
The Synthetic Age
Outdesigning Evolution, Resurrecting Species, and Reengineering Our World
No se pudo agregar al carrito
Add to Cart failed.
Error al Agregar a Lista de Deseos.
Error al eliminar de la lista de deseos.
Error al añadir a tu biblioteca
Error al seguir el podcast
Error al dejar de seguir el podcast
$0.99/mes por los primeros 3 meses

Compra ahora por $20.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrado por:
-
Scott Merriman
Acerca de esta escucha
Imagining a future in which humans fundamentally reshape the natural world using nanotechnology, synthetic biology, de-extinction, and climate engineering.
We have all heard that there are no longer any places left on Earth untouched by humans. The significance of this goes beyond statistics documenting melting glaciers and shrinking species counts. It signals a new geological epoch. In The Synthetic Age, Christopher Preston argues that what is most startling about this coming epoch is not only how much impact humans have had but, more important, how much deliberate shaping they will start to do. Emerging technologies promise to give us the power to take over some of Nature's most basic operations. It is not just that we are exiting the Holocene and entering the Anthropocene; it is that we are leaving behind the time in which planetary change is just the unintended consequence of unbridled industrialism. A world designed by engineers and technicians means the birth of the planet's first Synthetic Age.
Preston describes a range of technologies that will reconfigure Earth's very metabolism: nanotechnologies that can restructure natural forms of matter; “molecular manufacturing” that offers unlimited repurposing; synthetic biology's potential to build, not just read, a genome; “biological mini-machines” that can outdesign evolution; the relocation and resurrection of species; and climate engineering attempts to manage solar radiation by synthesizing a volcanic haze, cool surface temperatures by increasing the brightness of clouds, and remove carbon from the atmosphere with artificial trees that capture carbon from the breeze.
What does it mean when humans shift from being caretakers of the Earth to being shapers of it? And in whom should we trust to decide the contours of our synthetic future? These questions are too important to be left to the engineers.
©2018 Christopher J. Preston (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Los oyentes también disfrutaron...
-
Atlas of AI
- Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
- De: Kate Crawford
- Narrado por: Larissa Gallagher
- Duración: 8 h y 53 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
What happens when artificial intelligence saturates political life and depletes the planet? How is AI shaping our understanding of ourselves and our societies? Drawing on more than a decade of research, award-winning scholar Kate Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction: from the minerals drawn from the earth, to the labor pulled from low-wage information workers, to the data taken from every action and expression. This book reveals how this planetary network is fueling a shift toward undemocratic governance and increased inequity.
-
-
A fascinating and thought provoking examination of
- De Tom Dawkins en 03-13-23
De: Kate Crawford
-
Tenacious Beasts
- Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think About Animals
- De: Christopher J. Preston
- Narrado por: Tristan Morris
- Duración: 9 h y 36 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
The news about wildlife is dire—more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Against this bleak backdrop, however, there are also glimmers of hope and crucial lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global trends toward extinction: bears in Italy, bison in North America, whales in the Atlantic. These populations are back from the brink, some of them in numbers unimaginable in a century. How has this happened? In crisp, transporting prose, Christopher Preston reveals the mysteries and challenges at the heart of these resurgences.
-
-
Valuable information, mismatched narration
- De EL en 03-27-24
-
Determined
- A Science of Life Without Free Will
- De: Robert M. Sapolsky
- Narrado por: Kaleo Griffith
- Duración: 13 h y 42 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Robert Sapolsky’s Behave, his now classic account of why humans do good and why they do bad, pointed toward an unsettling conclusion: We may not grasp the precise marriage of nature and nurture that creates the physics and chemistry at the base of human behavior, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Now, in Determined, Sapolsky takes his argument all the way, mounting a brilliant (and in his inimitable way, delightful) full-frontal assault on the pleasant fantasy that there is some separate self telling our biology what to do.
-
-
Abridged - no Appendix!
