Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS vii
3. Introduction 1
4. PART ONE. Primordial Science
5. 1. The Biggest Question 11
6. 2. A Soviet Free Thinker 39
7. 3. Creation in a Test Tube 57
8. PART TWO. Strange Objects
9. 4. The DNA Revolution 75
10. 5. Crystal Clear 91
11. 6. The Schism 107
12. PART THREE. Scattered, Divided, Leaderless
13. 7. The Other Long Molecule 133
14. 8. Rise of the Replicators 147
15. 9. The Blobs 163
16. 10. The Need for Power 179
17. 11. Born in the Depths 199
18. PART FOUR. Reunification
19. 12. Mirrors 223
20. 13. Return of the Blobs 239
21. 14. Just Messy Enough 255
22. Epilogue: The Meaning of Life 281
23. Acknowledgements 297
24. Bibliography 299
25. Notes 303
26. Index 350