Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Author : Sean B. Carroll
Publisher : Hachette UK
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2012-03-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781849166867

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Endless Forms Most Beautiful by Sean B. Carroll Pdf

We not only share nearly 99% of our genes with chimps, we also have some 35% in common with daffodils. Throughout much of the animal and even plant kingdoms, almost the same ancient genes code for almost the same proteins. And further, to everyone's astonishment, the genes involved in making the complex eyes of fruitflies are close matches to those involved in making the very different eyes of octopuses and people. So what leads to the nature's 'endless forms most beautiful'? The key to this mystery is being unravelled by 'Evo Devo' or the new science of evolutionary development biology. By looking at how a single-celled egg gives rise to a complex, multi-billion celled animal, Evo Devo is illuminating exactly how new species - butterflies and zebras, trilobites and dinosaurs, apes and humans - are made and evolved. The key, it turns out, is all about location and timing... For anyone who has ever pondered 'where did I come from', Endless Forms Most Beautiful explores our history, both the journey we have all made from egg to adult, and the long trek from the origin of life to the very recent origin of our species.

Author : Richard Landon
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 84 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : STANFORD:36105215302154

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Endless Forms Most Beautiful by Richard Landon Pdf

Author : Charles Darwin
Publisher : National Geographic Books
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2010-08-31
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780393061345

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From So Simple a Beginning by Charles Darwin Pdf

Hailed as "superior" by Nature, this landmark volume is available in a collectible, boxed edition. Never before have the four great works of Charles Darwin—Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1872)—been collected under one cover. Undertaking this challenging endeavor 123 years after Darwin's death, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson has written an introductory essay for the occasion, while providing new, insightful introductions to each of the four volumes and an afterword that examines the fate of evolutionary theory in an era of religious resistance. In addition, Wilson has crafted a creative new index to accompany these four texts, which links the nineteenth-century, Darwinian evolutionary concepts to contemporary biological thought. Beautifully slipcased, and including restored versions of the original illustrations, From So Simple a Beginning turns our attention to the astounding power of the natural creative process and the magnificence of its products.

Author : George R. McGhee, Jr.
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 335 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2011-11-04
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780262539098

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Convergent Evolution by George R. McGhee, Jr. Pdf

An analysis of convergent evolution from molecules to ecosystems, demonstrating the limited number of evolutionary pathways available to life. Charles Darwin famously concluded On the Origin of Species with a vision of “endless forms most beautiful” continually evolving. More than 150 years later many evolutionary biologists see not endless forms but the same, or very similar, forms evolving repeatedly in many independent species lineages. A porpoise's fishlike fins, for example, are not inherited from fish ancestors but are independently derived convergent traits. In this book, George McGhee describes the ubiquity of the phenomenon of convergent evolution and connects it directly to the concept of evolutionary constraint—the idea that the number of evolutionary pathways available to life are not endless, but quite limited. Convergent evolution occurs on all levels, from tiny organic molecules to entire ecosystems of species. McGhee demonstrates its ubiquity in animals, both herbivore and carnivore; in plants; in ecosystems; in molecules, including DNA, proteins, and enzymes; and even in minds, describing problem-solving behavior and group behavior as the products of convergence. For each species example, he provides an abbreviated list of the major nodes in its phylogenetic classification, allowing the reader to see the evolutionary relationship of a group of species that have independently evolved a similar trait by convergent evolution. McGhee analyzes the role of functional and developmental constraints in producing convergent evolution, and considers the scientific and philosophical implications of convergent evolution for the predictability of the evolutionary process.

Author : Sean B. Carroll
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2007-09-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780393330519

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The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution by Sean B. Carroll Pdf

A geneticist discusses the role of DNA in the evolution of life on Earth, explaining how an analysis of DNA reveals a complete record of the events that have shaped each species and how it provides evidence of the validity of the theory of evolution.

Author : Sean B. Carroll
Publisher : Crown
Page : 594 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2014-09-23
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780307952349

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Brave Genius by Sean B. Carroll Pdf

The never-before-told account of the intersection of some of the most insightful minds of the 20th century, and a fascinating look at how war, resistance, and friendship can catalyze genius. In the spring of 1940, the aspiring but unknown writer Albert Camus and budding scientist Jacques Monod were quietly pursuing ordinary, separate lives in Paris. After the German invasion and occupation of France, each joined the Resistance to help liberate the country from the Nazis and ascended to prominent, dangerous roles. After the war and through twists of circumstance, they became friends, and through their passionate determination and rare talent they emerged as leading voices of modern literature and biology, each receiving the Nobel Prize in their respective fields. Drawing upon a wealth of previously unpublished and unknown material gathered over several years of research, Brave Genius tells the story of how each man endured the most terrible episode of the twentieth century and then blossomed into extraordinarily creative and engaged individuals. It is a story of the transformation of ordinary lives into exceptional lives by extraordinary events--of courage in the face of overwhelming adversity, the flowering of creative genius, deep friendship, and of profound concern for and insight into the human condition.

