Physicist Jim Al-Khalili and co-author Johnjoe McFadden, a biologist, explore the far edges of quantum biology in their book "Life on the Edge."
Why you should listen
A professor of physics at the University of Surrey, Jim Al-Khalili doubles as a science communicator and broadcaster. He’s the co-author with Johnjoe McFadden of Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology. The book explores this emerging -- and still largely speculative -- area of science suggesting that quantum mechanics may play a role in biology. If so, it may help us understand what drives genetic mutations that lead to cancer, or how robins fly from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.

