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Darwin's Gift
by Francisco AyalaWith the publication in 1859 of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Charles Darwin established evolution by common descent as the dominant scientific explanation for nature's diversity. This was to be his gift to science and society; at last, we had an explanation for how life came to be on Earth. Scientists agree that the evolutionary origin of animals and plants is a scientific conclusion beyond reasonable doubt. They place it beside such established concepts as the roundness of the earth, its revolution around the sun, and the molecular composition of matter. That evolution has occurred, in other words, is a fact. Yet as we approach the bicentennial celebration of Darwin's birth, the world finds itself divided over the truth of evolutionary theory. Consistently endorsed as "good science" by experts and overwhelmingly accepted as fact by the scientific community, it is not always accepted by the public, and our schools continue to be battlegrounds for this conflict. From the Tennessee trial of a biology teacher who dared to teach Darwin's theory to his students in 1925 to Tammy Kitzmiller's 2005 battle to keep intelligent design out of the Dover district schools in Pennsylvania, it's clear that we need to cut through the propaganda to quell the cacophony of raging debate. With the publication of Darwin's Gift, a voice at once fresh and familiar brings a rational, measured perspective to the science of evolution. An acclaimed evolutionary biologist with a background in theology, Francisco Ayala offers clear explanations of the science, reviews the history that led us to ratify Darwin's theories, and ultimately provides a clear path for a confused and conflicted public.
Darwin's Island: The Galapagos in the Garden of England
by Professor Steve JonesThe Origin of Species is the most famous book in science but its stature tends to obscure the genius of Charles Darwin's other works. The Beagle voyage, too, occupied only five of the fifty years of his career. He spent only five weeks on the Galapagos and on his return never left Britain again. Darwin wrote six million words, in nineteen books and innumerable letters, on topics as different as dogs, barnacles, insect-eating plants, orchids, earthworms, apes and human emotion. Together, they laid the foundations of modern biology.In this beautifully written, witty and illuminating book, Steve Jones explores the domestic Darwin, the sage of Kent, and brings his work up to date. Great Britain was Charles Darwin's other island, its countryside as much, or more, a place of discovery than had been the Galapagos. It traces the great naturalist's second journey across its modest landscape: a voyage not of the body but of the mind.
Darwin's Island: The Galapagos in the Garden of England
by Steve JonesThe Origin of Species is the most famous book in science but its stature tends to obscure the genius of Charles Darwin's other works. The Beagle voyage, too, occupied only five of the fifty years of his career. He spent only five weeks on the Galapagos and on his return never left Britain again. Darwin wrote six million words, in nineteen books and innumerable letters, on topics as different as dogs, barnacles, insect-eating plants, orchids, earthworms, apes and human emotion. Together, they laid the foundations of modern biology.In this beautifully written, witty and illuminating book, Steve Jones explores the domestic Darwin, the sage of Kent, and brings his work up to date. Great Britain was Charles Darwin's other island, its countryside as much, or more, a place of discovery than had been the Galapagos. It traces the great naturalist's second journey across its modest landscape: a voyage not of the body but of the mind.
Darwin's Love of Life: A Singular Case of Biophilia
by Karen L. HarelBiophilia—the love of life—encompasses the drive to survive, a sense of kinship with all life-forms, and an instinct for beauty. In this unconventional book, Kay Harel uses biophilia as a lens to explore Charles Darwin’s life and thought in deeply original ways. In a set of interrelated essays, she considers how the love of life enabled him to see otherwise unseen evolutionary truths.Harel traces the influence of biophilia on Darwin’s views of dogs, facts, thought, emotion, and beauty, informed by little-known material from his private notebooks. She argues that much of what Darwin described, envisioned, and felt was biophilia in action. Closing the book is a profile of Darwin’s marriage to Emma Wedgwood, his first cousin, a woman gifted in music and medicine who shared her husband’s love of life.Harel’s meditative, playful, and lyrical musings draw on the tools of varied disciplines—aesthetics, astronomy, biology, evolutionary theory, history of science, philosophy, psychiatry, and more—while remaining unbounded by any particular one. Taking unexpected paths to recast a figure we thought we knew, this book offers readers a different Darwin: a man full of love, joy, awe, humility, curiosity, and a zest for living.
