Creation explores the birth of life on Earth, and explains that we’re on the cusp of perhaps the most significant event in human history – the invention of synthetic life.
All living organisms on the planet today can trace their lineage back to a single cell somewhere in the primordial ocean – the Last Universal Common Ancestor – and that single animating spark has passed in unbroken sequence through each being for the last four billion years. However, soon, this will cease to be true. Scientists will create the conditions in which new life, a second spark, will ignite. It will be the beginning of a technological revolution that will dictate the shape of the 21st century. This is the astonishing story of our inevitable journey towards the second genesis.
‘One of the most eloquent and genuinely thoughtful books on science over the past decade ... You will not find a better, more balanced or up-to-date take on either the origin of life or synthetic biology ... Essential reading for anyone interested in the coming revolution, which could indeed rival the Industrial Revolution or the internet.’ The Observer
‘A witty, engaging and eye-opening explanation of the basic units of life, right back to our common ancestors and on to their incredible synthetic future. The mark of a really good science book, it shows that the questions we still have are just as exciting as the answers we already know.’ Dara O Briain
‘However, Dr Adam Rutherford (as he is at pains to point out, no relation to Ernest) is one of the best explicators of any science that I have read – in a field of good explicators, which is increasingly crowded. So even if you don't have a thing for biology, you will still find this entertaining; you will also find it informative and perhaps, ultimately, scary.’ The Guardian