- De Amazon Customer en 11-02-23
-
The Genesis Machine
- Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology
- De: Amy Webb, Andrew Hessel
- Narrado por: Amy Webb, Andrew Hessel, Tim Campbell, y otros
- Duración: 10 h y 6 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Synthetic biology promises to reveal how life is created and how it can be re-created, enabling scientists to rewrite the rules of our reality. It could help us, for example, heal without prescription medications, grow meat without harvesting animals, or confront our looming climate catastrophe. Synthetic biology will determine the ways in which we conceive future generations and how we define family, how we identify disease and treat aging, where we make our homes, and how we nourish ourselves.
-
-
Thought provoking but politically biased
- De Andy en 07-02-22
De: Amy Webb, y otros
-
Synthetic Biology: Life’s Extraordinary New Worlds
- De: Milton Muldrow Jr., The Great Courses
- Narrado por: Milton Muldrow Jr.
- Duración: 8 h y 52 m
- Grabación Original
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Synthetic Biology: Life’s Extraordinary New Worlds is an introduction to synthetic biology for non-scientists, covering the exciting field that is transforming health care, agriculture, environmental science, and many other areas. Using the molecules of life to answer scientific questions and manipulate life for human benefit, synthetic biology encompasses a wide range of applications—from gene editing and metabolic engineering to food synthesis and green technologies.
-
-
Disappointing.
- De Kindle Customer FB en 12-10-24
De: Milton Muldrow Jr., y otros
-
The Ministry for the Future
- A Novel
- De: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrado por: Jennifer Fitzgerald, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Ramon de Ocampo, y otros
- Duración: 20 h y 42 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all. Its setting is not a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us - and in which we might just overcome the extraordinary challenges we face.
-
-
Great ideas, uneven narration
- De depthpsychologist en 12-09-20
-
Atlas of AI
- Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
- De: Kate Crawford
- Narrado por: Larissa Gallagher
- Duración: 8 h y 53 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
What happens when artificial intelligence saturates political life and depletes the planet? How is AI shaping our understanding of ourselves and our societies? Drawing on more than a decade of research, award-winning scholar Kate Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction: from the minerals drawn from the earth, to the labor pulled from low-wage information workers, to the data taken from every action and expression. This book reveals how this planetary network is fueling a shift toward undemocratic governance and increased inequity.
-
-
A fascinating and thought provoking examination of
- De Tom Dawkins en 03-13-23
De: Kate Crawford
-
Tenacious Beasts
- Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think About Animals
- De: Christopher J. Preston
- Narrado por: Tristan Morris
- Duración: 9 h y 36 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
The news about wildlife is dire—more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Against this bleak backdrop, however, there are also glimmers of hope and crucial lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global trends toward extinction: bears in Italy, bison in North America, whales in the Atlantic. These populations are back from the brink, some of them in numbers unimaginable in a century. How has this happened? In crisp, transporting prose, Christopher Preston reveals the mysteries and challenges at the heart of these resurgences.
-
-
Valuable information, mismatched narration
- De EL en 03-27-24
-
Determined
- A Science of Life Without Free Will
- De: Robert M. Sapolsky
- Narrado por: Kaleo Griffith
- Duración: 13 h y 42 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Robert Sapolsky’s Behave, his now classic account of why humans do good and why they do bad, pointed toward an unsettling conclusion: We may not grasp the precise marriage of nature and nurture that creates the physics and chemistry at the base of human behavior, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Now, in Determined, Sapolsky takes his argument all the way, mounting a brilliant (and in his inimitable way, delightful) full-frontal assault on the pleasant fantasy that there is some separate self telling our biology what to do.
-
-
Abridged - no Appendix!
- De Amazon Customer en 11-02-23
-
The Genesis Machine
- Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology
- De: Amy Webb, Andrew Hessel
- Narrado por: Amy Webb, Andrew Hessel, Tim Campbell, y otros
- Duración: 10 h y 6 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Synthetic biology promises to reveal how life is created and how it can be re-created, enabling scientists to rewrite the rules of our reality. It could help us, for example, heal without prescription medications, grow meat without harvesting animals, or confront our looming climate catastrophe. Synthetic biology will determine the ways in which we conceive future generations and how we define family, how we identify disease and treat aging, where we make our homes, and how we nourish ourselves.
