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The Stuff of Life: Profiles of the molecules that make us tick by Eric P. Widmaier, Times Books, $22, ISBN 0805071733 Reviewed by James Kingsland

“THE human body is built in layers of complexity. Viewed in its entirety, the body’s different parts can be observed to work together in an integrative way.” This is a peculiarly lifeless start for a book about life. It should have an editor reaching for the defibrillator paddles and ordering anxious colleagues to stand clear.

Which is a shame, because this book is full of fascinating details about the molecules that make life possible: DNA,…

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