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Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-83694-4 — The Biological Universe Wallace Arthur Index More Information

INDEX

Page numbers in italic include illustrations.

55 Cancri e, 241, 251 artiﬁcial intelligence, 39, 318 astrobiology, xi, xiii, 49, 186, 220, acellularity, 51, 215–217, 310 225, 227, 236, 332 Across the Universe, 277 astronomical unit, 138, 143, 153, 231 adaptation, 73, 97 atmosphere adaptive radiation, 50 Earth, 58, 239–242 algae exoplanets, 250–254 brown, 9, 39, 68, 196, 311 Mars and Venus, 242–243 green, 68, 83, 196–197 spectroscopy, 246–250 proto-, 71 Titan, 243–246 red, 68 autonomy (from environment), 19, ALH 84-001, 162 310, 316 Alpha Centauri, 144, 155, 228, 280, Autospermia hypothesis, 135, 174, 298 208 amino acids, 19, 173–174, 212, 237, autotrophy, 71 246 ammonoids, 110, 121 bacteria, 9, 13, 38, 60, 68–69, 75–77, anaerobic metabolism, 76–77, 181, 80–81, 92–94, 105, 175 241 beardworms, 93–94 anatomy, 218 Bell Burnell, Jocelyn, 44, 281 Andromeda, 23–24, 148, 235, 290, Berkeley SETI Research Center, 280 302 Betelgeuse, 29–31, 30, 42, 296, 298 angiosperms, 48 Big Bang, 173, 288 animals Big Ear telescope, 272 on exoplanets, 200–201 bilateral symmetry, 313, 323, 324 origin, 195–199, 198 binary systems, 47, 143, 155, 192 apes, 8, 127, 218 Bio-Region hypothesis, 135, 147, appendages, 98, 322 183–184 archaea, 9, 68, 76, 79–80, 94, 105, biodiversity, 7, 9, 91, 153, 168 175 biogeography, 64 archipelago, 15 bioluminescence, 77, 258 Arecibo message, 262, 275, 276, biomarker, 236 278–279, 281, 298, 330 biomes, 65, 67, 101 arthropods, 93, 105–108 biomineralization, 106, 108

340 Index

biosignatures, 226, 236–238, 249, CHEOPS, 222 252, 299 Chicxulub, 179 biosphere, 55–69, 64,82–83, 91, chimpanzee, 8, 130–131, 220 148–149, 218–219, 308–309 chlorophyll, 73–76, 74, 254 bivalves, 93, 108–110 chloroplasts, 74 blind watchmaker, 133 civilizations, 186–187, 261–265, bonobo, 8 269, 329 brain, 39, 112, 118–119, 134, Cocconi, Giuseppe, 268–271, 273 313–314, 319–323, 327 Common Earth hypothesis, 1, 50, 201 size, 122, 131, 324 consciousness, 124 Breakthrough Initiatives, 279–281, continental drift, 62, 65 330 Copernican biology, 302, 309 Breakthrough Listen, 279 Copernican principle, 292–294, 300, Breakthrough Message, 280, 282 302, 309 Breakthrough Starshot, 228, 280 Copernicus, 27, 287, 293, 332 Breakthrough Watch, 280 coral reefs, 177 prizes, 280 core (Earth’s) broadcasting civilizations, 187, inner, 57 261–265, 282, 317, 327 outer, 57, 171 brown dwarf, 142, 148 coronagraph, 253 buoyancy, 102 Cosmic Call, 277–279 Burgess Shale, 205–206 cosmological principle, 290–292, 302–303 Cambrian explosion, 106, 205 Crab Nebula, 295 Cambrian period, 106, 109, 182, craters, 47, 61–62 197, 198, 206 crows, intelligence of, 122, 124–126, carbohydrates, 19, 108, 116 220, 323 carbon, 209–214 crust (Earth’s), 61–64, 64 carbon chauvinism, 203, 213–214 Cryogenian period, 69, 180–181, carbon dioxide, 73–75, 151, 239, 198, 199 241, 250 cryovolcanoes, 304 absorption spectrum, 248 crystal, 211 carbon monoxide, 42, 249–250 cultural inheritance, 328 carbonate–silicate cycle, 170–171 Curiosity rover, 151, 263 cartilage, 112 cyanide, 241, 245 Cassini, 164–165, 263 Cyanobacteria, 68, 76–77, 82, 181 Cell Centrality hypothesis, 203, 217 cytoplasm, 102, 214–217 cellulose, 116 cytoskeleton, 103–104 cephalization, 313–317 cephalopods, 93, 109–110, 121–124, dark matter, 19, 24, 26, 43, 207 322–323 Darwin, Charles, 4, 15, 17, 65, 91, 97 Chelyabinsk, 178–179, 195 deﬁnition of life, 10–13, 38–40, 217, chemosynthesis, 77–79, 94, 148 308, 310

