Falkowski, Paul G., <br/><br/>
Life's engines :  how microbes made Earth habitable / 
Paul G. Falkowski. 
 - 1 online resource (x, 205 pages) :  illustrations 
 - Science essentials .
 - Science essentials (National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)) .
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-189) and index. 
<br/><br/>The missing microbes -- Meet the microbes -- The world before time -- Life's little engines -- Supercharging the engines -- Protecting the core genes -- Cell mates -- Supersizing in wonderland -- The fragile species -- The tinkerers -- Microbes on Mars and butterflies on Venus? 
<br/><br/> For almost four billion years, microbes had the primordial oceans all to themselves. The stewards of Earth, these organisms transformed the chemistry of our planet to make it habitable for plants, animals, and us. Life's Engines takes readers deep into the microscopic world to explore how these marvelous creatures made life on Earth possible-and how human life today would cease to exist without them. Paul Falkowski looks "under the hood" of microbes to find the engines of life, the actual working parts that do the biochemical heavy lifting for every living organism on Earth. With insight and humor, he explains how these miniature engines are built-and how they have been appropriated by and assembled like Lego sets within every creature that walks, swims, or flies. Falkowski shows how evolution works to maintain this core machinery of life, and how we and other animals are veritable conglomerations of microbes. A vibrantly entertaining book about the microbes that support our very existence, Life's Engines will inspire wonder about these elegantly complex nanomachines that have driven life since its origin. It also issues a timely warning about the dangers of tinkering with that machinery to make it more "efficient" at meeting the ever-growing demands of humans in the coming century. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>9781400865727 1400865727 
<br/><br/><label>Standard No.: </label>99967056188 
<br/><br/><label>Source: </label>1DFB8000-E2F5-4E10-9340-927031D5061D  OverDrive, Inc.  http://www.overdrive.com 22573/ctvc63d3c  JSTOR 9452717  IEEE 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Microorganisms--Evolution.<br/>Bacteria--Evolution.<br/>Microbial genetics.<br/>Life (Biology)<br/>Genetics, Microbial<br/>Bacteria<br/>Biological Phenomena<br/>Micro-organismes--�Evolution.<br/>Bact�eries--�Evolution.<br/>G�en�etique microbienne.<br/>Vie (Biologie)<br/>Bact�eries.<br/>SCIENCE--Life Sciences--Biology.<br/>SCIENCE--Life Sciences--Microbiology.<br/>NATURE--Ecology.<br/>Bacteria--Evolution.<br/>Life (Biology)<br/>Microbial genetics.<br/>Microorganisms--Evolution.
<br/><br/><label>Index Terms--Genre/Form: </label><br/>Electronic books.<br/>Electronic books.
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>QR13  / .F35 2015eb 
<br/><br/><label>Dewey Class. No.: </label>579 
<br/><br/><label>National Library of Medicine Call No.: </label>QW 51