-
-
Thought provoking but politically biased
- De Andy en 07-02-22
De: Amy Webb, y otros
-
Synthetic Biology: Life’s Extraordinary New Worlds
- De: Milton Muldrow Jr., The Great Courses
- Narrado por: Milton Muldrow Jr.
- Duración: 8 h y 52 m
- Grabación Original
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Synthetic Biology: Life’s Extraordinary New Worlds is an introduction to synthetic biology for non-scientists, covering the exciting field that is transforming health care, agriculture, environmental science, and many other areas. Using the molecules of life to answer scientific questions and manipulate life for human benefit, synthetic biology encompasses a wide range of applications—from gene editing and metabolic engineering to food synthesis and green technologies.
-
-
Disappointing.
- De Kindle Customer FB en 12-10-24
De: Milton Muldrow Jr., y otros
-
The Ministry for the Future
- A Novel
- De: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrado por: Jennifer Fitzgerald, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Ramon de Ocampo, y otros
- Duración: 20 h y 42 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all. Its setting is not a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us - and in which we might just overcome the extraordinary challenges we face.
-
-
Great ideas, uneven narration
- De depthpsychologist en 12-09-20
-
The Scout Mindset
- Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't
- De: Julia Galef
- Narrado por: Julia Galef
- Duración: 6 h y 26 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
When it comes to what we believe, humans see what they want to see. In other words, we have what Julia Galef calls a "soldier" mindset. From tribalism and wishful thinking, to rationalizing in our personal lives and everything in between, we are driven to defend the ideas we most want to believe - and shoot down those we don't.
-
-
An Excellent Book,
- De E&J en 04-16-21
De: Julia Galef
-
Regenesis
- How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves
- De: George M. Church, Ed Regis
- Narrado por: Peter Lerman
- Duración: 10 h y 47 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
In Regenesis, George Church and science writer Ed Regis explore the possibilities of the emerging field of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology, in which living organisms are selectively altered by modifying substantial portions of their genomes, allows for the creation of entirely new species of organisms. These technologies - far from the out-of-control nightmare depicted in science fiction - have the power to improve human and animal health, increase our intelligence, enhance our memory, and even extend our life span.
-
-
Brilliant! But please update!
- De Nick en 01-28-21
De: George M. Church, y otros
-
1177 B.C. (Revised and Updated)
- The Year Civilization Collapsed
- De: Eric H. Cline
- Narrado por: Eric H. Cline
- Duración: 10 h y 47 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
This audiobook narrated by acclaimed archaeologist and best-selling author Eric Cline offers a breathtaking account of how the collapse of an ancient civilized world ushered in the first Dark Ages.
-
-
Look past the one-star reviews: this is an enlightening and engaging read.
- De Alonzo Nightjar en 03-07-22
De: Eric H. Cline
-
After Cooling
- On Freon, Global Warming, and the Terrible Cost of Comfort
- De: Eric Dean Wilson
- Narrado por: Eric Dean Wilson
- Duración: 16 h y 40 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
In After Cooling, Eric Dean Wilson braids together air-conditioning history, climate science, road trips, and philosophy to tell the story of the birth, life, and afterlife of Freon, the refrigerant that ripped a hole larger than the continental United States in the ozone layer. As he traces the refrigerant’s life span from its invention in the 1920s — when it was hailed as a miracle of scientific progress — to efforts in the 1980s to ban the chemical (and the resulting political backlash), Wilson finds himself on a journey through the American heartland.
-
-
More politics than sciences
- De Seth Martin en 08-30-21
De: Eric Dean Wilson
-
Origin Story
- A Big History of Everything
- De: David Christian
- Narrado por: Jamie Jackson
- Duración: 12 h y 23 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Most historians study the smallest slivers of time, emphasizing specific dates, individuals, and documents. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the big bang through the present day - and even into the remote future? How would looking at the full span of time change the way we perceive the universe, the earth, and our very existence? These were the questions David Christian set out to answer when he created the field of "Big History", the most exciting new approach to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.
