Description
Book SynopsisCharts how revolutions in genomics, bioinformatics, and remote sensing have pressed marine biologists to see the sea as animated by its smallest inhabitants: marine microbes.
Trade Review"Unique [and] innovative... Captures the excitement and crucial nature of oceanographic research... Perhaps Alien Ocean will inspire the next generation to fulfill the promise of environmental genomic sequencing." Nature "Intriguingly, Alien Ocean's main characters are arguably not the scientists, nor Helmreich, but the sea itself and the bizarre microbial communities recently found there." Seed Magazine "Erudite, widely ranging account of currently important aspects of marine microbiology and their broader implications." -- A. J. Kohn Choice "One of the pleasures of Alien Ocean is Helmreich's playfulness." Technology Review "Opens new vistas, creates fresh associations, and raises profound questions... Helmreich's work is a brilliant piece of scholarship." Mast "An engaging treatise of a fascinating topic." Microbe Magazine "Alien Ocean opens up whole new exciting realms of connections." Isis
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Moorings Acknowledgments Introduction: Life at Sea 1. The Message from the Mud: Making Meaning Out of Microbes in Monterey Bay 2. Dissolving the Tree of Life: Alien Kinship at Hydrothermal Vents 3. Blue-Green Capitalism: Marine Biotechnology in Hawaii 4. Alien Species, Native Politics: Mixing Up Nature and Culture in Ocean Oahu 5. Abducting the Atlantic: How the Ocean Got Its Genome 6. Submarine Cyborgs: Transductive Ethnography at the Seafloor, Juan de Fuca Ridge 7. Extraterrestrial Seas: Astrobiology and the Nature of Alien Life Notes Bibliography Index
