Echoes of Life: What Fossil Molecules Reveal about Earth History

ISBN-13: 9780195176193 / Angielski / Twarda / 2008 / 376 str.

Susan M. Gaines; Geoffrey Eglinton; Jurgen Rullkotter

Opis

In 1936 a German chemist identified certain organic molecules that he had extracted from ancient rocks and oils as the fossil remains of chlorophyll--presumably from plants that had lived and died millions of years in the past. It was another twenty-five years before this insight was developed and the term "biomarker" coined to describe fossil molecules whose molecular structures could reveal the presence of otherwise elusive organisms and processes.

Echoes of Life is the story of these molecules and how they are illuminating the history of the earth and its life. It is also the story of how a few maverick organic chemists and geologists defied the dictates of their disciplines and--at a time when the natural sciences were fragmenting into ever-more-specialized sub-disciplines--reunited chemistry, biology and geology in a common endeavor. The rare combination of rigorous science and literary style--woven into a historic narrative that moves naturally from the simple to the complex--make Echoes of Life a book to be read for pleasure and contemplation, as well as education.

Recenzje

A compelling, readable chronicle of scientific research, that blends the basics of organic chemistry with the needs of other scientific pursuits including geology, paleoclimatology, ocean sciences, petroleum geochemistry, environmental sciences, archeology, and the origin of life. The description of the research is understandable for the layperson and retains sufficient scientific details for scientists.

O autorze

Susan Gaines was trained as a chemist and oceanographer. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous literary anthologies and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and she is the author of the novel Carbon Dreams. Geoffrey Eglinton is Professor Emeritus at Bristol University, Adjunct Scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and at Dartmouth College. He is the recipient of the NASA Gold Medal, the Royal Society Queens Medal, and the 2008 Dan David Prize. Jürgen Rullkötter is a professor of organic geochemistry and Director of the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Germany.