Author : Seirian Sumner
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 480 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2022-07-12
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780063029941

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Endless Forms by Seirian Sumner Pdf

“A book that draws us in to the strange beauty of what we so often run away from.” — Robin Ince, author of The Importance of Being Interested In this eye-opening and entertaining work of popular science in the spirit of The Mosquito, Entangled Life, and The Book of Eels, a leading behavioural ecologist transforms our understanding of wasps, exploring these much-maligned insects’ secret world, their incredible diversity and complex social lives, and revealing how they hold our fragile ecosystem in balance. Everyone worries about the collapse of bee populations. But what about wasps? Deemed the gangsters of the insect world, wasps are winged assassins with formidable stings. Conduits of Biblical punishment, provokers of fear and loathing, inspiration for horror movies: wasps are perhaps the most maligned insect on our planet. But do wasps deserve this reputation? Endless Forms opens our eyes to the highly complex and diverse world of wasps. Wasps are 100 million years older than bees; there are ten times more wasp species than there are bees. There are wasps that spend their entire lives sealed inside a fig; wasps that turn cockroaches into living zombies; wasps that live inside other wasps. There are wasps that build citadels that put our own societies to shame, marked by division of labor, rebellions and policing, monarchies, leadership contests, undertakers, police, negotiators, and social parasites. Wasps are nature’s most misunderstood insect: as predators and pollinators, they keep the planet’s ecological balance in check. Wasps are nature’s pest controllers; a world without wasps would be just as ecologically devastating as losing the bees, or beetles, or butterflies. Wasps are diverse and beautiful by every measure, and they are invaluable to planetary health, Professor Sumner reminds us; we’d do well to appreciate them as much as their cuter cousins, the bees.

Author : Theodore W. Pietsch
Publisher : JHU Press
Page : 373 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2013-07
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781421411859

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Trees of Life by Theodore W. Pietsch Pdf

Evolution.

Author : Sean B. Carroll
Publisher : HMH
Page : 357 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2014-10-16
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780547526140

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Remarkable Creatures by Sean B. Carroll Pdf

National Book Award Finalist: A biologist’s “thoroughly enjoyable” account of the expeditions that unearthed the history of life on our planet (Publishers Weekly). Not so long ago, most of our world was an unexplored wilderness. Our sense of its age was vague and vastly off the mark, and much of the knowledge of our own species’ history was a set of fantastic myths and fairy tales. But scientists were about to embark on an amazing new era of understanding. From the New York Times–bestselling author of The Big Picture, this book leads us on a rousing voyage that recounts the most important discoveries in two centuries of natural history: from Darwin’s trip around the world to Charles Walcott’s discovery of pre-Cambrian life in the Grand Canyon; from Louis and Mary Leakey’s investigation of our deepest past in East Africa to the trailblazers in modern laboratories who have located a time clock in our DNA. Filled with the same sense of adventure that spurred on these extraordinary men and women, Remarkable Creatures is a “stirring introduction to the wonder of evolutionary biology” (Kirkus Reviews). “Charming and enlightening.” —San Francisco Chronicle “As fast-paced as a detective story.” —Nature

Author : Daniel Duzdevich
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 348 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2014-02-24
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780253011749

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Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Daniel Duzdevich Pdf

An essential new edition of the 19th-century scientific masterpiece that translates Darwin’s Victorian prose into modern English: “Most useful” (Walter Brock, Columbia University). Charles Darwin’s most famous book On the Origin of Species is without question one of the most important books ever written. Yet many students have great difficulty understanding it. While even the grandest works of Victorian English can be a challeng for modern readers, Darwin’s dense scientific prose is especially difficult to navigate. For an era in which Darwin is more talked about than read, doctoral student 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 brings 21st-century readers into closer contact with Darwin’s revolutionary ideas.

