| Description |
ix., 181 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
|
regular print |
| Contents |
1. The galactic roulette -- 2. Primordial leftovers -- 3. The microbial menagerie -- 4. The record of catastrophe -- 5. The sky falls in -- 6. Supernova fry up -- 7. Fire from below -- 8. Intelligent stupidity -- 9. The world is not enough? |
| Summary |
"Impossible Extinction is about a remarkable journey. Every 225 million years the Earth, and all the life on it, completes one revolution around our Milky Way Galaxy. During this journey life is influenced by calamitous changes. Comets and asteroids strike the surface of the Earth, stars explode nearby, enormous volcanoes erupt and, more recently, humans litter the planet with waste. Many animals and plants become extinct during voyage, but humble microbes, simple creatures made of a single cell, survive this journey. This book takes a tour of the microbial world, from the coldest and deepest places on Earth to the hottest and highest, and witnesses some of the most catastrophic events that life can face. This remarkable story explains for the general reader how microbes have survived on Earth for over three billion years."--BOOK JACKET |
| Notes |
Includes index |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Publisher description and table of contents available electronically on the Internet |
|
English |
| Subject |
Microbial ecology.
|
|
Extreme environments -- Microbiology.
|
|
Extinction (Biology)
|
|
Catastrophes (Geology)
|
|
Exobiology.
|
|
Environmental Microbiology.
|
|
Astronomy.
|
|
Disasters.
|
|
Exobiology.
|
| LC no. |
2002074046 |
| ISBN |
0521817366 hardback |
|
