Mark Fellowes - 30-Second Biology: The 50 Most Thought-provoking Theories of Life, Each Explained in Half a Minute

In 30-Second Biology each topic is clearly and concisely presented on one page in a punchy single paragraph: the 30-second theory. For an even quicker overview, there is the 3-second dissection alongside the key facts encompassed in a single sentence. Then the 3-minute synthesis fleshes this out, addressing a thought-provokingly quirky or intriguing aspect of the subject. Each chapter also contains the biography of a pioneer or high achiever in the field people such as Norman Borlaug, the developer of high-yielding, semi-dwarf wheat, who is credited with saving millions from starvation and hailed as the father of the green revolution.

The book begins with Life, a scan of the major groups of living organisms. It then discusses Genes, the blueprint of life, and, in Genes to Organisms, looks at how the information encoded by genes is transformed into the cells and tissues of living organisms. Next Growth & Reproduction are considered, focusing on these processes in plants, animals and bacteria. Energy & Nutrition looks at how energy is converted into life, and how living processes maintain and are maintained within bodies. Finally, the chapters on Evolution and Ecology discuss how life arose, how organisms live together and the peculiar strains placed on these relationships by the phenomenal growth of the human species. It is this dominance that threatens to destabilize everything on the planet; the growth of biology is one reason for it, but understanding how life works and how organisms interact seems to us something intrinsically beautiful. Lets see if that category still exists in 2050.

The impact of climate change and human settlements on the alpine habitat of snow leopards makes them an endangered species.

LIFE

biofilm Self-sufficient community of bacteria in which different species may cooperate, some recycling the wastes of others. Dental plaque is a biofilm.