Index 341

developmental stages, 215–217 exocomets, 146 dexterity, 322–323, 324 exomoons, 146 differentiation (of planets), 304 exoplanets. See under individual disease, 329 exoplanet names disparity, 4, 205 naming system, 229 DNA, 18, 21, 199, 210–213, 212, 246 exoskeleton, 105–108 dolphins, 129 extinction. See mass extinction domains of life, 9–10 Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), Doppler effect, 227, 270 249 Drake, Frank, 186–194, 263, 271, extremophiles, 20, 93–95, 175, 200 275, 279, 281 eyes, 122, 134, 259–260, 266, 322 Drake equation, 186–194, 263 fast radio bursts (FRBs), 273, 296 earthworms, 90–92, 116, 319 Fermi paradox, 297 eccentricity, orbital, 145–146, 156, fingers, 112, 122, 322–323 225–228 first contact, 329–332 echinoderms, 98, 132–133, 197, 321, flare stars, 172, 192, 228, 279 323 food chain, 79–80, 90, 305 ecological niche, 87–88, 89,91 food web, 75, 80–83, 90, 305 ecosystems, 77–81, 177, 305 fossil record, 106, 121, 179, 182, 197 Ediacaran biota, 182, 199 frequency, radio, 257 Ediacaran period, 198, 199 fungi, 9, 91, 196, 312 Einstein, Albert, 255, 329, 332 fusion, nuclear, 47, 141–142, 157, 207 electrons, 173, 207, 213–214, 248, 270 Gaia, 318 elephants, 127–129 galactic habitable zone, 166, 302 embryo, 112, 215, 217 galaxies Enceladus, 20, 95, 164–166, 218 elliptical, 24, 148, 287 endoskeleton, 107, 111 irregular, 287 energy, 75, 77–79, 92, 218, 305–306 spiral, 23–24, 27–28, 286, 289, and entropy, 82–83 294 in ecosystems, 79–82 Galileo (spacecraft), 165 spectroscopy, 248–249 Galileo Galilei, 22 entropy, 82–83, 305–306 gamma rays, 255, 269, 296 enzymes, 237 genetic code, 212 Eukarya, 9, 68, 79, 120 geology, xiii, 62, 304–305 eukaryotic cell, 9, 103, 159, 311 germanium, 309 Europa, 20, 95, 164–166, 218 glaciation, 180–181, 198 European Space Agency, 139, 277 Gliese 581, 278–279 evolutionary process, 13, 99, 119, glucose, 73–79, 116 134, 170, 195–201, 206, 326 gorilla, 8, 127, 130 evolutionary tree, 4, 6, 8, 40, 119, Gould, Stephen Jay, 205–206 121 gravitational waves, 296

342 Index

gravity, 53, 101–103, 111, 116–117, James Webb Space Telescope, 223, 143, 227 253 Great Oxygenation Event, 68, 76–77, jellyfish, 39, 115, 118, 132, 313, 323 181–182, 241, 297 greenhouse effect, 161–162, 164, 171 Kepler, Johannes, 27 greenhouse gas, 181 Kepler-186 f, 225–226, 229, 232, 251 Kepler-452 b, 232–234, 297 HabEx, 235, 249, 252, 254 Kepler-7 b, 224 habitability factors, 168–185 Kepler-90, 47 habitable zone, 150–167, 156, 185 Kepler Space Telescope, 33, 251 habitats, 51, 65–66, 84–100 King Carbon hypothesis, 203, 214, 309 Harvard spectral classification, 141 kingdoms of life, 9–10 Hawking, Stephen, 187, 279, 330 heritable variation, 307, 316 Lake Vostok, 59 Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, 46 language, 118, 323 heterotrophy, 70–71 Laniakea, 290 historical contingency, 205, 209 laser, 279 horizontal gene transfer, 5, 6,41 LGM signal, 44, 281 hot Jupiters, 44, 225, 238, 250 lichen, 14, 82, 85 Hubble Space Telescope, 58, 234 life Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, 286 definition, 10–13, 38–40, 217, Huge hypothesis, 283, 314–317, 315, 308, 310 319, 327–329 origin, 19–21, 40, 49, 69, 94, Huxley, Thomas Henry, 317 173–175 Huygens, 164 life cycles, 214–215 hybridization, 5–6, 6,41 light years, 25, 32, 138, 234, 288 hydrocarbons, 151, 245 lignin, 116 hydrothermal vents, 77–80, 92–96, limestone, 106, 170 173, 176 Linnaeus, Carl, 7, 9 liquid, 150–153 ice ages, 180–181 Lone Signal, 278–279 impactors, 61, 179 luminosity, 45, 46,140–142, 157–160 infrared, 249, 252–253 LUVOIR, 235, 249, 252, 254 inheritance, 10, 38 insects, 14, 66, 70, 90, 105–107, 217, magnetic field, 57, 145, 171–172, 292 258, 311, 314 main sequence, 45, 46 intelligence, 118–134, 324 mammals extraterrestrial, 268–282 evolutionary radiation, 50, 128 intelligent designer, 318 intelligence of, 121–122 intelligent universe, 318–333 miniature, 321 interstellar medium, 36–37, 42–44, mirror mark test, 126–129 270 phylogeny, 128 inverse square law, 298 Marconi, Guglielmo, 220, 261

