The Major Transitions in Evolution Revisited

The Major Transitions in Evolution Revisited

Author: Brett Calcott

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2011-04-22

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 0262294532

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Drawing on recent advances in evolutionary biology, prominent scholars return to the question posed in a pathbreaking book: how evolution itself evolved. In 1995, John Maynard Smith and Eörs Szathmáry published their influential book The Major Transitions in Evolution. The "transitions" that Maynard Smith and Szathmáry chose to describe all constituted major changes in the kinds of organisms that existed but, most important, these events also transformed the evolutionary process itself. The evolution of new levels of biological organization, such as chromosomes, cells, multicelled organisms, and complex social groups radically changed the kinds of individuals natural selection could act upon. Many of these events also produced revolutionary changes in the process of inheritance, by expanding the range and fidelity of transmission, establishing new inheritance channels, and developing more open-ended sources of variation. Maynard Smith and Szathmáry had planned a major revision of their work, but the death of Maynard Smith in 2004 prevented this. In this volume, prominent scholars (including Szathmáry himself) reconsider and extend the earlier book's themes in light of recent developments in evolutionary biology. The contributors discuss different frameworks for understanding macroevolution, prokaryote evolution (the study of which has been aided by developments in molecular biology), and the complex evolution of multicellularity.


Evolution: A Visual Record

Evolution: A Visual Record

Author: Robert Clark

Publisher: Phaidon Press

Published: 2016-10-03

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780714871189

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Stunning images to reawaken us to the scientific process that drives the amazing diversity of life on earth Evidence of evolution is everywhere. Through 200 revelatory images, award-winning photographer Robert Clark makes one of the most important foundations of science clear and exciting to everyone. Evolution: A Visual Record transports readers from the near-mystical(human ancestors) to the historic (the famous 'finches' Darwin collected on the Galapagos Islands that spurred his theory); the recently understood (the link between dinosaurs and modern birds) to the simply astonishing.


Evolution

Evolution

Author: Stephen Baxter

Publisher: Del Rey

Published: 2003-01-01

Total Pages: 635

ISBN-13: 0345457846

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“Magisterial and uplifting . . . A brilliant, grandscale sampling of sixty-five million years of human evolution . . . It shows the sweep and grandeur of life in its unrelenting course.” —The Denver Post Stretching from the distant past into the remote future, from primordial Earth to the stars, Evolution is a soaring symphony of struggle, extinction, and survival; a dazzling epic that combines a dozen scientific disciplines and a cast of unforgettable characters to convey the grand drama of evolution in all its awesome majesty and rigorous beauty. Sixty-five million years ago, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, there lived a small mammal, a proto-primate of the species Purgatorius. From this humble beginning, Baxter traces the human lineage forward through time. The adventure that unfolds is a gripping odyssey governed by chance and competition, a perilous journey to an uncertain destination along a route beset by sudden and catastrophic upheavals. It is a route that ends, for most species, in stagnation or extinction. Why should humanity escape this fate? Praise for Evolution “Spectacular.”—The New York Times Book Review “Strong imagination, a capacity for awe, and the ability to think rigorously about vast and final things abound in the work of Stephen Baxter. . . . [Evolution] leaves the reader with a haunting portrayal of the distant future.”—Times Literary Supplement “A breath of fresh air . . . The miracle of Evolution is that it makes the triumph of life, which is its story, sound like the real story.”—The Washington Post Book World


Evolution

Evolution

Author: Mark Ridley

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Published: 2003-11-07

Total Pages: 784

ISBN-13: 9781405103459

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Mark Ridley's Evolution has become the premier undergraduate text in the study of evolution. Readable and stimulating, yet well-balanced and in-depth, this text tells the story of evolution, from the history of the study to the most revent developments in evolutionary theory. The third edition of this successful textbook features updates and extensive new coverage. The sections on adaptation and diversity have been reorganized for improved clarity and flow, and a completely updated section on the evolution of sex and the inclusion of more plant examples have all helped to shape this new edition. Evolution also features strong, balanced coverage of population genetics, and scores of new applied plant and animal examples make this edition even more accessible and engaging. Dedicated website – provides an interactive experience of the book, with illustrations downloadable to PowerPoint, and a full supplemental package complementing the book – www.blackwellpublishing.com/ridley. Margin icons – indicate where there is relevant information included in the dedicated website. Two new chapters – one on evolutionary genomics and one on evolution and development bring state-of-the-art information to the coverage of evolutionary study. Two kinds of boxes – one featuring practical applications and the other related information, supply added depth without interrupting the flow of the text. Margin comments – paraphrase and highlight key concepts. Study and review questions – help students review their understanding at the end of each chapter, while new challenge questions prompt students to synthesize the chapter concepts to reinforce the learning at a deeper level.


