ABSTRACT
It is perhaps a sobering thought that we seem to play no special role in the Universe. It is even more humbling at first—but then wonderfully enlightening—to recognize that evolutionary changes, operating over almost incomprehensible space and nearly inconceivable time, have given birth to all that we see around us. Scientists are now beginning to decipher how all known objects— from atoms to galaxies, from cells to people—are interrelated. We are beginning to sketch the scenario of cosmic evolution.