Darwin's Man in Brazil: The Evolving Science of Fritz Müller
by David A. WestFritz Müller (1821-1897), though not as well known as his colleague Charles Darwin, belongs in the cohort of great nineteenth-century naturalists. Recovering Müller's legacy, David A. West describes the close intellectual kinship between Müller and Darwin and details a lively correspondence that spanned seventeen years. The two scientists, despite living on separate continents, often discussed new research topics and exchanged groundbreaking ideas that unequivocally moved the field of evolutionary biology forward. Müller was unique among naturalists testing Darwin's theory of natural selection because he investigated an enormous diversity of plants and animals, corresponded with prominent scientists, and published important articles in Germany, England, the United States, and Brazil. Darwin frequently praised Müller's powers of observation and interpretation, counting him among those scientists whose opinions he valued most. Despite the importance and scope of his work, however, Müller is known for relatively few of his discoveries. West remedies this oversight, chronicling the life and work of this remarkable and overlooked man of science.
Darwin's Most Wonderful Plants: A Tour of His Botanical Legacy
by Ken ThompsonFor many people, the story of Charles Darwin goes like this: he ventured to the Galapagos Islands on the Beagle, was inspired by the biodiversity of the birds he saw there, and immediately returned home to write his theory of evolution. But this simplified narrative is inaccurate and lacking: it leaves out a major part of Darwin’s legacy. He published On the Origin of Species nearly thirty years after his voyages. And much of his life was spent experimenting with and observing plants. Darwin was a brilliant and revolutionary botanist whose observations and theories were far ahead of his time. With Darwin’s Most Wonderful Plants, biologist and gardening expert Ken Thompson restores this important aspect of Darwin’s biography while also delighting in the botanical world that captivated the famous scientist. Thompson traces how well Darwin’s discoveries have held up, revealing that many are remarkably long-lasting. Some findings are only now being confirmed and extended by high-tech modern research, while some have been corrected through recent analysis. We learn from Thompson how Darwin used plants to shape his most famous theory and then later how he used that theory to further push the boundaries of botanical knowledge. We also get to look over Darwin’s shoulder as he labors, learning more about his approach to research and his astonishing capacity for hard work. Darwin’s genius was to see the wonder and the significance in the ordinary and mundane, in the things that most people wouldn’t look at twice. Both Thompson and Darwin share a love for our most wonderful plants and the remarkable secrets they can unlock. This book will instill that same joy in casual gardeners and botany aficionados alike.
Darwin's On the Origin of Species: A Modern Rendition
by Daniel Duzdevich Olivia JudsonCharles Darwin's most famous book On the Origin of Species is without question, one of the most important books ever written. While even the grandest works of Victorian English can prove difficult to modern readers, Darwin wrote his text in haste and under intense pressure. For an era in which Darwin is more talked about than read, Daniel Duzdevich offers a clear, modern English rendering of Darwin's first edition. Neither an abridgement nor a summary, this version might best be described as a "translation" for contemporary English readers. A monument to reasoned insight, the Origin illustrates the value of extensive reflection, carefully gathered evidence, and sound scientific reasoning. By removing the linguistic barriers to understanding and appreciating the Origin, this edition aims to bring 21st-century readers into closer contact with Darwin's revolutionary ideas.
Darwin's Orchids: Then and Now
by Retha Edens-Meier Peter BernhardtFor biologists, 2009 was an epochal year: the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of a book now known simply as The Origin of Species. But for many botanists, Darwin’s true legacy starts with the 1862 publication of another volume: On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing, or Fertilisation of Orchids. This slim but detailed book with the improbably long title was the first in a series of plant studies by Darwin that continues to serve as a global exemplar in the field of evolutionary botany. In Darwin’s Orchids, an international group of orchid biologists unites to celebrate and explore the continuum that stretches from Darwin’s groundbreaking orchid research to that of today. Mirroring the structure of Fertilisation of Orchids, Darwin’s Orchids investigates flowers from Darwin’s home in England, through the southern hemisphere, and on to North America and China as it seeks to address a set of questions first put forward by Darwin himself: What pollinates this particular type of orchid? How does its pollination mechanism work? Will an orchid self-pollinate or is an insect or other animal vector required? And how has this orchid’s lineage changed over time? Diverse in their colors, forms, aromas, and pollination schemes, orchids have long been considered ideal models for the study of plant evolution and conservation. Looking to the past, present, and future of botany, Darwin’s Orchids will be a vital addition to this tradition.
