The Serengeti Rules

How does life work? How does nature produce the right numbers of zebras and lions on the African savanna, or fish in the ocean? How do our bodies produce the right numbers of cells in our organs and bloodstream? In The Serengeti Rules, Sean Carroll tells the stories of the pioneering scientists who sought the answers to such simple yet profoundly important questions, and shows how their discoveries matter for our health and the health of the planet. One of the most important revelations about the natural world is that everything is regulated by rules. And the most surprising revelation about the rules that regulate life is that they are remarkably similar--there is a common underlying logic. Carroll recounts how our deep knowledge of the rules and logic of the human body has spurred the advent of revolutionary, life-saving medicines, and makes the compelling case that it is now time to use the Serengeti Rules to heal our ailing planet. This paperback edition features a new conversation with Sean Carroll, in which he discusses many of the questions raised by the book. The Serengeti Rules is a bold and inspiring synthesis, and the first book to illuminate how life works at vastly different scales.