Life is the most extraordinary phenomenon in the observable Universe; but how did life arise? Even in the era of cloning and synthetic biology, a remarkable truth remains true: no one has yet succeeded in creating living things from completely non-living materials. Life arises only from life. So, are we still missing some of its fundamental components? Just as Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene brought new insights into the evolutionary process, Life on the Edge changes our understanding of the fundamental forces driving the world. In it, the authors review both the latest experimental data and discoveries from the cutting edge of science, and do so in a uniquely lucid style. Jim Al-Khalili and Jonjoe McFadden talk about the missing piece of quantum mechanics; the phenomenon that underlies this most mysterious of sciences.