Understanding Evolution

Understanding Evolution PDF Author: Kostas Kampourakis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107034914
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 275

Get Book Here

Book Description
Bringing together conceptual obstacles and core concepts of evolutionary theory, this book presents evolution as straightforward and intuitive.

Understanding Evolution

Understanding Evolution PDF Author: Kostas Kampourakis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107034914
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 275

Get Book Here

Book Description
Bringing together conceptual obstacles and core concepts of evolutionary theory, this book presents evolution as straightforward and intuitive.

The Ancestor's Tale

The Ancestor's Tale PDF Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618619160
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 696

Get Book Here

Book Description
A renowned biologist provides a sweeping chronicle of more than four billion years of life on Earth, shedding new light on evolutionary theory and history, sexual selection, speciation, extinction, and genetics.

Ancestors in Our Genome

Ancestors in Our Genome PDF Author: Eugene E. Harris (Professor)
Publisher:
ISBN: 0199978034
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Get Book Here

Book Description
In 2001, scientists were finally able to determine the full human genome sequence, and with the discovery began a genomic voyage back in time. Since then, we have sequenced the full genomes of a number of mankind's primate relatives at a remarkable rate. The genomes of the common chimpanzee (2005) and bonobo (2012), orangutan (2011), gorilla (2012), and macaque monkey (2007) have already been identified, and the determination of other primate genomes is well underway. Researchers are beginning to unravel our full genomic history, comparing it with closely related species to answer age-old questions about how and when we evolved. For the first time, we are finding our own ancestors in our genome and are thereby gleaning new information about our evolutionary past. 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 discordance among the gene trees of humans and the African great apes tell us about our respective separations from our common ancestor? Was our separation from the apes fast or slow, and when and why did it occur? Where, when, and how did our modern species evolve? How do we search across genomes to find the genomic underpinnings of our large and complex brains and language abilities? How can we find the genomic bases for life at high altitudes, for lactose tolerance, resistance to disease, and for our different skin pigmentations? How and when did we interbreed with Neandertals and the recently discovered ancient Denisovans of Asia? Harris draws upon extensive experience researching primate evolution in order to deliver a lively and thorough history of human evolution. Ancestors in Our Genome is the most complete discussion of our current understanding of the human genome available.

Animals and Ancestors

Animals and Ancestors PDF Author: Brian Morris
Publisher: Berg Publishers
ISBN: 9781859734919
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Get Book Here

Book Description
"This book explores the role of animals in the rituals and religious life of the matrilineal people of Malawi. It forms a sequel and a companion vol. to my study, The Power of animals (1998)"--P. 1.

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors PDF Author: Carl Sagan
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0307801039
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 528

Get Book Here

Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Exciting and provocative . . . A tour de force of a book that begs to be seen as well as to be read.”—The Washington Post Book World World renowned scientist Carl Sagan and acclaimed author Ann Druyan have written a Roots for the human species, a lucid and riveting account of how humans got to be the way we are. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a thrilling saga that starts with the origin of the Earth. It shows with humor and drama that many of our key traits—self-awareness, technology, family ties, submission to authority, hatred for those a little different from ourselves, reason, and ethics—are rooted in the deep past, and illuminated by our kinship with other animals. Sagan and Druyan conduct a breathtaking journey through space and time, zeroing in on critical turning points in evolutionary history, and tracing the origins of sex, altruism, violence, rape, and dominance. Their book culminates in a stunningly original examination of the connection between primate and human traits. Astonishing in its scope, brilliant in its insights, and an absolutely compelling read, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a triumph of popular science.

Why Are There Still Creationists?

Why Are There Still Creationists? PDF Author: Jonathan Marks
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509547487
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 112

Get Book Here

Book Description
The evidence for the ancestry of the human species among the apes is overwhelming. But the facts are never “just” facts. Human evolution has always been a value-laden scientific theory and, as anthropology makes clear, the ancestors are always sacred. They may be ghosts, or corpses, or fossils, or a naked couple in a garden, but the idea that you are part of a lineage is a powerful and universal one. Meaning and morals are at play, which most certainly transcend science and its quest for maximum accuracy. With clarity and wit, Jonathan Marks shows that the creation/evolution debate is not science versus religion. After all, modern anti-evolutionists reject humanistic scholarship about the Bible even more fundamentally than they reject the science of our simian ancestry. Widening horizons on both sides of the debate, Marks makes clear that creationism is a theological, not a scientific, debate and that thinking perceptively about values and meanings should not be an alternative to thinking about science – it should be a key part of it.

Ancestors and Relatives

Ancestors and Relatives PDF Author: Eviatar Zerubavel
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN: 0199773955
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 239

Get Book Here

Book Description
Noted social scientist Eviatar Zerubavel casts a critical eye on how we trace our past-individually and collectively arguing that rather than simply find out who our ancestors are from genetics or history, we actually create the stories that make them our ancestors.

