Australopithecus anamensis 308
common ancestor 219–20
Denisovans 35, 41–2, 316, 327
and diet 311
diverging lineages 57, 309, 314, 316–18
fire use 297, 304, 325
first hominins 300
first Homo species 310–13
fossil record 307, 309, 310, 313, 315–16, 322, 416
hands 308
Homo erectus 304, 305, 313–17, 318, 412
Homo floresiensis 304, 314
Homo habilis 310–13, 315, 318
Homo naledi 317, 319
Homo sapiens 305, 321–34
hunting 313
key phenotypic traits 301–3
line of descent 41–2
move to ground-based existence 307–8
Neanderthals 305, 316, 319, 319–24, 327, 412, 416
primates 305, 307
re-evaluation 304–5
speculation 416
technological advances 325–8, 330, 333–4
timeline 306
tools and tool use 310–11, 312–13, 314, 318–19
upright walking 307–8
human existence
biological explanation 408
purpose 406–7
human experience, the 260–3, 265–7
human history 300–1
human-produced elements 100
humans 297
atomic makeup 4–5
closest living ancestors 307
complexity 4–5
dispersal out of Africa 38, 313, 321–5
fire use 297, 304, 325
first 138
first settlement 138
flexibility 302
genome 232
greatest achievement 373
intelligence 305
key phenotypic traits 301–3
modern 298–300
molecules in 4–5
negative impact on nature 329–32, 337–8
social hierarchies 302
status 297
see also human evolution
hunter-gatherers 325
hunting 313, 319
hydrogen 72, 105
atomic structure 64, 100, 113–15, 115
electrons 113–15, 115
formation 87
ground state 117–18
isolated 102
hydrogen bonds 120, 126
hydrothermal fields 200
hypothesizing 24–32, 47, 413
ice 20, 120
Icehouse Earth epochs 164
illuminati 23, 370
immune response 342
imperfect replication 203–5
Imperial College London 141
individuals, differences between 342–3
inflation 86, 88
infrared light 87
Innocent III, Pope 174–5
inorganic environment 199
insects, evolution 249
Institute of Zoology 34, 223–7
insurance, meteorite strike claim 167
intelligence 305
intelligent life 132, 400–1, 418
International Space Station 151
Io 149
ionic bonds 118–20
iron 105, 122
isotopes 65
jack jumper ants 232
James Webb Space Telescope 42–3, 413–14
Jane (housemate) 224
jewellery 303, 320
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 191
Judson, Olivia 297
junk DNA 230
Jupiter 139, 394
formation of 145, 147
Grand Tack hypothesis 147–8
habitable zone 149
moons 149
Jurassic Park (film) 232–3
Kamala of India 101
Kenya 13, 365
key events 7–8, 10
King, William 37
kings 336
Knapp, Michelle 167
knowledge 21
filling in the gaps 413
thirst for 420
and time 20–2
knowledge creation 22
koalas 256
Kora National Reserve, Kenya 13
Krebs cycle 208
land, colonization of 250
language 4, 300, 301, 303, 312, 401, 412
Laniakea supercluster 135
Large Hadron Collider 7, 42, 48, 76–8, 414
large numbers, comprehending 4
large-scale structure 112
lasers 16–17
Last Universal Common Ancestor 218–20, 237
lateral inhibition 284
Lavoisier, Antoine 102
laws 336
Lawton, John 141, 142–3
Lenski, Ray 399
Lepenski Vir, Serbia 332
leprechauns 33, 42
leptons 74
life
abundance 401
birth of 7–8
and carbon 122–3
and chemical reactions 122–9, 175, 186–7, 207–8
chemical signatures 415
classification 215–16
complex structures 187
definition 174–5
domains 215
early 196
and elements 122–3
and energy 123–8, 396
epochs of 297
fragility 398–9
fuel 185–7, 207
inevitability of 418
oldest non-controversial traces of 172–3
precursors of 173–4
proliferation 211, 397
purpose of 171
rarity 401
rerun experiment 392–403
spread of 209–10, 416
ultimate goal 187
life, emergence of 56–7, 170–88, 195–211, 416
abiogenesis 172
autocatalysts 203
autocatalytic reactions 200–3, 205, 207, 209
chemical mechanisms 172, 207–8
computer simulations 211
conclusions 209–11
DNA 176–88, 177
energy sources 207–8
environment 200
evolution 203–5, 211
exponential growth 202–3
first appearance 173
first organism 172
imperfect replication 203–5
increases in complexity 209–10
key requirements 196–7
life–nonlife break 174
membranes 205–7, 396
mystery of 210
networks of reactions 205
oldest non-controversial traces of 172–3
organic compounds 196, 197–200
organic molecules 173–4
organic soup 205, 210
panspermia 195–6
problem of 170–1
process 199–208
replication 202–3
speed of 211
spread 209–10
which came first problem 171–2
life-after-death beliefs 335
life–nonlife break 174
light 69, 73
speed of 61, 79–81
travels through the universe 88–90
light year 61
lignin 250–1
lion behaviour 365–7
lipid bilayers 206–7
lipids 206–7
lithium 65, 105
Local Group 135
London–Perth flight 61
LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor) 208–9, 218–20, 237
Lucy 309
Luhman 16 system 139
macroscopic objects 62
Magellan spacecraft 160
magnetic field 68
magnetic poles 158–9
mammals, evolution 258–9, 297, 298
Many Worlds hypothesis 382–3, 384
Marconi, Guglielmo 131
Markle, Meghan, marriage 371
mark-recapture data 225–6
marriage problem, the 285–6
Mars
asteroid and meteorite impacts 146
axial tilt 153
day length 394
formation 145
lack of plate tectonic activity 160
magnetic field 157
outer core 158
search for evidence of life on 415–16
solar wind atmospheric loss 156–7
surface oceans 395
mass extinctions 166–7, 251–3
mathematical models 47–55
mathematics 47–8
matter 69
building blocks of 75
distribution of 88, 134–5, 393
prevalence over antimatter 95
matter-antimatter annihilation 94–5, 96
matter-energy conversion 69–70
mechanistic understanding 372, 375–6
medicine 8, 22
memory 265–6, 280–1
Men in Black 3 (film) 108
Mendeleev, Dmitri 102–3, 103–4
mercury 105
Mercury 145, 147, 152, 153
mesons 71–2
Mesopotamia 335
mesosphere, the 151
metabolism 185–7, 209
energy sources 207–8, 215, 238, 244
metals 100–1
meteorites 140, 146–7, 167, 197
meteoroids 139–40, 167
meteors 140, 166
methane 66
Metropolis–Hastings algorithm 386–8
microwaves 87
Milky Way 63, 135, 393–4, 401
central black hole 137
solar system’s position in 137–8, 138
star formation 136–7
mind 260–1
mind-altering drugs 268
misguided beliefs, clinging to 22
mistakes, learning from 266