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Life at the Speed of Light
- From the Double Helix to the Dawn of Digital Life
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
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Publisher's summary
In 2010, scientists led by J. Craig Venter became the first to successfully create "synthetic life" - putting humankind at the threshold of the most important and exciting phase of biological research, one that will enable us to actually write the genetic code for designing new species to help us adapt and evolve for long-term survival. The science of synthetic genomics will have a profound impact on human existence, including chemical and energy generation, health, clean water and food production, environmental control, and possibly even our evolution.
In Life at the Speed of Light, Venter presents a fascinating and authoritative study of this emerging field from the inside-detailing its origins, current challenges and controversies, and projected effects on our lives. This scientific frontier provides an opportunity to ponder anew the age-old question "What is life?" and examine what we really mean by "playing God." Life at the Speed of Light is a landmark work, written by a visionary at the dawn of a new era of biological engineering.
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A preeminent geneticist hunts the Neanderthal genome to answer the biggest question of them all: what does it mean to be human? What can we learn from the genes of our closest evolutionary relatives? Neanderthal Man tells the story of geneticist Svante Pbo’s mission to answer that question, beginning with the study of DNA in Egyptian mummies in the early 1980s and culminating in his sequencing of the Neanderthal genome in 2009.
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Excellent science tale
- By Neuron on 01-19-15
By: Svante Pääbo
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Life’s Ratchet
- How Molecular Machines Extract Order from Chaos
- By: Peter M. Hoffman
- Narrated by: Paul Hodgson
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The cells in our bodies consist of molecules, made up of the same carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms found in air and rocks. But molecules, such as water and sugar, are not alive. So how do our cells - assemblies of otherwise "dead" molecules - come to life, and together constitute a living being? In Life’s Ratchet, physicist Peter M. Hoffmann locates the answer to this age-old question at the nanoscale.
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For biologists to learn single molecule biophysics
- By A Synthetic Biologist on 09-04-14
By: Peter M. Hoffman
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Life's Engines
- How Microbes Made Earth Habitable
- By: Paul G. Falkowski
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Paul Falkowski looks "under the hood" of microbes to find the engines of life, the actual working parts that do the biochemical heavy lifting for every living organism on Earth. With insight and humor, he explains how these miniature engines are built - and how they have been appropriated by and assembled like Lego sets within every creature that walks, swims, or flies. Falkowski shows how evolution works to maintain this core machinery of life, and how we and other animals are veritable conglomerations of microbes.
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Best Science Book Ever Written. Period.
- By serine on 07-28-15
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At the Edge of Uncertainty
- 11 Discoveries Taking Science by Surprise
- By: Michael Brooks
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The atom, the big bang, DNA, natural selection - all are ideas that have revolutionized science; and all were dismissed out of hand when they first appeared. The surprises haven't stopped in recent years, and in At the Edge of Uncertainty, best-selling author Michael Brooks investigates the new wave of radical insights that are shaping the future of scientific discovery.
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All smoke, no fire
- By Kenton on 07-25-15
By: Michael Brooks
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Life on the Edge
- The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology
- By: Johnjoe McFadden, Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Life is the most extraordinary phenomenon in the known universe; but how did it come to be? Even in an age of cloning and artificial biology, the remarkable truth remains: Nobody has ever made anything living entirely out of dead material. Life remains the only way to make life. Are we still missing a vital ingredient in its creation?
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More woo than new
- By Gary on 09-09-15
By: Johnjoe McFadden, and others
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How to Build a Dinosaur
- Extinction Doesn't Have to Be Forever
- By: Jack Horner, James Gorman
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In movies, in novels, in comic strips, and on television, we've all seen dinosaurs - or at least somebody's educated guess of what they would look like. But what if it were possible to build, or grow, a real dinosaur without finding ancient DNA? Jack Horner, the scientist who advised Steven Spielberg on the blockbuster film Jurassic Park and a pioneer in bringing paleontology into the 21st century, teams up with the editor of the New York Times's Science Times section to reveal exactly what's in store.
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Good book but misplaced title
- By Robert on 06-19-15
By: Jack Horner, and others
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What Is Life?
- How Chemistry Becomes Biology
- By: Addy Pross
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventy years ago, Erwin Schrdinger posed a simple, yet profound, question: What is life?. How could the very existence of such extraordinary chemical systems be understood? This problem has puzzled biologists and physical scientists both before, and ever since. Living things are hugely complex and have unique properties, such as self-maintenance and apparently purposeful behaviour which we do not see in inert matter. So how does chemistry give rise to biology?
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Profound & Life Changing...
- By Daegan Smith on 04-06-15
By: Addy Pross
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p53: The Gene That Cracked the Cancer Code
- By: Sue Armstrong
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Jasicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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p53: The Gene That Cracked the Cancer Code reveals the tale of the search for this gene, as well as the excitement of the hunt for new cures - the hype, the lost opportunities, the blind alleys, and the thrilling breakthroughs. As the long-anticipated revolution in cancer treatment tailored to each individual patient's symptoms starts to take off at last, p53 is still at the forefront of the game. This is a timely tale of scientific discovery and advances in our understanding of a disease that still affects more than one in three of us at some point in our lives.
