The origins of life : from the birth of life to the origin of language / John Maynard Smith and Eörs Szathmáry.

Includes bibliographies and index.

Life and information -- The major transitions -- From chemistry to heredity -- From the RNA world to the modern world -- From heredity to simple cells -- The origin of eukaryotic cells -- The origin of sex -- Genetic conflict -- Living together -- The evolution of many-celled organisms -- Animal societies -- From animal societies to human societies -- The origin of language.

In The Origins of Life, Maynard Smith and Szathmáry have completely rewritten their earlier book, The Major Transitions in Evolution, to bring their ideas to a wider audience of general readers. Here is a brilliant, original picture of how life evolved on earth, focusing primarily on six major transitionsdramatic breakthroughs in the way that information was passed between generations. The authors offer illuminating explorations of the origin of life itself, the arrival of the first cells with nuclei, the first reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperative animal societies, and the birth of language. The Origins of Life represents the thinking of two leading scientists on questions that engage us all: how life began and how it gradually evolved from tiny invisible cells into whales and trees and human beings. - Publisher.

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