Beyond Evolution

Beyond Evolution

Author: Anthony O'Hear

Publisher: Clarendon Press

Published: 1997-10-09

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 0191519669

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Anthony O'Hear takes a stand against the fashion for explaining human behaviour in terms of evolution. He maintains, controversially, that while the theory of evolution is successful in explaining the development of the natural world in general, it is of limited value when applied to the human world. Because of our reflectiveness and our rationality we take on goals and ideals which cannot be justified in terms of survival-promotion or reproductive advantage. O'Hear examines the nature of human self-consciousness, and argues that evolutionary theory cannot give a satisfactory account of such distinctive facets of human life as the quest for knowledge, moral sense, and the appreciation of beauty; in these we transcend our biological origins. It is our rationality that allows each of us to go beyond not only our biological but also our cultural inheritance: as the author says in the Preface, 'we are prisoners neither of our genes nor of the ideas we encounter as we each make our personal and individual way through life'.


WTF, Evolution?!

WTF, Evolution?!

Author: Mara Grunbaum

Publisher: Workman Publishing Company

Published: 2014-10-07

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0761184104

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We all have our off days. Why should Evolution be any different? Maybe Evolution got carried away with an idea that was just a little too crazy—like having the Regal Horned Lizard defend itself by shooting three-foot streams of blood from its eyes. Or maybe Evolution ran out of steam (Memo to Evolution: The Irrawaddy Dolphin looks like a prototype that should have been left on the drawing board). Or maybe Evolution was feeling cheeky—a fish with hands? Joke’s on you, Red Handfish! Or maybe Evolution simply goofed up: How else to explain the overgrown teeth of the babirusas that curl backward over their face? Oops. Mara Grunbaum is a very smart, very funny science writer who celebrates the best—or, really, the worst—of Evolution’s blunders. Here are more than 100 outlandish mammals, reptiles, insects, fish, birds, and other creatures whose very existence leaves us shaking our heads and muttering WTF?! Ms. Grunbaum’s especially brilliant stroke is to personify Evolution as a well-meaning but somewhat oblivious experimenter whose conversations with a skeptical narrator are hilarious. For almost 4 billion years, Evolution has produced a nonstop parade of inflatable noses, bizarre genitalia, and seriously awkward necks. What a comedian!


What Evolution Is

What Evolution Is

Author: Ernst Mayr

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2008-03-18

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 0465013198

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At once a spirited defense of Darwinian explanations of biology and an elegant primer on evolution for the general reader, What Evolution Is poses the questions at the heart of evolutionary theory and considers how our improved understanding of evolution has affected the viewpoints and values of modern man. Science Masters Series


Evolution

Evolution

Author: James Alan Shapiro

Publisher: Pearson Education

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0132780933

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This book proposes an important new paradigm for understanding biological evolution. Shapiro demonstrates why traditional views of evolution are inadequate to explain the latest evidence, and presents an alternative. His information- and systems-based approach integrates advances in symbiogenesis, epigenetics, and saltationism, and points toward an emerging synthesis of physical, information, and biological sciences.


Human Evolution Source Book

Human Evolution Source Book

Author: Russell L. Ciochon

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-12-05

Total Pages: 1626

ISBN-13: 1317347773

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For Junior, Senior, and Graduate courses in Human Evolution taught in anthropology and biology departments. This book is the most comprehensive collection of cutting edge articles on human evolution. Designed for use by students in anthropology, paleontology, and evolutionary biology, this edited volume brings together the major ideas and publications on human evolution of the past three decades. The book spans the entire scope of human evolution with particular emphasis on the fossil record, including archaeological studies.


*Op*evolution Exposed: Biology

*Op*evolution Exposed: Biology

Author: Roger Patterson

Publisher: Master Books

Published: 2007-05

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781600920165

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A creationist's critique of the evolutionary ideas found in three of the most popular biology textbooks used in public schools: [1] Biology: the dynamics of life (Florida edition) / Alton Biggs [et al.] Florida edition (New York: Glencoe/McGraw Hill, 2006) -- [2] Biology: exploring life (Florida teacher's edition) / Neil A. Campbell, Brad Williamson, Robin J. Heyden (Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006) -- [3] Biology (teacher's edition) / George B. Johnson, Peter H. Raven (Austin, Texas: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2006).