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Fitness of the Cosmos for Life : Biochemistry and Fine-Tuning.
Interdisciplinary book for scientists interested in the origin and existence of life in our universe.
| Clasificación: | Libro Electrónico |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Otros Autores: | , , |
| Formato: | Electrónico eBook |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press,
2007.
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| Colección: | Cambridge Astrobiology, 2.
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| Temas: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Texto completo |
Tabla de Contenidos:
- Cover; Half-title; Series-title; Title; Copyright; Contents; Contributors; Foreword: The improbability of life; How did life begin?; Preface; Acknowledgments; Part I The fitness of "fitness": Henderson in context; 1Locating "fitness" and L.J. Henderson; Who was L.J. Henderson?; Locating Henderson's claims; What did Henderson's contemporaries say about his work?; Concluding remarks; Bibliography; 2Revisiting The Fitness of the Environment; References; 3Is fine-tuning remarkable?; The question of divine action; Layered explanation; Is fine-tuning remarkable?; Conclusion: nature as narrative.
- The fitness of the multiverseIf Henderson were alive today: more water wonders; Biogenesis: a damned close-run thing?; Henderson's legacy; References; 7The interconnections between cosmologyand life; Four basic observations; Carbon-based life in the universe; The nature of dark energy; Is the fine-structure constant varying with time?; How rare is extraterrestrial intelligent life?; Acknowledgments; References; 8 Chemistry and sensitivity; Introduction; Fine-tuning in history; Henderson; The legacy of design arguments; Fine-tuning in physics and cosmology; Motivations; Other worlds.
- The mystery of constantsFine-tuning in stars and atoms; What depends on the value of alpha?; Some examples; Fine-tuning in chemistry; Simultaneous variations of constants in chemistry; Some effects of relativity; Sensitivity in networks; Sensitivity in chaotic systems; The world is not enough; References; 9Fitness of the cosmos for the origin and evolution of life:from biochemical fine-tuning to the Anthropic Principle; The boundaries of philosophy, science, and theology; Biochemical fine-tuning and fitness of the cosmos for life; The Weak Anthropic Principle in cosmology and biochemistry.
- A first aspect of convergence: cultural convergenceA second aspect of convergence: convergence at the cosmic level; A third aspect of convergence: the case for convergence in biology; Can convergent pathways of evolution in the cosmos be foreseen?; Conclusion; References; Part III The fitness of the terrestrial environment; 10How biofriendly is the universe?; Introduction; The hallmarks of life; Water and minerals; Organic building blocks; Catalysis; Protein enzymes; Cofactors; Ribozymes; Energy; The central role of ATP; Electron transfers; Coupling mechanisms; Biosynthetic reductions.