Cosmic Genetic Evolution, Volume 106 in the Advances in Genetics series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on Panspermia, Cometary Panspermia and Origin of Life, The Efficient Lamarckian Spread of Life in the Cosmos, The Sociology of Science and Generality of the DNA/RNA/Protein Paradigm Throughout the Cosmos, The Mutagenic Source and Power of Our Own Evolution, Origin of New Emergent Coronavirus and Candida Fungal Diseases – Terrestrial or Cosmic?, and Future Prospects for Investigation -The Near-Earth Neighborhood and Beyond. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in the Advances in Genetics series Updated release includes the latest information on the Cosmic Genetic Evolution
Chaisson addresses some of the most basic issues we can contemplate: the origin of matter and the origin of life, and the ways matter, life, and radiation interact and change with time. He designs for us an expansive yet intricate model depicting the origin and evolution of all material structures.
Are humans a galactic oddity, or will complex life with human abilities develop on planets with environments that remain habitable for long enough? In a clear, jargon-free style, two leading researchers in the burgeoning field of astrobiology critically examine the major evolutionary steps that led us from the distant origins of life to the technologically advanced species we are today. Are the key events that took life from simple cells to astronauts unique occurrences that would be unlikely to occur on other planets? By focusing on what life does - it's functional abilities - rather than specific biochemistry or anatomy, the authors provide plausible answers to this question. Systematically exploring the various pathways that led to the complex biosphere we experience on planet Earth, they show that most of the steps along that path are likely to occur on any world hosting life, with only two exceptions: One is the origin of life itself – if this is a highly improbable event, then we live in a rather “empty universe”. However, if this isn’t the case, we inevitably live in a universe containing a myriad of planets hosting complex as well as microbial life - a “cosmic zoo”. The other unknown is the rise of technologically advanced beings, as exemplified on Earth by humans. Only one technological species has emerged in the roughly 4 billion years life has existed on Earth, and we don’t know of any other technological species elsewhere. If technological intelligence is a rare, almost unique feature of Earth's history, then there can be no visitors to the cosmic zoo other than ourselves. Schulze-Makuch and Bains take the reader through the history of life on Earth, laying out a consistent and straightforward framework for understanding why we should think that advanced, complex life exists on planets other than Earth. They provide a unique perspective on the question that puzzled the human species for centuries: are we alone?
"If life were to suddenly appear on a desert island we wouldn't claim it was randomly assembled in an organic soup or created by the hand of god; we'd conclude it washed to shore or fell from the sky. The Earth too, is an island, orbiting in a sea of space, and living creatures and their DNA have been washing to shore and falling from the sky since our planets creation" --Joseph (2000). What has taken place on Earth represents not a random evolution, but the metamorphosis and replication of living creatures which long ago lived on other planets. --Joseph 2000 "Our ancient ancestors, and their genes, journeyed here, from the stars." --Joseph 1997 The discoveries and theories detailed in this text can be summarized as follows: (1) Life on Earth has extraterrestrial origins. (2) These extraterrestrials are descendants of prokaryotes and eurkayotes which had long ago "fallen" unto other planets where they engaged in interplanetary horizontal gene exchange. (3) The genetic information for the evolution of life on Earth has extraterrestrial origins, (4) Once on Earth extraterrestrial genes, including "silent genes" and the genetic material for the generation of additional genes, were transferred into the eukaryotic genome from viruses and bacteria which "fell" to Earth and (5) and their DNA contained all the genetic information necessary for the evolution of every species which has walked, crawled, swam or slithered across this planet--including species which never evolved on Earth. (6) Over the course of evolution on Earth, various species with their "libraries" of extraterrestrial genetic information, genetically and biologically altered the environment via the liberation or secretion of oxygen and calcium and other substances which (7) acted on gene selection leading to new species adapted to a world which had been genetically engineered for their survival. (8) When sufficient oxygen, calcium etc. had been secreted, and with the formation of the ozone layer, silent and other genes were activated giving rise to the Cambrian explosion (9) and the evolution of the eye, brain and skeletal system. (10) Bacteria, archae, and viruses, and perhaps even more complex species, continually fall from space and (11) continue to insert genes, via horizontal gene transfer, into the eukaryotic genome. (12) All these factors explain the step-wise, punctuated equilibrium which characterizes evolution on this planet, leading to the multi-regional evolution and metamorphosis of numerous species of human which indicates (13) Earth was genetically