Index 343

Mariana Trench, 56, 63 Moon, 47, 61, 99, 169, 172, 237, 243 Mariner, 242 moons, 47, 99, 139, 145–147, Mars 163–166 atmosphere, 145, 242–243 morphology, 17, 218, 237 habitable zone, 154 Morrison, Philip, 268 life on, 160–163 Morse code, 266, 274 meteorites from, 232 Morse message, 274 mass extinction, 26, 69, 110, Mosaic hypothesis, 1, 49, 174, 191 179–183, 197, 205 mutation, 15, 18 Maxwell, James Clerk, 255, 260 mediocrity principle, 309 NASA, 139, 164, 225, 235, 254, 286 membranes, 309–310 natural selection, 10–11, 15–19, autonomy, 309–310 132, 184, 206, 225, 307–309, deﬁning life, 12 313, 325 extraterrestrial life, 217 and intelligence, 134 photosynthesis, 74 nautiloids, 121 Mendel’s laws, 307 nervous system, 39, 324 metabolism, 19, 38, 76–77, 151–152, neutral theory, 16 305, 309 neutron star, 44, 281 anaerobic, 76–77, 181, 241 niche, ecological, 87–88, 89,91 metallicity, 35–37, 166, 207–208 nitrogen, 37, 48, 58, 106, 173, 207, meteorite, 19, 62, 162, 179, 232, 237 210, 239, 242, 244–245, 249 methane nucleic acids, 19, 116, 203 absorption spectrum, 248 nucleosynthesis, primordial, 35, 207 exoplanet atmospheres, 250 nucleus greenhouse gas, 241 of atom, 270 Mars, 243–246 of cell, 214 Titan, 243–246 nutrients, 75, 78 with oxygen, 250–251 microbial life, 49, 187–195, 200, observable universe, 283, 287–290, 222, 263–265 293–294, 315, 328 microﬁlaments, 103 Occam’s razor, 20–21, 40 microtubules, 103–104 octopus microwaves, 256–257, 269 fossil, 320 Milky Way, 22–37, 25 intelligence, 124, 322 Milner, Yuri, 279 shell, 110 mirror mark test, 125–129 olivine, 163 mobility (of organisms), 97, 110, 171, orang-utan, 3, 7, 8, 130 180, 219, 312–313, 316, 321 orbits, 27, 139, 143–146, 154–156, modulation, 266 156, 225, 230–233 molluscs, 93 eccentric, 145–146, 156, 225–228 intelligence, 122–124 origin of life, 19–21, 40, 49, 69, 94, shell, 102, 108–112 173–175