The Fourth Species

The Fourth Species PDF Author: A.E. Warren
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1529156726
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Get Book Here

Book Description
__________________________________________________ To protect the past, they must fight for their future. In the thrilling third book in the Tomorrow's Ancestors series a devastating change is on the horizon. 'A stonking good sci-fi & coming-of-age story all wrapped into one . . . a book that tackles humanity, hardship, and classism at the deepest level.' - Magic Radio Book Club Elise has now been working for the infiltration department for a year, but is growing frustrated with their lack of progress, their unwillingness to fight back against an unjust world. When it's announced that they're going on the offensive, will she be ready for the consequences? Twenty-Two finally has her freedom after serving her term of imprisonment. But not everyone believes she deserves to be released. If she is not welcome in Uracil, then where does she belong? Genevieve's life as a high-ranking Medius is perfectly crafted to hide all weakness, but when she finds out what the Potior's have planned next at the Museum of Evolution, she starts to question her choices, and the cracks begin to show. Can she keep herself from shattering? When a threat none of these women could have predicted comes to pass, they are all left to fight for their futures. Whether they are ready for it or not, their worlds will collide and nothing will be the same again . . . __________________________________________________ PRAISE FOR THE TOMORROW'S ANCESTORS SERIES 'An unputdownable exploration into the ethics of science' Buzz Magazine' Incredible . . . without a doubt one of the best YA sci-fi books I've ever read' Out and About Books 'Instantly engaging . . . widens out from a tale of a girl trying to find her own identity to a broader story encompassing an entire population's burden of oppression, and the desire for freedom' Track of Words 'One of the rare debuts that are really five star reads. Subject Twenty One grabbed me instantly and I couldn't put it down' Dom Reads __________________________________________________ Make sure you've read the whole series! 1. Subject Twenty-One 2. The Hidden Base 3. The Fourth Species

Ancestor

Ancestor PDF Author: Scott Sigler
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307589358
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 434

Get Book Here

Book Description
“The ancestors are out there…you have to believe me.” From acclaimed author Scott Sigler—New York Times bestselling creator of Infected and Contagious—comes a tale of genetic experimentation’s worst nightmare come true. Every five minutes, a transplant candidate dies while waiting for a heart, a liver, a kidney. Imagine a technology that could provide those life-saving transplant organs for a nominal fee ... and imagine what a company would do to get a monopoly on that technology. On a remote island in the Canadian Arctic, PJ Colding leads a group of geneticists who have discovered this holy grail of medicine. By reverse-engineering the genomes of thousands of mammals, Colding's team has dialed back the evolutionary clock to re-create humankind’s common ancestor. The method? Illegal. The result? A computer-engineered living creature, an animal whose organs can be implanted in any person, and with no chance of transplant rejection. There's just one problem: these ancestors are not the docile herd animals that Colding's team envisioned. Instead, Colding’s work has given birth to something big, something evil. With these killer creatures on the prowl, Colding and the woman he loves must fight to survive — even as government agents close in to shut the project down, and the deep-pocketed company backing this research proves to have its own cold-blooded agenda. As the creators become the prey in the ultimate battle for survival, Scott Sigler takes readers on the ultimate thrill-ride—and offers a chilling cautionary account of what can happen when hubris, greed, and madness drive scientific experimentation past the brink of reason.

Did Darwin Write the Origin Backwards?

Did Darwin Write the Origin Backwards? PDF Author: Elliott Sober
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616142782
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Get Book Here

Book Description
Is it accurate to label Darwin’s theory "the theory of evolution by natural selection," given that the concept of common ancestry is at least as central to Darwin’s theory? Did Darwin reject the idea that group selection causes characteristics to evolve that are good for the group though bad for the individual? How does Darwin’s discussion of God in The Origin of Species square with the common view that he is the champion of methodological naturalism? These are just some of the intriguing questions raised in this volume of interconnected philosophical essays on Darwin. The author's approach is informed by modern issues in evolutionary biology, but is sensitive to the ways in which Darwin’s outlook differed from that of many biologists today. The main topics that are the focus of the book—common ancestry, group selection, sex ratio, and naturalism—have rarely been discussed in their connection with Darwin in such penetrating detail. Author Professor Sober is the 2008 winner of the Prometheus Prize. This biennial award, established in 2006 through the American Philosophical Association, is designed "to honor a distinguished philosopher in recognition of his or her lifetime contribution to expanding the frontiers of research in philosophy and science." This insightful collection of essays will be of interest to philosophers, biologists, and laypersons seeking a deeper understanding of one of the most influential scientific theories ever propounded.