Darwin's Orchids: Then & Now
by Retha Edens-Meier and Peter BernhardtFor biologists, 2009 was an epochal year: the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of a book now known simply as The Origin of Species. But for many botanists, Darwin’s true legacy starts with the 1862 publication of another volume: On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing, or Fertilisation of Orchids. This slim but detailed book with the improbably long title was the first in a series of plant studies by Darwin that continues to serve as a global exemplar in the field of evolutionary botany. In Darwin’s Orchids, an international group of orchid biologists unites to celebrate and explore the continuum that stretches from Darwin’s groundbreaking orchid research to that of today. Mirroring the structure of Fertilisation of Orchids, Darwin’s Orchids investigates flowers from Darwin’s home in England, through the southern hemisphere, and on to North America and China as it seeks to address a set of questions first put forward by Darwin himself: What pollinates this particular type of orchid? How does its pollination mechanism work? Will an orchid self-pollinate or is an insect or other animal vector required? And how has this orchid’s lineage changed over time? Diverse in their colors, forms, aromas, and pollination schemes, orchids have long been considered ideal models for the study of plant evolution and conservation. Looking to the past, present, and future of botany, Darwin’s Orchids will be a vital addition to this tradition.
Darwin's Pictures: Views of Evolutionary Theory, 1837-1874
by Julia VossIn this first-ever examination of Charles Darwin's sketches, drawings, and illustrations, Julia Voss presents the history of evolutionary theory told in pictures. Darwin had a life-long interest in pictorial representations of nature, sketching out his evolutionary theory and related ideas for over forty years. Voss details the pictorial history of Darwin's theory of evolution, starting with his notebook sketches of 1837 and ending with the illustrations inThe Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals(1872). These images were profoundly significant for Darwin's long-term argument for evolutionary theory; each characterizes a different aspect of his relationship with the visual information and constitutes what can be called an "icon" of evolution. Voss shows how Darwin "thought with his eyes" and how his pictorial representations and the development and popularization of the theory of evolution were vitally interconnected. Voss explores four of Darwin's images in depth, and weaves about them a story on the development and presentation of Darwin's theory, in which she also addresses the history of Victorian illustration, the role of images in science, the technologies of production, and the relationship between specimen, words, and images.
Darwin's Pious Idea: Why the Ultra-Darwinists and Creationists Both Get It Wrong
by Conor CunninghamIn "Darwin's Pious Idea," Cunningham puts forth a compelling, cutting-edge case for both creation and evolution, drawing skillfully on an array of philosophical, theological, historical, and scientific sources to buttress his arguments.
Darwin’s Racism, Sexism, and Idolization: Their Tragic Societal and Scientific Repercussions
by Rui DiogoIn this book Diogo, a renowned biologist and anthropologist, addresses a question that is critical for the understanding of science, beliefs, idolization, systemic racism and sexism, and our societies in general: why has Darwin been idolized in such a unique way, particularly by Western scholars? Diogo shows that many evolutionary 'facts' stated in Darwin's works, particularly about human evolution, are inaccurate constructions based on Victorian biases and stereotypes: non-Europeans are inferior, women have a lower intelligence than men, Victorian society was the pinnacle of evolution, and so on. Importantly, such inaccurate biased statements about our evolution are markedly in contrast with the mostly accurate, and often brilliant, ideas put forward by Darwin concerning non-human organisms. Importantly, it was precisely the combination of such brilliant ideas, the use of simplistic and sometimes exaggerated metaphors that were catchy and easily absorbed by the general public, and Darwin's intellectual conservatism and biased ideas about women and non-European peoples that led to Darwin's idolization, particularly by Western scientists, as well as to the darkest societal repercussions of his works. By portraying such biased ideas as “evolutionary facts”, Darwin provided easy ammunition for populist political leaders, authoritarians, colonialists, and white supremacists to 'scientifically' defend social hierarchies, sexism, racism, discrimination, oppression, and segregation. A typical argument used to defend Darwin from portraying such erroneous sexist and racist ideas as “facts” is that ‘back then’ everybody was racist and sexist. Diogo deconstructs this argument by providing enthralling case studies and travel descriptions by authors such as Wallace and Humboldt, who often praised the indigenous peoples that repulsed - and criticized the social hierarchies and Western imperialism that marveled - Darwin. The aim of this book is therefore not to 'cancel' Darwin orargue that he was always wrong: not at all, in general he was an extraordinary biologist, but was a much less successful anthropologist due in great part to his Victorian biases. Instead, the book discusses Darwin's writings, ideas, and their repercussions in a broader way, without taboos, omissions, idolization or demonization in order to show Darwin, and science in general, in all their complexity. This is because, if we fail to acknowledge and emphasize the biases, prejudices, inaccuracies, and abuses of our past, and merely continue to blindly idealize it, our kids will be condemned to undertake or suffer similar societal abuses in the future.