344 Index

Origin of Species,4,15 Project Ozma, 271–272 Orion proteins, 19, 106, 112, 116, 212, arm, 31–34 245–246 constellation, 29–33, 30 proton, 43, 270 Orion Nebula, 30 protoplanetary disc, 139, 166, 241 ‘Oumuamua, 146, 237 protostar, 190 oxygen, 69, 73, 76–77, 98, 171, 181, Proxima b, 144, 155, 227–229, 280 219–220, 239–241, 243, 249–254 pulsar, 44, 272, 281, 296 ozone layer, 58–59, 64, 171, 240–241, 258 quartz, 211 ozone–oxygen cycle, 240 radial velocity, 190, 224, 227 Pangea, 67–68 radio signals, 39, 220, 233, 257, Panspermia hypothesis, 1, 19–21, 265–267, 279, 320 50, 231 Rare Earth, 48, 168 parallel evolutionary radiations, 219 Rare Earth hypothesis, 1, 48, 196, 201 Parallel Places hypothesis, 53, 100, red dwarf, 27, 45, 172, 184, 191, 219 226–230 periodic table, 213 red edge, 254 Perseus redshift, 287 arm, 28, 33 religious fundamentalism, 333 constellation, 33 reproduction, 10, 19, 38, 211–212, photosphere, 140, 232 308–309 photosynthesis, 68, 72–75, 74, 79, sexual, 17–18 218–219, 258 Resilience of Life hypothesis, 135, anoxygenic, 76 177, 182 photosystems, 74–75, 74 rhizosphere, 91 physiology, 218 Rigel, 29, 30,42 pigment, 76 RNA, 212 planetary protection, 331 Rodinia, 68 planets. See under individual planet names Sagan, Carl, 270, 275, 287, 306 plants, 9, 49, 67–68, 90–91, 105, sample size, 220, 238, 301, 306, 321 311–313 scala naturae, 195 origin, 196–197 science denial, 333 plasma, 150, 270 science ﬁction, 42, 71, 217, 270, 318 plate tectonics, 62–63, 65, 148, 169, seasonality, 169, 176 171, 304 self-awareness, 118–119 Pleiades, 30 sense organs, 313, 321 pressure Sequence Speciﬁcity hypothesis, atmospheric, 242–243 203, 211 hydrothermal vents, 93–95, 153 SETI, 39, 187, 268–282, 332 primates, 100, 113, 121–122, SETL, 39 127–129, 322–323 shadow biosphere, 40

Index 345

shadow life, 40 thermodynamics, laws of, 82, 305 shells, 108–112 tholin, 245 silicon, 210–214, 309 tidal cycle, 96–97, 176 skeletons, 101–117 tidal heating, 165 alternative, 115–117 tidal locking, 146–147, 177, 183–185, cytoskeleton, 103–104 185, 224, 226, 228, 326 endoskeleton, 107, 111 Titan, 48, 100, 139, 151, 164, exoskeleton, 105–108 243–246 vertebrate, 112–115, 114 Titanic, 262 slime moulds, 51, 215–217 tool Sloan Great Wall, 291 making, 118 smokers (black and white), 78 use, 38–39, 118, 122 Snowball Earth, 180, 199 topography, 53, 78, 99 sodium, 250, 297, 304 trade-off, evolutionary, 133 soil, 73–75, 91–92 transit method, 190, 227, 252 solar cycle, 172 TRAPPIST-1, 228–232, 230, 251 solar system, xii, 20–21, 25, 26, 61, tree of life, 3–10, 6, 8,40–42, 50–51, 137–140, 160, 184, 237–240, 169, 183 293, 302 trifﬁds, 71, 312 space telescopes, 33, 222–223, 235, Trillion Intelligences hypothesis, 251–254, 285–287 283, 328 spectroscopy, 246–249, 248 trilobites, 26, 105, 113, 197 spin–orbit resonance, 147, 184 trophic levels, 81 sponges, 39, 71, 115, 118, 197, tube worms, 93 312–313, 319 tundra, 101, 176 star cluster, 30, 298 stellar halo, 23–27, 25, 166, 302 Ubiquitous Skeletons hypothesis, stromatolites, 68 53, 117 sugars, 19, 75, 173–174, 237 ultraviolet, 58, 255–258 sulphur bacteria, 75–77 universe supernova, 35, 166, 208, 295–297 biological, 300–317 intelligent, 318–333 tardigrades, 11–12, 21, 84–87, 231 observable, 283, 287–290, Teen Age Message, 277 293–294, 315, 328 temperature, 12, 56, 88, 171 physical, 285–299 hydrothermal vents, 78–79, 93, 95 Unnecessary Intelligence planets, 145, 148, 151, 153, 161, hypothesis, 53, 134 164, 226, 241 stars, 29, 43, 45, 46, 140, 232 variation, 10, 17–19, 38 tentacles, 322–323 Venera 9, 151 Terraspermia hypothesis, 1, 20–21, Venus, 137, 145, 151, 161, 171, 173–174 242–243 TESS, 222, 234, 251 Very Large Telescope (VLT), 253 tetrapods, 114 Viking missions, 161–162

346 Index

virus, 5, 216–217 waterworlds, 99 visible light, 248, 252, 255–259 Watt, James, 297 volcanoes, 170, 304 wavelength, 257 Voyager 1, 263, 287, 298 WIMP, 43 Woese, Carl, 9 Wallace, Alfred Russel, 64 wood (tissue), 102, 116–117 Wallace’s realms, 64 World Ocean, 65, 101 water wormhole, 329 as solvent, 151 Wow signal, 272, 278 liquid, 93, 99, 152, 163 vapour, 239–241, 250 x-rays, 18, 228, 256, 258