What Remains to Be Discovered: Mapping the Secrets of the Universe, the Origins of Life, and the Future of the Human Race [Paperback]

What wonders of science will the 21st century bring? John Maddox takes up this challenge by describing precisely what remains to be discovered. Building on twenty-three years' experience at the helm of the world's preeminent science magazine,Nature,Maddox identifies new areas of discovery in physics, biology, health, intelligence, and global catastrophe. As Maddox shows, the rate of scientific discovery will continue to accelerate, hurtling us toward ever more exciting discoveries in the next century.Sir John Maddon,Editor Emeritus ofNature,was knighted for services to science in 1994 and made Fellow of the American Academy of Sciences in 1996. He was editor ofNaturefor twenty-three years, 1966-1973 and 1980-1995. He lives in London and Wales.
Contents

Preface

Introduction: The River of Discovery

PART ONE: MATTER

...in which the origins of the universe and of matter are explored, as well as the prospects for a theory of everything

1 Beginning Without End

2 Simplicity Buried in Complexity

3 Everything at Once

PART TWO: LIFE

...in which the origin of life is considered as well as biological machinery, the riddle of the selfish gene, and the next human genome projects

4 The Likelihood of Life

5 Cooperation and Autonomy

6 The Genome and Its Faults

7 Nature's Family Tree

PART THREE: OUR WORLD

...in which the nature of our brain is explained, as well as our greatest invention, mathematics, and how we will avoid the catastrophes of the future

8 Thinking Machines

9 The Numbers Game

10 Avoidance of Calamity

Conclusion: What Lies Ahead

Notes

IndexPaul RaeburnThe New York Times Book Review[Maddox] was more than an observer of the scientific enterprise -- he helped shape it. Maddox makes a persuasive case that science has far to go.Michael PakenhamThe Baltimore Sun