The Selfish Gene

The Selfish Gene PDF Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780192860927
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Science need not be dull and bogged down by jargon, as Richard Dawkins proves in this entertaining look at evolution. The themes he takes up are the concepts of altruistic and selfish behaviour; the genetical definition of selfish interest; the evolution of aggressive behaviour; kinshiptheory; sex ratio theory; reciprocal altruism; deceit; and the natural selection of sex differences. 'Should be read, can be read by almost anyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution.' W.D. Hamilton, Science

The Selfish Gene

The Selfish Gene PDF Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780192860927
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Science need not be dull and bogged down by jargon, as Richard Dawkins proves in this entertaining look at evolution. The themes he takes up are the concepts of altruistic and selfish behaviour; the genetical definition of selfish interest; the evolution of aggressive behaviour; kinshiptheory; sex ratio theory; reciprocal altruism; deceit; and the natural selection of sex differences. 'Should be read, can be read by almost anyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution.' W.D. Hamilton, Science

Not in Our Genes

Not in Our Genes PDF Author: Richard Lewontin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781608467273
Category : Behavior genetics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Three eminent scientists analyze the scientific, social, and political roots of biological determinism.

The Gene's-Eye View of Evolution

The Gene's-Eye View of Evolution PDF Author: J. Arvid Ågren
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198862261
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
"To many evolutionary biologists, the central challenge of their discipline is to explain adaptation, the appearance of design in the living world. With the theory of evolution by natural selection, Charles Darwin elegantly showed how a purely mechanistic process can achieve this striking feature of nature. Since then, the way many biologists have thought about evolution and natural selection is as a theory about individual organisms. Over a century later, a subtle but radical shift in perspective emerged with the gene's-eye view of evolution in which natural selection was conceptualized as a struggle between genes for replication and transmission to the next generation. This viewpoint culminated with the publication of The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (Oxford University Press, 1976) and is now commonly referred to as selfish gene thinking. The gene's-eye view has subsequently played a central role in evolutionary biology, although it continues to attract controversy. The central aim of this accessible book is to show how the gene's-eye view differs from the traditional organismal account of evolution, trace its historical origins, clarify typical misunderstandings and, by using examples from contemporary experimental work, show why so many evolutionary biologists still consider it an indispensable heuristic. The book concludes by discussing how selfish gene thinking fits into ongoing debates in evolutionary biology, and what they tell us about the future of the gene's-eye view of evolution."--

Adam and the Genome

Adam and the Genome PDF Author: Scot McKnight
Publisher: Brazos Press
ISBN: 1493406744
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
Genomic science indicates that humans descend not from an individual pair but from a large population. What does this mean for the basic claim of many Christians: that humans descend from Adam and Eve? Leading evangelical geneticist Dennis Venema and popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight combine their expertise to offer informed guidance and answers to questions pertaining to evolution, genomic science, and the historical Adam. Some of the questions they explore include: - Is there credible evidence for evolution? - Do we descend from a population or are we the offspring of Adam and Eve? - Does taking the Bible seriously mean rejecting recent genomic science? - How do Genesis's creation stories reflect their ancient Near Eastern context, and how did Judaism understand the Adam and Eve of Genesis? - Doesn't Paul's use of Adam in the New Testament prove that Adam was a historical individual? The authors address up-to-date genomics data with expert commentary from both genetic and theological perspectives, showing that genome research and Scripture are not irreconcilable. Foreword by Tremper Longman III and afterword by Daniel Harrell.

Drosophila Eye Development

Drosophila Eye Development PDF Author: Kevin Moses
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9783540425908
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
1 Kevin Moses It is now 25 years since the study of the development of the compound eye in Drosophila really began with a classic paper (Ready et al. 1976). In 1864, August Weismann published a monograph on the development of Diptera and included some beautiful drawings of the developing imaginal discs (Weismann 1864). One of these is the first description of the third instar eye disc in which Weismann drew a vertical line separating a posterior domain that included a regular pattern of clustered cells from an anterior domain without such a pattern. Weismann suggested that these clusters were the precursors of the adult ommatidia and that the line marks the anterior edge of the eye. In his first suggestion he was absolutely correct - in his second he was wrong. The vertical line shown was not the anterior edge of the eye, but the anterior edge of a moving wave of patterning and cell type specification that 112 years later (1976) Ready, Hansen and Benzer would name the "morphogenetic furrow". While it is too late to hear from August Weismann, it is a particular pleasure to be able to include a chapter in this Volume from the first author of that 1976 paper: Don Ready! These past 25 years have seen an astonishing explosion in the study of the fly eye (see Fig.