Darwin's Reach: 21st Century Applications of Evolutionary Biology
by Norman A. JohnsonThe application of evolutionary biology addresses a wide range of practical problems in medicine, agriculture, the environment, and society. Such cutting-edge applications are emerging due to recent advances in DNA sequencing, new gene editing tools, and computational methods. This book is about applied evolution – the application of the principles of and information about evolutionary biology to diverse practical matters. Although applied evolution has existed, unrecognized, for a very long time, today’s version has a much wider scope. Evolutionary medicine has formed into its own discipline. Evolutionary approaches have long been employed in agriculture and in conservation biology. But Darwin’s reach now extends beyond just these three fields. It now also includes forensic biology and the law. Ideas from evolutionary biology can be used to inform policy regarding foreign affairs and national security. Applied evolution is not only interdisciplinary, but also multidisciplinary. Consequently, this book is for experts in one field who are interested in expanding their evolutionary horizons. It is also for students, at the undergraduate and graduate levels. One of the public relations challenges faced by evolutionary biology is that most people do not see it being all that relevant to their daily lives. Even many who accept evolution do not grasp how far Darwin’s reach extends. This book will change that perception. Key Features Emphasizes the expanding role evolutionary biology has in today’s world. Includes examples from medicine, law, agriculture, conservation, and even national security Summarizes new technologies and computational methods that originated as innovations based in part or whole on evolutionary theory. Current. Has extensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent topics. Documents the important role evolution plays in everyday life. Illustrates the broadly interdisciplinary nature of evolutionary theory. Resources The applications of evolutionary biology are far too numerous to include in just one book. Plus, new scientific findings emerge almost every day underscoring the central role evolution plays in our lives. The author has established a blog site to highlight these fascinating discoveries. Please visit https://darwinsreach.blog to be inspired by “… endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful [that] have been, and are being evolved.” (the last line of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species).
Darwin's Sacred Cause: How a Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin's Views on Human Evolution
by Adrian Desmond James MooreAn &“arresting&” and deeply personal portrait that &“confront[s] the touchy subject of Darwin and race head on&” (The New York Times Book Review). It&’s difficult to overstate the profound risk Charles Darwin took in publishing his theory of evolution. How and why would a quiet, respectable gentleman, a pillar of his parish, produce one of the most radical ideas in the history of human thought? Drawing on a wealth of manuscripts, family letters, diaries, and even ships&’ logs, Adrian Desmond and James Moore have restored the moral missing link to the story of Charles Darwin&’s historic achievement. Nineteenth-century apologists for slavery argued that blacks and whites had originated as separate species, with whites created superior. Darwin, however, believed that the races belonged to the same human family. Slavery was therefore a sin, and abolishing it became Darwin&’s sacred cause. His theory of evolution gave a common ancestor not only to all races, but to all biological life. This &“masterful&” book restores the missing moral core of Darwin&’s evolutionary universe, providing a completely new account of how he came to his shattering theories about human origins (Publishers Weekly, starred review). It will revolutionize your view of the great naturalist. &“An illuminating new book.&” —Smithsonian &“Compelling . . . Desmond and Moore aptly describe Darwin&’s interaction with some of the thorniest social and political issues of the day.&” —Wired &“This exciting book is sure to create a stir.&” —Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University, and author of Charles Darwin: Voyaging
Darwin's Sciences
by Peter Graham Duncan PorterA complete scientific biography of Darwin that takes into account the latest research findings, both published and unpublished, on the life of this remarkable man. Considered the first book to thoroughly emphasize Darwin's research in various fields of endeavor, what he did, why he did it, and its implications for his time and ours. Rather than following a strictly chronological approach - a narrative choice that characteristically offers an ascent to On the Origin of Species (1859) with a rapid decline in interest following its publication and reception - this book stresses the diversity and full extent of Darwin's career by providing a series of chapters centering on various intellectual topics and scientific specializations that interested Darwin throughout his life. Authored by academics with years of teaching and discussing Darwin, Darwin's Sciences is suited to any biologist who is interested in the deeper inplications of Darwin's research.