seeded to "grow" every species which has appeared on Earth culminating in woman and man (14) according to the genetic principles of "evolutionary metamorphosis." -Contents- 1. Overview: The Evolution of Alien Life From Other Planets 2. Origins and Evolution of Life From Space 3. Cambrian Explosion: Silent Genes, HGT, Cyanobacteria, Bones, Brains, Eukaryotic Metamorphosis, Genetic Engineering of the Environment 4. Viruses, Genetic Libraries, Evolution, Interplanetary Horizontal Gene Transfer 5. Meteors, Microbes, Viruses: Genetic Seeds of Life Keep Falling to Earth 6. Extinction, Metamorphosis, Evolutionary Apoptosis, Genetically Programmed Mass Death 7. Evolutionary Metamorphosis, Embryogenesis, and the DNA-Supra Organism 8. Multi-Regional Human Metamorphosis 9. Evolution in the Ancient Corners of the Cosmos: Even the Gods Have Gods Who Have Gods 10. REFERENCES
This book follows the evolutionary trail all the way from the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago to conscious life today. It is an accessible introductory book written for the interested layperson – anyone interested in the ‘big picture’ coming from modern science. It covers a wide range of topics including the origin and evolution of our universe, the nature and origin of life, the evolution of life including questions of birth and death, the evolution of cognition, the nature of consciousness, the possibility of extraterrestrial life and the future of the universe. The book is written in a narrative style, as these topics are all parts of a single story. It concludes with a discussion on the nature and future of science.
In Cosmic Biology, Louis Irwin and Dirk Schulze-Makuch guide readers through the range of planetary habitats found in our Solar System and those likely to be found throughout the universe. Based on our current knowledge of chemistry, energy, and evolutionary tendencies, the authors envision a variety of possible life forms. These range from the familiar species found on Earth to increasingly exotic examples possible under the different conditions of other planets and their satellites. Discussions of the great variety of life forms that could evolve in these diverse environments have become particularly relevant in recent years with the discovery of around 300 exoplanets in orbit around other stars and the possibilities for the existence of life in these planetary systems. The book also posits a taxonomic classification of the various forms of life that might be found, including speculation on the relative abundance of different forms and the generic fate of living systems. The fate and future of life on Earth will also be considered. The closing passages address the Fermi Paradox, and conclude with philosophical reflections on the possible place of Homo sapiens in the potentially vast stream of life across the galaxies.
The idea that life is a cosmic, rather than a purely terrestrial phenomenon, has progressed from scientific heresy to mainstream science within the short timespan of a few decades. The theory of cometary panspermia developed by Fred Hoyle and the present author in the 1970's has been vindicated by a spate of new discoveries in astronomy and biology, and also with startling new evidence of microbial fossils in meteorites and micrometeorites. The recent Kepler Telescope searches for exoplanets have indicated the presence of over 100 billion habitable planets separated by only a few light years, thus making panspermia and the transfer of microbial life between such planets an inevitable fact. The book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the Hoyle-Wickramasinghe theory of cometary panspermia in a manner accessible to a wide general readership.
NOTE: NO FURTHER DISCOUNT FOR THIS PRINT PRODUCT--OVERSTOCK SALE -- Significantly reduced list price During the last 50 years, coincident with the Space Age, cosmic evolution has been recognized as the master narrative of the universe, history writ large. Cosmic evolution includes physical, biological, and cultural evolution, and of these the latter is by far the most rapid. In this volume, authors with diverse backgrounds in science, history, anthropology, and more, consider culture in the context of the cosmos. How does our knowledge of cosmic evolution affect terrestrial culture? Conversely, how does our knowledge of cultural evolution affect our thinking about possible cultures in the cosmos? Are life, mind, and culture of fundamental significance to the grand story of the cosmos that has generated its own self-understanding through science, rational reasoning, and mathematics? Might this lead to cultural evolution on a large enough scale to allow the universe to both create and steer itself toward its own destiny? Related products: NASA's First 50 Years: Historical Perspectives; NASA 50 Anniversary Proceedings can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/033-000-01336-1 Bringing the Future Within Reach: Celebrating 75 Years of the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center, 1941-2016 can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/033-000-01377-9 Other products produced by National Aerounautics and Space Administration (NASA) can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/550
This book provides an overview of Ken Wilber's view of evolutionary theory in light of his Integral philosophy. It also provides a pointed critique of why Wilber consistently misreads and misunderstands Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.
