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Life's Engines
- How Microbes Made Earth Habitable
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
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Publisher's summary
For almost four billion years, microbes had the primordial oceans all to themselves. The stewards of Earth, these organisms transformed the chemistry of our planet to make it habitable for plants, animals, and us. Life's Engines takes listeners 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.
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.
A vibrantly entertaining audiobook about the microbes that support our very existence, Life's Engines will inspire wonder about these elegantly complex nanomachines that have driven life since its origin. It also issues a timely warning about the dangers of tinkering with that machinery to make it more "efficient" at meeting the ever-growing demands of humans in the coming century.
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- Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and You
- By: Sean B. Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean B. Carroll
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Why is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason, or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but startling scientific discoveries over the past half century are revealing that we live in a world driven by chance. A Series of Fortunate Events tells the story of the awesome power of chance and how it is the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world.
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We are for a short time.
- By Anonymous User on 10-14-20
By: Sean B. Carroll
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The Science of Rick and Morty
- The Unofficial Guide to Earth's Stupidest Show
- By: Matt Brady
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Blending biology, chemistry, and physics basics with accessible - and witty-prose, The Science of Rick and Morty equips you with the scientific foundation to thoroughly understand Rick's experiments from the show, such as how we can use dark matter and energy, just what is intelligence hacking, and whether or not you can really control a cockroach's nervous system with your tongue. Perfect for longtime and new fans of the show, this is the ultimate segue into discovering more about our complicated and fascinating universe.
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Some good science in here?
- By Darin Harbert on 02-06-20
By: Matt Brady
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A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
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an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
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Biomimicry
- Innovation Inspired by Nature
- By: Janine M. Benyus
- Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Biomimicry is rapidly transforming life on earth. Biomimics study nature's most successful ideas over the past 3.5 million years, and adapt them for human use. The results are revolutionizing how materials are invented and how we compute, heal ourselves, repair the environment, and feed the world. Janine Benyus takes listeners into the lab and in the field with maverick thinkers as they: discover miracle drugs by watching what chimps eat when they're sick; learn how to create by watching spiders weave fibers; and many more examples.
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Dated but good
- By stephen taylor on 09-05-21
By: Janine M. Benyus
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Exoplanets
- Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets, and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System
- By: Michael Summers
- Narrated by: Jon Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than 2,000 exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, remarkable in their variety. Astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space.
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FINALLY, an Attention-Grabbing Planet Book!
- By aaron on 05-11-17
By: Michael Summers
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The Vanishing Face of Gaia
- A Final Warning
- By: James Lovelock
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Vanishing Face of Gaia, British scientist James Lovelock predicts global warming will lead to a Hot Epoch. Lovelock is best known for formulating the controversial Gaia theory in the 1970s, with Ruth Margulis of the University of Massachusetts, which states that organisms interact with and regulate Earth's surface and atmosphere. We ignore this interaction at our peril.
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A New Perspective - A Must Listen - Very Moving
- By Thomas on 01-29-12
By: James Lovelock
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On the Future
- Prospects for Humanity
- By: Martin Rees
- Narrated by: Martin Rees, Samuel West
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes - good and bad - are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and best-selling author Martin Rees argues that humanity’s prospects depend on our taking a very different approach to planning for tomorrow.
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Science, the future, and great wisdom
- By Philomath on 10-29-18
By: Martin Rees
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How to Clone a Mammoth
- The Science of De-Extinction
- By: Beth Shapiro
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? The science says yes. In How to Clone a Mammoth, Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist and pioneer in "ancient DNA" research, walks listeners through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction.
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Very Readable Take on a Complex Subject
- By John on 04-26-15
By: Beth Shapiro
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Teaming with Nutrients
- The Organic Gardener's Guide to Optimizing Plant Nutrition
- By: Jeff Lowenfels, Wayne Lewis
- Narrated by: Chris Lutkin
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Most gardeners realize that plants need to be fed but know little to nothing about the nature of the nutrients involved or how they get into plants. Teaming with Nutrients explains how nutrients move into plants and what both macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients do once inside. It shows organic gardeners how to provide these essentials.
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Wow, narrator can't even pronounce nucleus.
- By Jerry Bradley on 06-25-20
By: Jeff Lowenfels, and others
What listeners say about Life's Engines
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Thomas Davidson
- 06-15-18
Full of motherhood statements
I had high hopes for this book but was disappointed. About 80% of the information would be known to anyone with a technical background or someone who listens to scientific podcasts. The 20% extension of knowledge on microbes I was seeking was buried in a history lesson making it harder to follow. I don’t know why science is always talked about
If you like the history of how
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- nattre
- 10-23-20
if ur hot for microbes...
Actually, if you’re already hot for them, this book might be a bit too basic. The narrator was not my cup of tea. Do yourself a favor and listen to the sample prior to purchasing the audiobook. Last few chapters were worth the listen.
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- Kyle Thomas
- 11-28-17
this is a wonderfully informative composition
This book delivers great knowledge for a fine story. This is far cheaper than a college-course. It is still better.
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- Dennis
- 12-20-16
loved it
loved it. very informative. can surely recommend this one.
no need for a microbiological background although it might help
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- B
- 10-05-15
Great book to appreciate microbes
This was a great listen. The narration was on point, but more importantly, you'll gain a much deeper appreciation for the microbial world that you inhabit. The build up to the profound question of, "are we alone," was well done and offered seemingly viable theories and ideas.
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1 person found this helpful
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- monica scott
- 02-28-16
An enjoyable educational experience!
What did you love best about Life's Engines?
Falkowski turned the detail-oriented subject into an understandable historical timeline that read like a journey.
Have you listened to any of Nick Sullivan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
My first book with Nick Sullivan performance, but look forward to listening to this reader again.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Enjoyed every word.
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- John
- 11-11-16
An approachable journey through time
This book was a really enjoyable experience. I liked how Paul made the complicated subject more approachable by discarding some of the jargon that keeps people away and replacing it with either new more colonial terms or defining his own down to earth jargon for the sake of the book. I have a bit of background in this subject and I have to say that I not only learned new things, but also leaned a new way to describe the concepts that I knew coming in.
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3 people found this helpful
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- wbiro
- 10-25-17
Good Tour Through All the Related Fields
What I like about the subject of the origins of life is that it takes you through many various fields of science, from cosmology to geology to paleontology to physics to chemistry to biology and even into their various sub-fields, and this book did not disappoint.
It is a long book, and the author spends a lot of time in each field, where you may forget it is an Origins of Life book while you are being immersed in geology or paleontology or chemistry or biology. On a small point, the author gives a lot of the standard anecdotes (experiments and encounters) (I found that one must read a foreign author for experiments and anecdotes that stray from the usual British/American stories). If you’re new to reading in this field, then the anecdotes will all be new, and still delightful. If you’ve heard them all before, you’ll be looking for a fresh presentation (not parroted). You get a mix here, but even after listening to many others, this was a good experience – I picked up a few new things, which is all I really hope for any more. If your new to the field, you’ll pick up a lot, so it is a good introductory book - it will carry you away.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-29-17
Read the title
Engaging. Well written. Made me wish I could study biology deeper than I have time for.
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- firmgrip
- 11-16-15
If your a human...this should be mandatory.
Enjoyed this so much I'm going in for a second helping. 10/10 brilliant on all levels.
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4 people found this helpful