Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origins

Today I bring to you Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life’s Origins by Robert M. Hazen. 

Creationists always think they can stick it to evolutionary biologists by going “haha, you can’t explain how life came into existence”.  Well, quite frankly, that is not the business we are in. Evolutionary biologists think about how life has changed over time. But, that doesn’t mean an evolutionary biologist should remain uneducated about the origins of life, which is why I decided to read this book.

Hazen is an astrobiologist in the middle of the current research investigating how life arose on earth. This book is in some ways a personal account about Hazen’s life and his personal quest, along with his colleagues, to figure out how life came to exist. He touches on several different aspects of origins research. He mentions the early work of Urey and Miller, the two scientists who really pioneered origins research. He talks about the competing theories of where life began, at the ocean’s surface with waves crashing against rocks in the presence of violent early atmosphere, or in the depths of the ocean, under extreme pressures at hydrothermal vents.  He ends with talking about how self-replication might have arisen, with plenty other topics in between.

Overall, this book was O.K. I certainly leave feeling more informed about origins research. I also like how he made this book personal to his experiences. A couple things I didn’t like. One was the technicality of the book. While I could understand it pretty readily due to my background in science, I have concerns that someone from the general public might have a hard time with it. The second, he seems to be an apologist to the religious. Even though he seems against intelligent design, on page 80 of the book he states “Isn’t it more satisfying to believe in a God who created the whole shebang from the outset—a God of natural laws who stepped back and doesn’t meddle in our affairs?” Why even evoke God if there are natural laws that explain the observations? Just stick to the science, man!!

Overall, this is a good read to start with if you want to begin to understand origins research. I just wish the author had kept the science and religion separate.