Traditionally, the human soul is regarded as a nonphysical concept that can only be examined by psychiatrists and theologists. In his new book, The Astonishing Hypothesis, Nobel Laureate Francis Crick boldly straddles the line between science and spirituality by examining the soul from the standpoint of a modern scientist, basing the soul's existence and function on an in-depth examination of how the human brain "sees."

These fifteen biographies, written by promising young students from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, reveal the many interesting human factors that influenced the lives of successful scientists: how they chose their individual career paths, what obstacles they had to overcome along the way, and where they think science will lead society in the future. They also convey the excitement of discovery that both these established scientists and their young biographers share as they explore their particular scientific interests.