Physics World Book of the Year

A Financial Times, Sunday Times, and Telegraph Best Science Book of the Year

What is life? For generations, scientists have struggled to make sense of this fundamental question, for life really does look like magic: even a humble bacterium accomplishes things so dazzling that no human engineer can match it. Huge advances in molecular biology over the past few decades have served only to deepen the mystery.

In this penetrating and wide-ranging book, world-renowned physicist and science communicator Paul Davies searches for answers in a field so new and fast-moving that it lacks a name; it is a domain where biology, computing, logic, chemistry, quantum physics, and nanotechnology intersect. At the heart of these diverse fields, Davies explains, is the concept of information: a quantity which has the power to unify biology with physics, transform technology and medicine, and force us to fundamentally reconsider what it means to be alive -- even illuminating the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe.

From life's murky origins to the microscopic engines that run the cells of our bodies, The Demon in the Machine journeys across an astounding landscape of cutting-edge science. Weaving together cancer and consciousness, two-headed worms and bird navigation, Davies reveals how biological organisms garner and process information to conjure order out of chaos, opening a window onto the secret of life itself.

• We started tracking this book on November 5, 2019.
• This book was $10.49 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 54 times in the past 1,923 days.
• The current price of this book is $14.72 last checked 14 hours ago.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past 90 days is $13.49.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $12.99.
• The lowest price to date was $10.49 last reached on June 30, 2020.
• This book has been $10.49 3 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $17.99 last reached on December 10, 2024.
• This book has been $17.99 one time since we started tracking it.

• Medical eBooks

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 249 Pages
• File Size: 4,745 KB