Life, the Universe… and the Scientific Method Steven Benner What is science? And how should students be taught to practice it? Steven Benner describes many kinds of science that relate to life as a universal concept. Biology, chemistry, physics, geology, astrobiology, and informatics are woven together in ways that reflect the contribution of Dr. Benner and his laboratory to each of these areas. As a founder and developer of synthetic biology, paleogenetics, and evolutionary bioinformatics, Benner helps the reader understand science as it is actually done, with all of its imperfections. He then shows how those imperfections are managed to make progress toward solving "big" questions. How did life begin? How did ancient life adapt? How might alien life appear? Can we make artificial life in the laboratory? Benner covers some philosophical ground: What makes a good scientific theory? What Strategies can be used to study something we cannot observe? What disciplines help scientists avoid their biggest challenge: the propensity to deceive themselves? The book can be read by any viewer of Public Television, but also by professionals in each of these fields who want to understand how scientists in neighboring fields do what they do. With cartoons by Jake Fuller, this book combines humor and seriousness to make a most entertaining read.