Life's Engines: How Microbes Made Earth Habitable (Science Essentials): 24

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However, I do think these parts could be skimmed and the main messages of the book still appreciated. Falkowski reminds us that we are living off the kindness of strangers—small ones, the microbes that are the very foundation of all life on this planet.

To do this they use flagella, but the mechanism that allows the flagella to act in unison is a mystery because sponges do not have a nervous system. Life's Engines takes readers deep into the microscopic world to explore how these marvelous creatures made life on Earth possible-and how human life today would cease to exist without them. Having started reading the book in my usual fifteen-minutes-with-a-cup-of-coffee breaks, I found I had to go back over some chapters as complete units, after I realised how much I had not absorbed properly.Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet and Nick Lane’s Power Sex and Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life. He starts by telling the listener that the nature of science advances by recognizing patterns and then developing tools for finding those patterns. So often times, within evolution, we aren't using the ideal framework, we are using and improvising an existing framework which is constantly being jerry-rigged to fit new circumstances.

The depth of understanding Falkowski bestows upon his reader will help them understand their host planet on a fundamental level. A pleasure to read, the book touches on virtually every topic covered in a college biology curriculum by seamlessly weaving concepts with personal anecdotes and analogies. The] wonderful and awe-inspiring universe of the microbes, unseen creatures that have shaped the planet such that we may live in it, is engagingly presented by Paul Falkowski in a remarkable text entitled Life's Engines. They surely had their place there, but I think an editor should have requested a change to make it lighter.

Presenting scientific facts and the fascinating history of their discovery, Falkowski (Rutgers Univ. Falkowski's loving examination sets out, life on this planet is organized by and for bacteria--the rest of us are just along for the ride.