The complete DNA molecules comprising the human genome were deciphered two decades ago. With this discovery began a remarkable genomic voyage back in time yielding a new science of human evolution. We are just beginning to unravel our full genomic history and answering age-old questions about how and when we evolved. For the first time, we are finding our ancestors in our genome and gleaning tantalizing clues about our past. Molecular anthropologist Eugene E. Harris now gives us an updated...

The complete DNA molecules comprising the human genome were deciphered two decades ago. With this discovery began a remarkable genomic voyage back in time yielding a new science of human evolution. We are just beginning to unravel our full genomic history and answering age-old questions about how and when we evolved. For the first time, we are finding our ancestors in our genome and gleaning tantalizing clues about our past. Molecular anthropologist Eugene E. Harris now gives us an updated...

In Ancestors in Our Genome, molecular anthropologist Eugene E. Harris presents us with a complete and up-to-date account of the evolution of the human genome and our species. Written from the perspective of population genetics, and in simple terms, the book traces human origins back to their source among our earliest human ancestors, and explains many of the most intriguing questions that genome scientists are currently working to answer. For example, what does the high level of d...

Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy.For more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization. When Europe fell into the Dark Ages, Byzantium held fast against Muslim expansion, k...

A groundbreaking book about how ancient DNA has profoundly changed our understanding of human historyGeneticists like David Reich have made astounding advances in the field of genomics, which is proving to be as important as archaeology, linguistics, and written records as a means to understand our ancestry.In Who We Are and How We Got Here, Reich allows listeners to discover how the human genome provides not only all the information a human embryo needs to develop...

Whether it's in a cockpit at takeoff or the planning of an offensive war, a romantic relationship or a dispute at the office, there are many opportunities to lie and self-deceive -- but deceit and self-deception carry the costs of being alienated from reality and can lead to disaster. So why does deception play such a prominent role in our everyday lives? In short, why do we deceive?In his bold new work, prominent biological theorist Robert Trivers unflinchingly argues that self-de...

One of the world’s great primatologists and a renowned expert on social behavior in apes presents the provocative idea that our noblest qualities—generosity, kindness, altruism—are as much a part of our nature as our baser instincts.As genetically similar to man as the chimpanzee, the bonobo has a temperament and a lifestyle vastly different from those of its genetic cousin. Where chimps are aggressive, territorial, and hierarchical, bonobos are gentle and loving.

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...

**“A bizarre collection of evolution tales . . . the weirder, the better.” —Entertainment WeeklyA fascinating exploration of the awe-inspiring, unsettling ingenuity of evolution from Wired writer Matt Simon, author of Plight of the Living Dead (coming soon from Penguin Books)**On a barren seafloor, the pearlfish swims into the safety of a sea cucumber’s anus. To find a meal, the female bolas spider releases pheromones that mimic a female moth, lur...

Building on the success of their previous book, White and Folkens' The Human Bone Manual is intended for use outisde the laboratory and classroom, by professional forensic scientists, anthropologists and researchers. The compact volume includes all the key information needed for identification purposes, including hundreds of photographs designed to show a maximum amount of anatomical information.* Features more than 500 color photographs and illustrations in a port...

In this lively and controversial book Elaine Morgan presents a challenging interpretation to the question of human evolution. With brilliant logic she argues that our hominid ancestors began to evolve in response to an aquatic environment.Millions of years ago something happened that caused our ancestors to walk on two legs, to lose their fur, to develop larger brains and learn how to speak. Elaine Morgan discovers what this event was by studying the many incongruous flaws in the ph...