired to design your own machine learning projects and become familiar with the jargon. What You Need: Code in C++ (>= C++11), Python (2.x or 3.x) and JavaScript (using the HTML5 canvas). Also uses matplotlib and some open source libraries, including SFML, Catch and Cosmic-Ray. These plotting and testing libraries are not required but their use will give you a fuller experience. Armed with just a text editor and compiler/interpreter for your language of choice you can still code along from the general algorithm descriptions.
Genetic Analyses of Wheat and Molecular Marker-Assisted Breeding, Volume 1
by Chun Li Xiaoling Jiang Haixia Yu Kunpu Zhang Zhiying Deng Jichun TianThe book mainly describes the QTL mappings and efficacy analyses that are associated with wheat productivity, quality, physiology and various stress resistances and provides summaries of results from studies conducted both at home and abroad. It presents comparable data and analyses, helping readers to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the latest development in this field. The book provides a wealth of novel information, broad range of applications and in-depth findings on crop genetics and molecular breeding, making it valuable not only for plant breeders but also for academic faculties, senior researchers and advanced graduate students who are involved in plant breeding and genetics. Dr. Jichun Tian is a professor at the Department of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China.