Michael Crichton, a best-selling author and filmmaker whose widely acclaimed and compelling novels delved into the boundaries and effects of science, died after a battle with cancer on November 4 in Los Angeles. He was 66.

He helped clarify specialized knowledge to ordinary people and created reasonable tension on matters varying from lethal alien microorganisms (1969’s “The Andromeda Strain,”), brain surgical procedures (1972’s “The Terminal Man,”), as well as dinosaur cloning (1990’s “Jurassic Park). His books have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide.

Sometimes, Michael Crichton’s flair for challenging subjects pushed him into a nationwide dispute. With “State of Fear,” he came out as a disbeliever with regard to human-generated global warming and was reprimanded by ecologists for holding back legislation from diminishing emissions of carbon dioxide.

“Every decision has a cost somewhere else,” he told the Times of London at that time. “People say our grandchildren will loathe us, but they will also loathe us if we waste trillions of dollars tackling a problem that is nonexistent.”

Michael Crichton was also a medical doctor and a film and television producer. He was the creator of hit television drama “ER,” for which he won an Emmy Award, and directed, among others, “The First Great Train Robbery” and “Runaway.”

Born in Chicago on October 23, 1942, Michael Crichton conceived his first works while studying at Harvard Medical School. He was awarded his medical degree in 1969, the same year “The Andromeda Strain” was published.

His family explained that Michael Crichton’s death was “unexpected,” but did not provide further information on the matter.