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 star 50 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.