Understanding Life in the Universe

Wallace Arthur is an evolutionary biologist with an interest in how life evolves on other planets, and in particular how similar the life forms that evolution produces on one inhabited planet may be to those on another. He is the author of The Biological Universe (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and Understanding Evo-Devo (Cambridge University Press, 2021).

'A fascinating overview of life on Earth and the prospects of finding parallel forms of it on habitable exoplanets. Wallace Arthur provides an engaging, yet scientifically accurate, overview of the current knowledge and what to expect from the next Copernican revolution looming on the horizon of astronomy.' Avi Loeb, Professor of Science, Harvard University, USA

• Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. The search for extraterrestrial life; 2. Where in the universe to look?; 3. Evolution – here and elsewhere; 4. The key concept of habitability; 5. Life in the solar system; 6. Life in other planetary systems; 7. The nature of extraterrestrial life; 8. Intelligence – here and elsewhere; Concluding remarks; Summary of common misunderstandings; References and further reading; Figure credits; Index.