Darwin's Spectre: Evolutionary Biology in the Modern World
by Michael R. RoseExtending the human life-span past 120 years. The "green" revolution. Evolution and human psychology. These subjects make today's newspaper headlines. Yet much of the science underlying these topics stems from a book published nearly 140 years ago--Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Far from an antique idea restricted to the nineteenth century, the theory of evolution is one of the most potent concepts in all of modern science. In Darwin's Spectre, Michael Rose provides the general reader with an introduction to the theory of evolution: its beginning with Darwin, its key concepts, and how it may affect us in the future. First comes a brief biographical sketch of Darwin. Next, Rose gives a primer on the three most important concepts in evolutionary theory--variation, selection, and adaptation. With a firm grasp of these concepts, the reader is ready to look at modern applications of evolutionary theory. Discussing agriculture, Rose shows how even before Darwin farmers and ranchers unknowingly experimented with evolution. Medical research, however, has ignored Darwin's lessons until recently, with potentially grave consequences. Finally, evolution supplies important new vantage points on human nature. If humans weren't created by deities, then our nature may be determined more by evolution than we have understood. Or it may not be. In this question, as in many others, the Darwinian perspective is one of the most important for understanding human affairs in the modern world. Darwin's Spectre explains how evolutionary biology has been used to support both valuable applied research, particularly in agriculture, and truly frightening objectives, such as Nazi eugenics. Darwin's legacy has been a comfort and a scourge. But it has never been irrelevant.
Darwins Traum: Die Entstehung des menschlichen Bewusstseins
by Adolf HeschlNach seinem erfolgreichen Werk "Das intelligente Genom" befasst sich Adolf Heschl in seinem neuen Buch mit der Entstehung des Bewusstseins während der Evolutionsgeschichte. Unterhaltsam und leicht zugänglich geschrieben wartet der Autor nicht nur mit neuen Erkenntnissen aus der Primatenforschung auf, sondern verbindet sie mit Einsichten aus der Verhaltensforschung, Psychologie und Molekularbiologie. Insbesondere die Bedeutung des Lebensraumes der Primaten sowie der Anpassung an verschiedene ökologische Nischen für die Entwicklung des Bewusstseins und unseres Sozialverhaltens werden erläutert und der Autor kommt zu überraschenden Schlussfolgerungen, die ein neues Licht auch auf Theorien der Psychologie, wie die Freudsche Bewusstseinstheorie, werfen.
Darwin's Tree of Life
by Michael BrightFollow the evolution of plants and animals, from the first living things 6 billion years ago to the animals living in the world today. Darwin's Tree of Life shows how the incredible diversity of life on earth came to be. This beautifully illustrated book starts from the dawn of life and shows the order in which plants and animals evolved, the different branches of 'The Tree of Life', and how plants and animals have changed over time in many amazingly different ways. Find out:· why crabs run sideway· which fish was the first to walk on land· why birds are similar to dinosaurs · why human brains are located in the head and not in our feet. which creatures can survive 30 years without eating· which mammal has the strongest bite of any predator· why hedgehogs have spinesStunningly illustrated by illustrator and print maker, Margaux Carpentier, children will enjoy finding out about a whole world of wonderful animals on our amazing planet Earth.The author, Michael Bright, has worked as an executive producer with the BBC's world-renowned Natural History Unit, based in Bristol, and with its Science Unit in London. He is author of over a hundred books on wildlife, science, travel, and conservation, including many for children. His bestseller Africa: Eye to Eye with the Unknown accompanied the popular television series presented by Sir David Attenborough. He is the recipient of many international radio and television awards, including the prestigious Prix Italia. He is a graduate of the University of London and a corporate biologist and member of the Royal Society of Biology.This book is perfect for the study of evolution, adaptation and inheritance in KS2 and KS2 science and covers topics such as classification, habitats and conservation.
