The Age of Living Machines

How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution

5 June 2020

Description

From the former president of MIT, the story of the next technology revolution, and how it will change our lives.

A century ago, discoveries in physics came together with engineering to produce an array of astonishing new technologies: radios, telephones, televisions, aircraft, radar, nuclear power, computers, the Internet and a host of still- evolving digital tools. These technologies so radically reshaped our world that we can no longer conceive of life without them.

Today we are on the cusp of a new convergence, with discoveries in biology coming together with engineering to produce another array of almost inconceivable technologies. These next-generation products have the potential to be every bit as revolutionary as the twentieth century’s digital wonders: Virusbuilt batteries. Protein-based water filters. Cancer- detecting nanoparticles. Mind- reading bionic limbs. Computer-engineered crops. These few examples illustrate the promise of the technology story of the twenty-first century to overcome some of the greatest humanitarian, medical and environmental challenges of our time.

Reviews

"... entertaining and prescient…" — Science

"Your amazing guide to the future of biology is the former president of the Aladdin's cave that is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology." — Summer Reading 2019, New Scientist

Awards

Shortlisted — Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, 2020

Paperback

9780393358261

140 x 211 mm • 256 pages

£13.99

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Ebook

9780393634754

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