Our Cosmic Origins: From the Big Bang to the Emergence of Life and Intelligence

Our Cosmic Origins traces the remarkable story of the emergence of life and intelligence right through the complex evolutionary history of the Universe.Armand Delsemme deftly weaves together cosmology, astronomy, geology, biochemistry and biology in this wide-ranging book. He shows us how the first elements formed in the early Universe, how stars and planets were born, how the first bacteria evolved, and how the coupling of the eye and brain led to the development of self-awareness and, ultimately, intelligence. He concludes with the tantalising suggestion that the existence of alien life and intelligence is likely, and examines our chances of contacting it.This provocative book provides the general reader with an accessible and wide-ranging account of how life evolved on Earth and how likely it is to exist elsewhere in the Universe.