Darwin's Unfinished Business: The Self-Organizing Intelligence of Nature
by Dorion Sagan Simon G. PowellA groundbreaking interpretation of evolution as the work of Nature’s intelligence • Refutes the orthodox view of evolution as a mindless process driven by chance • Explains why context is more important than mutation in evolutionary innovation • Shows how, by recognizing Nature’s innovative and creative powers, we can overcome our social and environmental challenges with a new green science of evolution Darwin’s theory of evolution is undoubtedly one of the most important scientific ideas of the modern age, explaining the existence of both life and consciousness without recourse to divine intervention. Yet how do we interpret evolution? How do we evaluate the ability of Nature to engineer something as exquisite as the genetic code or the human brain? Could it be that evolution is an intelligent process? Is Nature smart? According to most scientists, the answer is no. While humanity may be intelligent and purposeful, the natural processes that crafted us are deemed to be devoid of such attributes. In a radical move away from orthodoxy, Simon G. Powell extends Darwin’s vision by showing that evolution is not just about the survival of the fittest but rather the survival of clever and sensible behavior. Revealing the importance of the context in which things evolve, he explores the intelligent learning process behind natural selection. Rich with examples of the incredibly complex plants, animals, insects, and marine life designed by Nature--from the carnivorous Venus flytrap and the fungus-farming leafcutter ant to the symbiotic microbes found inside the common cow--he shows Nature as a whole to be a system of self-organizing intelligence in which life and consciousness were always destined to emerge. Examining the origins of life and the failure of artificial intelligence to compete with natural intelligence, he explains how our scientifically narrow-minded views on intelligence are now acting as a barrier to our own evolution. As Darwin’s unfinished business comes to light and Nature’s intelligence is embraced, we learn that Nature’s agenda is not simply the replication of genetic matter but of expanding consciousness. By working with Nature’s creative and innovative powers instead of against them, we can address today’s social and environmental challenges with a new green science of evolution.
Darwin's Unfinished Symphony: How Culture Made the Human Mind
by Kevin N. LalandHumans possess an extraordinary capacity for cultural production, from the arts and language to science and technology. How did the human mind—and the uniquely human ability to devise and transmit culture—evolve from its roots in animal behavior? Darwin's Unfinished Symphony presents a captivating new theory of human cognitive evolution. This compelling and accessible book reveals how culture is not just the magnificent end product of an evolutionary process that produced a species unlike all others—it is also the key driving force behind that process.Kevin Laland shows how the learned and socially transmitted activities of our ancestors shaped our intellects through accelerating cycles of evolutionary feedback. The truly unique characteristics of our species—such as our intelligence, language, teaching, and cooperation—are not adaptive responses to predators, disease, or other external conditions. Rather, humans are creatures of their own making. Drawing on his own groundbreaking research, and bringing it to life with vivid natural history, Laland explains how animals imitate, innovate, and have remarkable traditions of their own. He traces our rise from scavenger apes in prehistory to modern humans able to design iPhones, dance the tango, and send astronauts into space.This book tells the story of the painstaking fieldwork, the key experiments, the false leads, and the stunning scientific breakthroughs that led to this new understanding of how culture transformed human evolution. It is the story of how Darwin's intellectual descendants picked up where he left off and took up the challenge of providing a scientific account of the evolution of the human mind.
Darwin's Unfinished Symphony: How Culture Made the Human Mind
by Kevin N. LalandHumans possess an extraordinary capacity for culture, from the arts and language to science and technology. But how did the human mind—and the uniquely human ability to devise and transmit culture—evolve from its roots in animal behavior? Darwin’s Unfinished Symphony presents a captivating new theory of human cognitive evolution. This compelling and accessible book reveals how culture is not just the magnificent end product of an evolutionary process that produced a species unlike all others—it is also the key driving force behind that process. Kevin Laland tells the story of the painstaking fieldwork, the key experiments, the false leads, and the stunning scientific breakthroughs that led to this new understanding of how culture transformed human evolution. It is the story of how Darwin’s intellectual descendants picked up where he left off and took up the challenge of providing a scientific account of the evolution of the human mind.
