Books of Distinction

In just a half century, humanity has made an astounding leap in its understanding of life. Now, one of the giants of biological science, Christian de Duve, discusses what we've learned in this half century, ranging from the tiniest cells to the future of our species and of life itself.

With wide-ranging erudition, De Duve takes us on a dazzling tour of the biological world, beginning with the invisible workings of the cell, the area in which he won his Nobel Prize. He describes how the first cells may have arisen and suggests that they may have been like the organisms that exist today near deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Contrary to many scientists, he argues that life was bound to arise and that it probably only took millennia--maybe tens of thousands of years--to move from rough building blocks to the first organisms possessing the basic properties of life. With equal authority, De Duve examines topics such as the evolution of humans, the origins of consciousness, the development of language, the birth of science, and the origin of emotion, morality, altruism, and love. He concludes with his conjectures on the future of humanity--for instance, we may evolve, perhaps via genetic engineering, into a new species--and he shares his personal thoughts about God and immortality.

In Life Evolving, one of our most eminent scientists sums up what he has learned about the nature of life and our place in the universe. An extraordinarily wise and humane volume, it will fascinate readers curious about the world around them and about the impact of science on philosophy and religion.

Book of Distinction: 2007
Publication Date: October 2002
ISBN: 9780195156058 (0195156056), $40.00, Hardcover
Illustrations: no
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Author Info

Christian de Duve (born October 2, 1917) is an internationally acclaimed cytologist and biochemist. De Duve was born in Thames-Ditton, Britain, as a son of Belgian emigrants. They returned to Belgium in 1920. De Duve was educated by the Jesuits at Onze-Lieve-Vrouwecollege in Antwerp, before studying at the Catholic University of Leuven, where he became professor in 1947. He specialized in subcellular biochemistry and cell biology and discovered the peroxisomes and the lysosomes, cell organelles. Amongst other subjects, de Duve studied the distribution of enzymes in rat liver cells using rate-zonal centrifugation. De Duve's work on cell fractionation provided an insight into the function of cell structures. In 1960, De Duve was awarded the Francqui Prize for Biological and Medical Sciences. He was awarded the shared Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1974, together with Albert Claude and George E. Palade, for describing the structure and function of organelles in biological cells. His later years have been mostly devoted to origin of life studies, which he admits is still a speculative field (see thioester). His work has contributed to the emerging consensus that the endosymbiotic theory is correct; this idea proposes that Mitochondrion, chloroplasts, and perhaps other organelles of eukaryotic cells originated as Prokaryote endosymbionts, which came to live inside eukaryotic cells. De Duve proposes that peroxisomes may have been the first endosymbionts, which allowed cells to withstand the growing amounts of free molecular oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. Since peroxisomes have no DNA of their own, this proposal has much less evidence than the similar claims for mitochondria and chloroplasts.

Editorial Reviews



	Life Evolving Molecules, Mind, and Meaning De Duve, Christian List Price: $40.00 Available at the Publisher's website Book Information / Details Author Info Editorial Reviews Press Release In just a half century, humanity has made an astounding leap in its understanding of life. Now, one of the giants of biological science, Christian de Duve, discusses what we've learned in this half century, ranging from the tiniest cells to the future of our species and of life itself. With wide-ranging erudition, De Duve takes us on a dazzling tour of the biological world, beginning with the invisible workings of the cell, the area in which he won his Nobel Prize. He describes how the first cells may have arisen and suggests that they may have been like the organisms that exist today near deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Contrary to many scientists, he argues that life was bound to arise and that it probably only took millennia--maybe tens of thousands of years--to move from rough building blocks to the first organisms possessing the basic properties of life. With equal authority, De Duve examines topics such as the evolution of humans, the origins of consciousness, the development of language, the birth of science, and the origin of emotion, morality, altruism, and love. He concludes with his conjectures on the future of humanity--for instance, we may evolve, perhaps via genetic engineering, into a new species--and he shares his personal thoughts about God and immortality. In Life Evolving, one of our most eminent scientists sums up what he has learned about the nature of life and our place in the universe. An extraordinarily wise and humane volume, it will fascinate readers curious about the world around them and about the impact of science on philosophy and religion. Book of Distinction: 2007 Publication Date: October 2002 ISBN: 9780195156058 (0195156056), $40.00, Hardcover Illustrations: no Publisher: Oxford University Press Author Info Christian de Duve (born October 2, 1917) is an internationally acclaimed cytologist and biochemist. De Duve was born in Thames-Ditton, Britain, as a son of Belgian emigrants. They returned to Belgium in 1920. De Duve was educated by the Jesuits at Onze-Lieve-Vrouwecollege in Antwerp, before studying at the Catholic University of Leuven, where he became professor in 1947. He specialized in subcellular biochemistry and cell biology and discovered the peroxisomes and the lysosomes, cell organelles. Amongst other subjects, de Duve studied the distribution of enzymes in rat liver cells using rate-zonal centrifugation. De Duve's work on cell fractionation provided an insight into the function of cell structures. In 1960, De Duve was awarded the Francqui Prize for Biological and Medical Sciences. He was awarded the shared Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1974, together with Albert Claude and George E. Palade, for describing the structure and function of organelles in biological cells. His later years have been mostly devoted to origin of life studies, which he admits is still a speculative field (see thioester). His work has contributed to the emerging consensus that the endosymbiotic theory is correct; this idea proposes that Mitochondrion, chloroplasts, and perhaps other organelles of eukaryotic cells originated as Prokaryote endosymbionts, which came to live inside eukaryotic cells. De Duve proposes that peroxisomes may have been the first endosymbionts, which allowed cells to withstand the growing amounts of free molecular oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. Since peroxisomes have no DNA of their own, this proposal has much less evidence than the similar claims for mitochondria and chloroplasts. Editorial Reviews no reviews for this title Press Release no press releases for this title
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