This highly interdisciplinary 2007 book highlights many of the ways in which chemistry plays a crucial role in making life an evolutionary possibility in the universe. Cosmologists and particle physicists have often explored how the observed laws and constants of nature lie within a narrow range that allows complexity and life to evolve and adapt. Here, these anthropic considerations are diversified in a host of new ways to identify the most sensitive features of biochemistry and astrobiology. Celebrating the classic 1913 work of Lawrence J. Henderson, The Fitness of the Environment for Life,...

Several major breakthroughs have helped contribute to the emerging field of astrobiology. Focusing on these developments, this fascinating book explores some of the most important problems in this field. It examines how planetary systems formed, and how water and the biomolecules necessary for life were produced. It then focuses on how life may have originated and evolved on Earth. Building on these two themes, the final section takes the reader on a search for life elsewhere in the Solar System. It presents the latest results of missions to Mars and Titan, and explores the possibilities of...

Philosophers, historians, ethicists, and theologians provide the perspectives of their fields on astrobiology for graduate students and researchers.

When this book was published in 2006, it had been just over ten years since the first planet outside our solar system was detected. Since then, much work has focused on understanding how extrasolar planets may form, and discovering the frequency of potentially habitable Earth-like planets. This volume addresses fundamental questions concerning the formation of planetary systems in general, and of our solar system in particular. Drawing from advances in observational, experimental and theoretical research, it summarises our understanding of the planet formation processes, and addresses major...

An interdisciplinary book for scientists interested in the origin and existence of life in our universe, first published in 2008.

Examines humanistic aspects of astrobiology, exploring approaches, critical issues, and implications of the discovery of extraterrestrial life.

Exploring the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) through the lens of Fermi's so-called paradox, this volume summarises current thinking on the prevalence of intelligent life in the universe. It describes the methodology of SETI and how many disciplines feed into the extra-terrestrial life debate, providing a comprehensive introduction for graduates and researchers.

Explores the nature, origin, and extent of life in the universe from both scientific and philosophical perspectives, focusing particularly on the challenge of formulating a universal theory of life in relation to the search for extraterrestrial life. It is a valuable resource for those studying astrobiology and the origins of life.