1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910456009703321

Autore

Lurquin Paul F

Titolo

The origins of life and the universe [[electronic resource] /] / Paul F. Lurquin

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : Columbia University Press, c2003

ISBN

1-280-59807-7

9786613627902

0-231-50766-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (229 p.)

Disciplina

576.8/3

Soggetti

Life - Origin

Cosmology

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [201]-203) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Foundations of the Universe -- Chapter 2. Building a Universe -- Chapter 3. Life as It Is Today -- Chapter 4. Prebiotic Earth: First Organic Compounds and First Informational Molecules -- Chapter 5. Life on Its Way -- Chapter 6. Has Life Originated Elsewhere and Will It End? -- Appendix 1. A Graphic Representation of Special Relativity -- Appendix 2. More on Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle -- Appendix 3. How Do We Know the Age of the Universe? -- Appendix 4. Eric Chaisson's View of Cosmic Evolution -- Appendix 5. Do the Universe and Life Have a Purpose and a Designer? -- Notes -- Glossary -- Notable Scientists -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

The Origins of Life and the Universe is the culmination of a university science professor's search for understanding and is based on his experiences teaching the fundamental issues of physics, chemistry, and biology in the classroom. What is life? Where did it come from? How can understanding the origins of life on Earth help us understand the origins of the universe, and vice versa? These are questions that have occupied us all. This is a book, then, about the beginning of things-of the universe, matter, stars, and planetary systems, and finally, of life



itself-topics of profound interest that are rarely considered together. After surveying prescientific accounts of the origins of life, the book examines the concepts of modern physics and cosmology, in particular the two pillars of modern physics, relativity and quantum theory, and how they can be applied to the Big Bang model of the creation of the universe. The author then considers molecular genetics and DNA, the famed building block of life. In addition to assessing various hypotheses concerning the appearance of the first bacterial cells and their evolution into more complex eukaryotic cells, this section explains how "protocells" may have started a kind of integrated metabolism and how horizontal gene transfer may have speeded up evolution. Finally, the book discusses the possibility that life did not originate on planet Earth but first appeared on other solar planets, or perhaps in other star systems. How would such a possibility affect our understanding of the meaning of life, or of its ultimate fate in the universe? The book ends as it begins, with profound questions and penetrating answers, a state-of-the-art guide to unlocking the scientific mysteries of life and matter.

2.

Record Nr.

UNICASRML0262168

Autore

Carboni, Fabio

Titolo

1. Biblioteca apostolica Vaticana, Fondi archivio S. Pietro urbinate latino / Fabio Carboni

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Città del Vaticano, : Biblioteca apostolica Vaticana, 1977

Descrizione fisica

435 p. ; 25 cm

Collana

Studi e testi - Città del Vaticano : Biblioteca apostolica Vaticana ; 277

Lingua di pubblicazione

Italiano

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia



3.

Record Nr.

UNIORUON00216784

Autore

PALUMBO, Genoveffa

Titolo

Giubileo giubilei : Pellegrini e pellegrine, riti, santi, immagini per una storia dei sacri itinerari / Genoveffa Palumbo ; prefazione di Sofia Boesch Gajano

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Roma, : RAI-ERI, 1999

ISBN

88-397-1007-8

Descrizione fisica

638 p. ; 22 cm.

Disciplina

248.4630945632

Soggetti

PELLEGRINAGGI

RELIGIONE - Saggi

Lingua di pubblicazione

Italiano

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia