Introduction 7
1. Uncuttables 9
2. Into the void 13
3. Pass it on 15
4. Cutting the uncuttables 19
5. Painless surgery 24
6. Elementary 27
7. Imposing chemical order 31
8. All the way down 36
9. Starting with a Bang 42
10. Units of life 46
11. A central star50
12. In balance 53
13. Energy from atoms 59
14. Rock of ages 63
15. Making planets 67
16. The smallest living things 71
17. Spreading diseases 75
18. Shining a light on light 79
19. From radio to gamma rays 83
20. The origins of life on Earth 87
21. Pushing together, pulling apart 91
22. Starlight star bright 95
23. Dark forces at work 99
24. From crust to core 105
25. Smashing plates 110
26. Heat and gases 114
27. Too hot, too fast 117
28. Atoms lining up 120
29. DNA124
30. The matter of matter 128
31. Keep it clean 132
32. Kill the germs 136
33. You can't lose 140
34. Everything in order 143
35. Cells within cells 146
36. Vax v. anti-vax 150
37. Holes in space? 154
38. Round and round 158
39. A helping hand for the chemistry of life 162
40. Layer after layer 165
41. Never out of energy 168
42. Non-chaotic chaos 170
43. Survival of the fittest 172
44. Evolution, now with genes 178
45. Dead and gone 181
46. It's all relative 185
47. Smaller than small 188
48. A cat in a box 193
49. Gaia 195
50. Are we alone in the universe? 197
Index 204
Picture Credits 208