Our ever-increasing knowledge of whole genome sequences is unveiling a variety of structures and mechanisms that impinge on current evolutionary theory. The origin of species, the evolution of form, and the evolutionary impact of transposable elements are just a few of the many processes that have been revolutionised by ongoing genome studies. These novelties, among others, are examined in this book in relation to their general significance for evolution, emphasising their human relevance....

Our ever-increasing knowledge of whole genome sequences is unveiling a variety of structures and mechanisms that impinge on current evolutionary theory. The origin of species, the evolution of form, and the evolutionary impact of transposable elements are just a few of the many processes that have been revolutionised by ongoing genome studies. These novelties, among others, are examined in this book in relation to their general significance for evolution, emphasising their human relevance....

New York Times bestseller • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • One of the Washington Post's 10 Best Books of the Year“It’s no exaggeration to say that Behave is one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read.” —David P. Barash, The Wall Street Journal"It has my vote for science book of the year.” —Parul Sehgal, The New York Times

Resistance to malaria. Blue eyes. Lactose tolerance. What do all of these traits have in common? Every one of them has emerged in the last 10,000 years.Scientists have long believed that the "great leap forward" that occurred some 40,000 to 50,000 years ago in Europe marked end of significant biological evolution in humans. In this stunningly original account of our evolutionary history, top scholars Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending reject this conventional wis...

By the best selling author of The Selfish Gene 'This entertaining and thought-provoking book is an excellent illustration of why the study of evolution is in such an exciting ferment these days.' Science 'The Extended Phenotype is a sequel to The Selfish Gene . . . he writes so clearly it could be understood by anyone prepared to make the effort' John Maynard Smith, London Review of Books 'Dawkins is quite incapable of being boring this characteristically brilliant and stimulating book is ...

A preeminent geneticist, winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in medicine, hunts the Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes to answer the biggest question of them all: how did our ancestors become human?Neanderthal Man tells the riveting personal and scientific story of the quest to use ancient DNA to unlock the secrets of human evolution. Beginning with the study of DNA in Egyptian mummies in the early 1980s and culminating in the sequencing of the Neanderthal genom...

Over the past thirty years, a new systemic conception of life has emerged at the forefront of science. New emphasis has been given to complexity, networks, and patterns of organisation, leading to a novel kind of 'systemic' thinking. This volume integrates the ideas, models, and theories underlying the systems view of life into a single coherent framework. Taking a broad sweep through history and across scientific disciplines, the authors examine the appearance of key concepts such as auto...

What is life?Humans have been asking this question for thousands of years. But as technology has advanced and our understanding of biology has deepened, the answer has evolved. For decades, scientists have been exploring the limits of nature by modifying and manipulating DNA, cells and whole organisms to create new ones that could never have existed on their own.In Creation, science writer Adam Rutherford explains how we are now radically exceeding...

How our collective intelligence has helped us to evolve and prosperHumans are a puzzling species. On the one hand, we struggle to survive on our own in the wild, often failing to overcome even basic challenges, like obtaining food, building shelters, or avoiding predators. On the other hand, human groups have produced ingenious technologies, sophisticated languages, and complex institutions that have permitted us to successfully expand into a vast range of diverse ...

An insider's view on bringing extinct species back to lifeCould extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? In How to Clone a Mammoth, Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary biologist and pioneer in ancient DNA research, addresses this intriguing question by walking readers through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction. From deciding which species should be restored to anticipating how revived populations migh...

In recent years knowledge of our genetic code has changed our understanding of life on Earth. New genetic technologies are transforming the way we live and promise treatments for otherwise incurable diseases. But these advances are also generating controversy, particularly surrounding issues such as cloning and designer babies.In 50 Genetics Ideas, Mark Henderson distils the central ideas of genetics in a series of clear and concise essays. Beginning with the theory of evolution, an...

In The Big Questions: Evolution, one of the world's leading experts, Francisco Ayala, examines key facets of genetics, evolution and cloning. He uses the most up-to-date research to answer the 20 key questions of evolution, and investigate what they tell us about life on Earth.What is evolution? What is natural selection? Is evolution a random process? What are chromosomes, genes and DNA? What is molecular evolution? What is the tree of life? What does the fossil record tell us? Is...