Water and Life The Unique Properties of H20

Reflecting a rich technical and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas, Water and Life: The Unique Properties of H20 focuses on the properties of water and its interaction with life. The book develops a variety of approaches that help to illuminate ways in which to address deeper questions with respect to the nature of the universe and our place within it. Grouped in five broad parts, this collection examines the arguments of Lawrence J. Henderson and other scholars on the "fitness" of water for life as part of the physical and chemical properties of nature considered as a foundational environment within which life has emerged and evolved. Leading authorities delve into a range of themes and questions that span key areas of ongoing debate and uncertainty. They draw from the fields of chemistry, biology, biochemistry, planetary and earth sciences, physics, astronomy, and their subspecialties. Several chapters also deal with humanistic disciplines, such as the history of science and theology, to provide additional perspectives. Bringing together highly esteemed researchers from multidisciplinary fields, this volume addresses fundamental questions relating to the possible role of water in the origin of life in the cosmos. It supports readers in their own explorations of the origin and meaning of life and the role of water in maintaining life.

This Strange Substance Called "Water"Is Water an Amniotic Eden or a Corrosive Hell? Emerging Perspectives on the Strangest Fluid in the Universe, Simon Conway Morris and Ard A. LouisWater and Life: Friend or Foe?, Felix FranksAn Introduction to the Properties of Water: Which Might Be Critical to Biological Processes?, John L. FinneyWater as a Biomolecule, Philip BallWater’s Hydrogen Bond Strength, Martin F. Chaplin The Specific Properties of Water—How and Why Water Is EccentricProperties of Liquids Made from Modified Water Models, Ruth M. Lynden-Bell and Pablo G. DebenedettiUnderstanding the Unusual Properties of Water, Giancarlo Franzese and H. Eugene StanleyCounterfactual Quantum Chemistry of Water, Wesley D. Allen and Henry F. Schaefer, IIIProperties of Nanoconfined Water, Branka M. Ladanyi Water in BiochemistryWater: Constraining Biological Chemistry and the Origin of Life, Steven A. BennerFine-Tuning and Small Differences between Large Numbers, John L. FinneyFine-Tuning Protein Stability, Carlos Warnick Pace, Abbas Razvi, and J. Martin ScholtzWater and Information, Thomas C.B. McLeishCounterfactual Biomolecular Physics: Protein Folding and Molecular Recognition in Water and Other Fluid Environments, Peter G. Wolynes Water, the Solar System, and the Origin of LifeSources of Terrestrial and Martian Water, Humberto Campins and Michael J. DrakeWater: The Tough-Love Parent of Life, Veronica Vaida and Adrian F. TuckWhat Is the Diversity of Life in the Cosmos?, Peter D. WardThe Primordial Bubble: Water, Symmetry-Breaking, and the Origin of Life, Louis LermanLiquids, Biopolymers, and Evolvability: Case Studies in Counterfactual Water- Life, Wilson C.K. Poon Water—The Human DimensionSome Early Responses to the Special Properties of Water, Colin A. RussellLawrence Henderson’s Natural Teleology, Bruce H. WeberWater: A Navigable Channel from Science to God?, Alister E. McGrath Index

Ruth M. Lynden-Bell is emeritus professor of chemistry at Queen’s University, Belfast and an emerita fellow of Murray Edwards College at the University of Cambridge. Simon Conway Morris is a professor of earth sciences at the University of Cambridge. John D. Barrow is a professor of mathematical sciences and director of the Millennium Mathematics Project at the University of Cambridge, and Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College. John L. Finney is emeritus professor of physics in the London Centre for Nanotechnology at University College London. Charles L. Harper, Jr. is chancellor for international distance learning and senior vice president of the American University System as well as president of Vision-Five.com Consulting.