-
-
A brilliant achievement, must read/listen
- De 11104 en 09-05-18
De: David Christian
-
Earth in Human Hands
- Shaping Our Planet's Future
- De: David Grinspoon
- Narrado por: David Grinspoon
- Duración: 17 h y 12 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
NASA Astrobiologist and renowned scientist Dr. David Grinspoon brings listeners an optimistic message about humanity's future in the face of climate change. For the first time in Earth's history, our planet is experiencing a confluence of rapidly accelerating changes prompted by one species: Humans. Climate change is only the most visible of the modifications we've made - up until this point, inadvertently - to the planet. And our current behavior threatens not only our own future but that of countless other creatures.
-
-
Wonderful listen.
- De Britt en 05-25-17
De: David Grinspoon
-
The Innovative Animal
- Unveiling the Hidden Pattern Within All Natural & Human Innovations
- De: Nizar M. Benazzouz PhD
- Narrado por: Rodney Tompkins
- Duración: 18 h y 16 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Picture a world where newness is everywhere and nothing is casual or stable! Through this audiobook, you will be exploring how everything around us, inert or animated, is connected in surprising ways.
-
-
A fusion of styles and genres !
- De Karson Santos en 10-30-23
-
A World Without Humans
- Pros & Cons of Our Eventual Extinction
- De: John Break
- Narrado por: Teena Katz
- Duración: 4 h y 5 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
If you're a person who wants to know the secrets of humankind, nature, and evolution, then you're about to discover how to increase sensitivity to the problems of our planet right now! If you're serious about increase sensitivity to the problems of our planet and you really want to know the answers to these great life's questions, then you need to get a copy of A World without Humans: Pros & Cons of Our Eventual Extinction right now.
-
-
This audible provides a great way of instructions
- De Silvia English en 01-19-20
De: John Break
-
Billions & Billions
- Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium
- De: Carl Sagan
- Narrado por: Adenrele Ojo, Ann Druyan
- Duración: 9 h y 42 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
In the final book of his astonishing career, Carl Sagan brilliantly examines the burning questions of our lives, our world, and the universe around us. These luminous, entertaining essays travel both the vastness of the cosmos and the intimacy of the human mind, posing such fascinating questions as how did the universe originate and how will it end, and how can we meld science and compassion to meet the challenges of the coming century?
-
-
To The Stars
- De Judy en 12-31-19
De: Carl Sagan
-
Great Questions of Life Bundle
- 3 Books in 1
- De: John Break
- Narrado por: Kelley Sullivan
- Duración: 12 h y 44 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
This is the original bundle of the series Great Questions of Life. In this bundle you will find all of three books of Mr. John Break. If you ever asked yourself one of the great questions, just listen to these books all together.
De: John Break
-
The Vanishing Face of Gaia
- A Final Warning
- De: James Lovelock
- Narrado por: Simon Vance
- Duración: 6 h y 38 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
In The Vanishing Face of Gaia, British scientist James Lovelock predicts global warming will lead to a Hot Epoch. Lovelock is best known for formulating the controversial Gaia theory in the 1970s, with Ruth Margulis of the University of Massachusetts, which states that organisms interact with and regulate Earth's surface and atmosphere. We ignore this interaction at our peril.
-
-
A New Perspective - A Must Listen - Very Moving
- De Thomas en 01-29-12
De: James Lovelock
-
On the Future
- Prospects for Humanity
- De: Martin Rees
- Narrado por: Martin Rees, Samuel West
- Duración: 5 h y 26 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes - good and bad - are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and best-selling author Martin Rees argues that humanity’s prospects depend on our taking a very different approach to planning for tomorrow.
-
-
Science, the future, and great wisdom
- De Philomath en 10-29-18
De: Martin Rees