Author : Sean B. Carroll
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 285 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2017-03-07
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781400885541

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The Serengeti Rules by Sean B. Carroll Pdf

Now the subject of an Emmy Award–winning film the New York Times calls "spellbinding" How does life work? How does nature produce the right numbers of zebras and lions on the African savanna, or fish in the ocean? How do our bodies produce the right numbers of cells in our organs and bloodstream? In The Serengeti Rules, award-winning biologist and author Sean Carroll tells the stories of the pioneering scientists who sought the answers to such simple yet profoundly important questions, and shows how their discoveries matter for our health and the health of the planet we depend upon. One of the most important revelations about the natural world is that everything is regulated—there are rules that regulate the amount of every molecule in our bodies and rules that govern the numbers of every animal and plant in the wild. And the most surprising revelation about the rules that regulate life at such different scales is that they are remarkably similar—there is a common underlying logic of life. Carroll recounts how our deep knowledge of the rules and logic of the human body has spurred the advent of revolutionary life-saving medicines, and makes the compelling case that it is now time to use the Serengeti Rules to heal our ailing planet. A bold and inspiring synthesis by one of our most accomplished biologists and gifted storytellers, The Serengeti Rules is the first book to illuminate how life works at vastly different scales. Read it and you will never look at the world the same way again.

Author : Sean B. Carroll
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 365 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2006-03-28
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780393327793

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Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo by Sean B. Carroll Pdf

Presents an introduction to evolutionary developmental biology which studies genes and their role in biological diversity and evolution.

Author : Neil Shubin
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2020-03-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781101871348

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Some Assembly Required by Neil Shubin Pdf

An exciting and accessible new view of the evolution of human and animal life on Earth. From the author of national bestseller, Your Inner Fish, this extraordinary journey of discovery spans centuries, as explorers and scientists seek to understand the origins of life's immense diversity. “Fossils, DNA, scientists with a penchant for suits of armor—what’s not to love?”—BBC Wildlife Magazine Over billions of years, ancient fish evolved to walk on land, reptiles transformed into birds that fly, and apelike primates evolved into humans that walk on two legs, talk, and write. For more than a century, paleontologists have traveled the globe to find fossils that show how such changes have happened. We have now arrived at a remarkable moment—prehistoric fossils coupled with new DNA technology have given us the tools to answer some of the basic questions of our existence: How do big changes in evolution happen? Is our presence on Earth the product of mere chance? This new science reveals a multibillion-year evolutionary history filled with twists and turns, trial and error, accident and invention. In Some Assembly Required, Neil Shubin takes readers on a journey of discovery spanning centuries, as explorers and scientists seek to understand the origins of life's immense diversity.

Author : Mape Ollila
Publisher : Bazillion Points Books
Page : 356 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Rock groups
ISBN : 0979616328

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Once Upon a Nightwish by Mape Ollila Pdf

Hailing from the tiny hamlet of Kitee, Finland (pop. 10,000) Nightwish has captivated the world’s imagination with magical million-selling releases like Once, Century Child, and Wishmaster. Their saga is a heavy metal fable as dramatic and tumultuous as the band’s epic symphonic music. In these details and confessions, a vivid and painfully honest portrait of a musical dream emerges--and tensions swell as a split with original singer Tarja Turunen becomes inevitable. In this remarkably revealing official biography, author Mape Ollila charts the rise from village student project to global stardom, gaining unprecedented access not just to the members of Nightwish past and present; but also their families, their loyal and lewd crew, their peers, their critics, and countless other insiders from the Nightwish adventure. The book lays bare the creative firepower and personal demons of songwriter Tuomas Holopainen; the unique talents and traits of guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and bassist Marco Hietala; and the true reasons behind the 2005 departure of vocalist Tarja Turunen--in the band’s words and hers. Along the way, the band struggles with religious protesters, fortune-tellers, naked crew members, health problems, shady promoters, out-of-control fans, and the growing pains of an ever-steeper rock star learning curve. Happily ever after or not, these unique Finnish personalities are brought to life in this journey of into the mysteries of...Once Upon a Nightwish.

Author : Rudyard Kipling
Publisher : Xist Publishing
Page : 103 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2015-03-20
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9781623958756

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Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling Pdf

Fables and Myths of the Animals by the Author of The Jungle Book “Hear and attend and listen; for this befell and behappened and became and was: O my Best Beloved, when the tame animals were wild.” ― Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories Just So Stories is a collection of short stories or fables by Rudyard Kipling. This volume includes: How the Whale Got His Throat How the Camel Got His Hump How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin How the Leopard Got His Spots How the Elephant Got his Trunk The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo The Beginning of the Armadillos How the First Letter was Written How the Alphabet was Made The Crab the Played with the Sea The Cat that Walked by Himself The Butterfly that Stamped The Tabu Tale This Xist Classics edition has been professionally formatted for e-readers with a linked table of contents. This eBook also contains a bonus book club leadership guide and discussion questions. We hope you’ll share this book with your friends, neighbors and colleagues and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it. Xist Publishing is a digital-first publisher. Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation and is dedicated to helping everyone develop a lifetime love of reading, no matter what form it takes