Life

William Brown is a former Master of Darwin College and Professor of Industrial Relations in the Economics Faculty at the University of Cambridge. He was previously Director of the ESRC's Industrial Relations Research Unit at the University of Warwick. His research has been concerned with collective bargaining, pay determination, incomes policy, payment systems, arbitration, minimum wages, the impact of legislative change, and industrial relations in China. He was a foundation member of the Low Pay Commission, which fixes the UK's National Minimum Wage. He is a member of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Panel of Arbitrators and was an independent member of the ACAS Council. In 2002 he was awarded a CBE for services to employment relations. Andrew Fabian OBE is a Fellow of Darwin College and Royal Society Professor of Astronomy. He is the Director of the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Royal Society. His research is in X-ray astronomy, involving black holes and clusters of galaxies. His most recent award was the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2012. He has been involved in the Darwin College Lecture Series since their inception and enjoys interdisciplinary discussion.

• Preface; 1. Life and death of a cell Ron Laskey; 2. The spark of life Frances Ashcroft; 3. From genomes to the diversity of life Michael Akam; 4. Artificial life Chris Bishop; 5. Life in conflict: soldier, surgeon, photographer, fly Mark de Rond; 6. Life in the ancient world Michael Scott; 7. Life in ruins Robert Macfarlane; 8. The after life Clive Gamble; Index.