num_pages: 288
description: The cells in our bodies consist of molecules made up of the same carbon oxygen and hydrogen atoms found in air and rocks. But molecules such as water and sugar are not alive. So how do our cells--assemblies of otherwise dead molecules--come to life and together constitute a living being? In Life's Ratchet physicist Peter M. Hoffmann locates the answer to this age-old question at the nanoscale. The complex molecules of our cells can rightfully be called molecular machines or nanobots; these machines unlike any other work autonomously to create order out of chaos. Tiny electrical motors turn electrical voltage into motion tiny factories custom-build other molecular machines and mechanical machines twist untwist separate and package strands of DNA. The cell is like a city--an unfathomable complex collection of molecular worker bees working together to create something greater than themselves. Life Hoffman argues emerges from the random motions of atoms filtered through the sophisticated structures of our evolved machinery. We are essentially giant assemblies of interacting nanoscale machines; machines more amazing than can be found in any science fiction novel. Incredibly the molecular machines in our cells function without a mysterious life force nor do they violate any natural laws. Scientists can now prove that life is not supernatural and that it can be fully understood in the context of science. Part history part cutting-edge science part philosophy Life's Ratchet takes us from ancient Greece to the laboratories of modern nanotechnology to tell the story of our quest for the machinery of life.
language: None
title: Life's Ratchet: How Molecular Machines Extract Order from Chaos
publisher: Basic Books