Living and Non-living: In Search of the Definition of Life

How to distinguish the living from the non-living? Where to draw the line between them? At first glance, these are children's questions. And yet, for many centuries, scientists and philosophers have been unable to arrive at a satisfactory answer for all. This problem — what is life — is the focus of Karl Zimmer's new book. The author believes that there is no other field of human knowledge that has been given so many definitions. But is it possible to find that one single and undoubtedly correct answer? After all, there are countless manifestations of life! And at the same time, can a virus be considered living? What about a red blood cell or an organelle? Is a fertilized egg alive? Can we declare someone dead if their brain has died but their body is still functioning? Dark questions! A brilliant science communicator, already well-known to the Russian-speaking audience, invites the reader to yet another feast of scientific thought. So, did the author manage to find an answer, did he achieve his goal? We are in for truly intriguing narration!