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Welcome to the Scientific American Podcast Science Talk posted on August 3rd, 2014.

I'm Steve Murski. On this episode,

if you look at very early life forms, like single-cell life forms, they divide all the time

and they don't age in a way. That's science fiction author Mark Alpert. Mark got a degree

in astrophysics from Princeton and became a scientific American writer and editor.

A few years back, he left to become a respected novelist.

You've heard him on previous podcast episodes after the publication of his earlier books,

Extinction and Final Theory.

His latest is The Furies.

We spoke about it at his apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Mark, it's difficult to talk about a novel because I don't want to give too much away.

So why don't you just tell as much as you want about the plot and the science in the plot.

Now, I've read the book so I can jump in there and try not to ruin, you know, with any spoilers.

But take it away, Markey.

I, as you know, I'm a writer of science thrillers.

And my previous books have dealt with Albert Einstein and the final theory and also with neuroscience in my last

...