Darwin's Worms: On Life Stories and Death Stories
by Adam PhillipsAdam Phillips has been called "the psychotherapist of the floating world" and "the closest thing we have to a philosopher of happiness. " His style is epigrammatic; his intelligence, electric. His new book, Darwin's Worms, uses the biographical details of Darwin's and Freud's lives to examine endings-suffering, mortality, extinction, and death. Both Freud and Darwin were interested in how destruction conserves life. They took their inspiration from fossils or from half-remembered dreams. Each told a story that has altered our perception of our lives. For Darwin, Phillips explains, "the story to tell was how species can drift towards extinction; for Freud, the story was how the individual tended to, and tended towards his own death. " In each case, it is a death story that uniquely illuminates the life story.
Das ABC des Genklonens
by Dominic W. WongDieses klare und übersichtliche Buch bietet einen Einführungskurs in die Sprache des Genklonens und deckt dabei mikrobielle, pflanzliche und Säugetiersysteme ab. Es stellt die Grundlagen des Genklonens in einer gut organisierten und zugänglichen Weise dar. Teil I dieses Buches umreißt die Grundlagen der Biologie und Genetik, die für das Konzept des Genklonens relevant sind. Teil II beschreibt gängige Techniken und Ansätze des Genklonens, angefangen von den grundlegenden Mechanismen der DNA-Manipulation, Vektorsystemen, Prozesstransformation bis hin zur Genanalyse. In Teil III und IV werden Anwendungstechnologien vorgestellt, die in der Landwirtschaft, Biomedizin und verwandten Bereichen von großer Bedeutung sind. Das ABC des Genklonens, dritte Auflage, enthält Aktualisierungen, darunter ein Tutorial-Kapitel über die Konstruktion von Genvektoren, Methoden zur Exom-Sequenzierung bei der Suche nach Krankheitsgenen, überarbeitete Themen zur Gentherapie und zur Ganzgenom-Sequenzierung, neue Entwicklungen zum Gen-Targeting und zur Genom-Editierung sowie den aktuellen Stand des Next Generation Sequencing. Mit mehr als 140 Abbildungen ist diese neue Ausgabe ein unschätzbarer Text für Studenten und alle, die die Sprache des Genklonens lesen und sprechen wollen.
Das älteste Glücksspiel: Eine kurze Naturgeschichte der Sexualität
by Veiko KraußSex prägt wesentlich unser Bild einer lebendigen Natur. Entstanden vor Milliarden Jahren, spielt die Sexualität die Rolle eines Zufallsgenerators, welcher in jeder Generation Erbgut neu zusammenwürfelt. Sie gleicht einem Rüttler, der für die Durchlässigkeit des Siebes der natürlichen Selektion sorgt. Sex tritt bei jeder Art in einer besonderen, durch ihre evolutionäre Geschichte und Lebensweise geprägten Form in Erscheinung. All diesen Formen ist gemeinsam, dass nur das Zusammenwirken zweier Partner erfolgreich sein kann. Dennoch kann aus dieser Kooperation Ungleichheit und heftige Konkurrenz entstehen. Dieses Buch erklärt darüber hinaus, wieso Sexualität bei mehrzelligen Lebewesen oft mit Metamorphose, Brutfürsorge oder Brutpflege verbunden wird, worin der Unterschied zwischen Arten, Rassen und genetischer Vielfalt besteht, dass Geschlechterrollen und -stereotypen austauschbar sind und worauf es bei der Partnerwahl wirklich ankommt.
Das Äquivalenzprinzip: Grundlagen, Tests und neueste Messungen (essentials)
by Meike List Claus LämmerzahlDas Äquivalenzprinzip ist grundlegend für die Allgemeine Relativitätstheorie und für unser heutiges Verständnis von Raum und Zeit. Außerdem sagen bisherige Ansätze für eine Theorie der Quantengravitation kleinste Verletzungen des Äquivalenzprinzips voraus, so dass dessen Tests auch immer eine Suche nach experimentellen Signaturen einer solchen Quantengravitationstheorie sind. Die Autoren legen in diesem Essential die begrifflichen Grundlagen des Äquivalenzprinzips anschaulich dar, geben einen Überblick über alle möglichen Testverfahren und beschreiben ausführlich den neuesten und besten Test, der auf einem Satelliten im Weltraum stattgefunden hat. Auch Vorschläge für noch bessere Tests werden diskutiert.