Future Earth

This book presents a "behind-the-scenes" survey of where scientists see our future. Key scientific concepts are clearly described, from the Theory of Everything - the theory that strives to encompass the entire history of the universe - to the perfect symmetry of DNA - the molecular origin of life. With these fundamental principles as a backcloth, the implicit long-term possibilities and problems are carefully argued. As science rolls back the frontiers of human knowledge, the horizons of what we have yet to discover paradoxically seem as distant as ever. We may know more about the heavens, our planet and ourselves, but are we any nearer to understanding the origins of life, the nature of matter or the mechnaism of consciousness? How soon before we have the means to recreate life in the laboratory, to discover virtually inexhaustible sources of energy, to predict and control hazards of the environment and to defeat killer viruses? Possible answers to such questions are presented within a structure which progressively tightens the focus, from the endless expanse of the universe, down to the intricacies of the human mind.
The key themes are space, earth, body, mind and finally humanity - which poses the key question - are humans replaceable.