To Seek Out New Life

Book excerpt: Is the Vulcan suppression of emotion biologically viable? What terrestrial life-form does the Borg most closely resemble? Where does consciousness go when a crew member of the Enterprise enters the transporter? If "Star Trek has been about the search for life, To Seek Out New Life: The Biology of Star Trek is about understanding these discoveries as we encounter them with the crews of the Enterprise, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine. Harvard biologist Athena Andreadis takes a lively, thought-provoking look at Star Trek's approach to the science of human, humanoid, and other life-forms, exploring what biological principles are probable or possible on the original show and the three series and nine movies that have followed. This absorbing, illuminating book makes everyone an armchair expert on the difference between science and science fiction on "Star Trek, with keen observations into the series' complex worlds of physiology, psychology, and sociology. Its wealth of scientific detail and cultural insight pays tribute to a show that has profoundly shaped the way we understand and view science.