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Excellent story! Unfortunate narration at start
- By Adriana on 12-25-14
By: Sue Armstrong
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Welcome to the Microbiome
- Getting to Know the Trillions of Bacteria and Other Microbes In, On, and Around You
- By: Rob DeSalle, Susan L. Perkins
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Suddenly, research findings require a paradigm shift in our view of the microbial world. The Human Microbiome Project at the National Institutes of Health is well under way, and unprecedented scientific technology now allows the censusing of trillions of microbes inside and on our bodies as well as in the places where we live, work, and play. This intriguing, up-to-the-minute book for scientists and nonscientists alike explains what researchers are discovering about the microbe world and what the implications are for modern science and medicine.
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I learned so much from this book. I am happy.
- By Jonathan Miller on 09-08-18
By: Rob DeSalle, and others
What listeners say about Life at the Speed of Light
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Dawn M.
- 11-14-16
Couldn't stop listening!
While I don't claim to have an excellent grasp on all of the subjects covered, I found this book to be very educational and interesting. There were many things covered that I am currently learning in my microbiology class, and I found Craig Venter's passion for his work to be enthralling. I listened every time I got a break, and I know I'll be listening to this book over and over again!
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- Brian W. Veit
- 07-13-17
One of my best reads for the year
This is a truly fascinating account of a cutting edge field. Genetics is like fire, or language, or radio waves, a literally life changing watershed moment in the human experiment. This book captures the history and the future trajectory-- transmitting DNA codes via radio waves to replicate life "at the speed of light"
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- Chris
- 12-15-13
Very technical book, not for the average listener
This is a very interesting book from the standpoint that it documents a very historical event with the creation of synthetic life. This book provides a detailed history leading up to and then the aftermath of Dr. Venter and associates creation of the synthetic biology. The book is well written, but the content is very scientific and perhaps is more appropriate for scientist and those who have a strong scientific interest or understanding of Dr. Venters work. The performance of the narrator is very good, and even the content of the books is good for the right audience. My opinion is that this book is not necessarily for the average listener. The content is complex and was above my understanding. Over this book is, and will continue to be a very important historical record for the actual scientific creation of the first synthetic life.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 04-11-15
The MAN Gets IT RIGHT
Would you listen to Life at the Speed of Light again? Why?
I live in Venter's world, and had minimal expectation from a 'Scientific Tell-ALL' but the book is provocative, stimulating and dramatic in it's mathematical insights. The reiteration of the Nobel awards would be enough but Venter adds verve.
What other book might you compare Life at the Speed of Light to and why?
The Double Helix, any of Francois Jacob's last three books, Isaacson's Einstein, Any of Feynman other than about Samba, Wilson or Slobodkin.
What does Bob Souer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He seems as a non-scientist and yet gets into the action and makes no errors with complicated virology and molecular terms.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
The Only Actor who CAN play Venter- Robin Williams
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- A. Kay
- 11-24-21
Great material, boring narration
Overall this is a great book with fascinating information about synthetic biotech, but I felt like the narration was boring and might as well have been a computer narrating it.
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- Patrick🍀
- 11-24-13
A vision fulfilled.
The author, the great scientific genius, J Craig Venter, has stepped through a portal and beckons us to follow him through to the other side. He has fulfilled his vision, but presents the human species, particularly the scientific community with a dilemma, if we follow him, we endorse and subscribe to the notion that the structure of a living cell responds to the same laws of physics and chemistry that govern the rest of the universe. Specifically, the genome of a cell can be programmed, resulting in not just a modified cell, but a new species, a unique living creature.
Mankind is a toolmaking species. We have only had the tool of the modern computer in J Craig Venter's lifetime, and he has made the most of it. His work has demonstrated that the only limiting factor in programming any particular genome is the current power of the computer. And no one doubts that we are only on the first page of the development of this tool. It stands to reason that at some point, we will have the computational power to reprogram a more complex genome than that of a single celled organism.
A scientist in an earlier age concluded that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe of that time period. And as we all know, he was attacked because it disturbed mankind's particular notion of it's special place in that universe. But that scientist, and all of the other scientists that preceded him and have followed him have only described what "is"', they have not created anything. For example (using a current example), a great scientist might describe that the universe is not only expanding, but also that this expansion is accelerating. It is a great discovery, worthy of the Nobel Prize, but it is only a description of what is happening, using modern tools of observation. The observation and the description of the discovery has created nothing new or unique.
But J Craig Venter fulfilled his vision and created something unique in the universe. I am afraid that this will not be appreciated in his lifetime.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Nick
- 03-09-21
Inspiring
An opportunity to step into a brilliant, learned mind. The narrator is also A+, possessing the perfect voice for the audiobook medium.
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- Charitha Seneviratne
- 02-05-20
Breathtaking!
A terrific story of Molecules and Biology told by one of its greatest deciples! A must read for anyone who is curious about modern biology and its promise.
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- gregg puluka
- 12-19-15
Great read!
Great read!
I did a presentation on venture when in grad school and have followed the rise of information in the intervening years. This is a well written well delivered presentation on genomics that can be enjoyed by everyone no matter what your scientific background is.
Thanks for bringing me up to speed and filling in the gaps in my knowledge
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- Ronbow
- 11-19-14
It's a history book of the study of genetics
What disappointed you about Life at the Speed of Light?
You have to been a serious lab geek to want to listen to CV rattle off hours of names and dates and studies and names and dates and studies. It's like reading the results of a PubMed search out loud.
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2 people found this helpful