Light and Life
The book starts out talking about Monet, the French impressionist painter, and the reason why his later paintings lacked light blue, and appeared to be toned towards red-yellow. This was due to a physical ailment of cataracts. The opaqueness of a cataract affected lens causes it to absorb certain wavelengths of light.
The way in which you see the world is affected by biological processes.
The Physical Nature of Light
Light as a Source of Energy
Light as a Source of Information
Light can Damage Biological Molecules
Role of Light in Ecology and Behaviour
Life in the Dark
Organisms Making their own Light: Bioluminescence
Origins of Life
What is life?
The Chemical Origins of Life
The Origins of Information and Metabolism
Early Life
Eukaryotic Cells
Selection, Biodiversity, and Biosphere
Biodiversity
Selection
Evolution
The Biosphere
Biotic Factors
Cumulative Impact on Biotic and Abiotic Factors