Genetics For Dummies

Genetics For Dummies PDF Author: Tara Rodden Robinson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470634480
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
A plain-English guide to genetics Want to know more about genetics? This non-intimidating guide gets you up to speed on all the fundamentals and the most recent discoveries. Now with 25% new and revised material, Genetics For Dummies, 2nd Edition gives you clear and accessible coverage of this rapidly advancing field. From dominant and recessive inherited traits to the DNA double-helix, you get clear explanations in easy-to-understand terms. Plus, you'll see how people are applying genetic science to fight disease, develop new products, solve crimes . . . and even clone cats. Covers topics in a straightforward and effective manner Includes coverage of stem cell research, molecular genetics, behavioral genetics, genetic engineering, and more Explores ethical issues as they pertain to the study of genetics Whether you?re currently enrolled in a genetics course or are just looking for a refresher, Genetics For Dummies, 2nd Edition provides science lovers of all skill levels with easy-to-follow information on this fascinating subject.

Kidnappers from the Future

Kidnappers from the Future PDF Author: Gene P. Abel
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1954676069
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
"Brisk and engaging" - Kirkus The time travel adventure continues in the page-turning second novel in the bestselling Defenders of Time series. With the recent expansion of the time travel program to include Dr. Sam Weiss’s niece, Samantha, exciting breakthroughs are on the horizon. Just days before she is set to officially join the team, Samantha, her uncle, and Special Agent Hessman encounter a group of Russian terrorists who vanish into thin air and leave behind a strange type of electrified bullet. Despite all security precautions, the terrorists once again appear in the middle of the base and successfully kidnap Samantha. Her location is completely unknown. The team must race uncover why these Russians, who appear to have come from the future, have traveled through time to take Samantha. Their mission is immediately clear: rescue Samantha and find out why she was kidnapped in the first place. The team will be forced to overcome their outdated technology, and Special Agent Hessman’s developing feelings for Samantha, to save her and unravel this mystery from the future.

The Century of the Gene

The Century of the Gene PDF Author: Evelyn Fox KELLER
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674039432
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
In a book that promises to change the way we think and talk about genes and genetic determinism, Evelyn Fox Keller, one of our most gifted historians and philosophers of science, provides a powerful, profound analysis of the achievements of genetics and molecular biology in the twentieth century, the century of the gene. Not just a chronicle of biology’s progress from gene to genome in one hundred years, The Century of the Gene also calls our attention to the surprising ways these advances challenge the familiar picture of the gene most of us still entertain. Keller shows us that the very successes that have stirred our imagination have also radically undermined the primacy of the gene—word and object—as the core explanatory concept of heredity and development. She argues that we need a new vocabulary that includes concepts such as robustness, fidelity, and evolvability. But more than a new vocabulary, a new awareness is absolutely crucial: that understanding the components of a system (be they individual genes, proteins, or even molecules) may tell us little about the interactions among these components. With the Human Genome Project nearing its first and most publicized goal, biologists are coming to realize that they have reached not the end of biology but the beginning of a new era. Indeed, Keller predicts that in the new century we will witness another Cambrian era, this time in new forms of biological thought rather than in new forms of biological life.

Complex Networks V

Complex Networks V PDF Author: Pierluigi Contucci
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319054015
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
A network is a mathematical object consisting of a set of points that are connected to each other in some fashion by lines. It turns out this simple description corresponds to a bewildering array of systems in the real world, ranging from technological ones such as the Internet and World Wide Web, biological networks such as that of connections of the nervous systems, food webs or protein interactions, infrastructural systems such as networks of roads, airports or the power-grid, to patterns of social and professional relationships such as friendship, sex partners, network of Hollywood actors, co-authorship networks and many more. Recent years have witnessed a substantial amount of interest within the scientific community in the properties of these networks. The emergence of the internet in particular, coupled with the widespread availability of inexpensive computing resources has facilitated studies ranging from large scale empirical analysis of networks in the real world, to the development of theoretical models and tools to explore the various properties of these systems. The study of networks is broadly interdisciplinary and central developments have occurred in many fields, including mathematics, physics, computer and information sciences, biology and the social sciences. This book brings together a collection of cutting-edge research in the field from a diverse array of researchers ranging from physicists to social scientists and presents them in a coherent fashion, highlighting the strong interconnections between the different areas. Topics included are social networks and social media, opinion and innovation diffusion, biological and health-related networks, language networks, as well as network theory, community detection, or growth models for Complex Networks.

Exploding the Gene Myth

Exploding the Gene Myth PDF Author: Ruth Hubbard
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 9780807004180
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
"Is human behavior genetic? Do we inherit our intelligence, our sexuality, our predispositions to illness or depression, or our particular talents through our genes? Newspaper headlines today tout genetic explanations of everything from cancer to alcoholism and criminality. But as Exploding the Gene Myth demonstrates, such explanations are nearly always exaggerated or unfounded, ignoring the complex interactions of genes with environment at every level. Like the eugenic theories of seventy-five years ago, the new genetic determinism serves a conservative social agenda, reflecting our society's eagerness to blame ill health and misfortune on individuals rather than on social and environmental conditions." "Exploding the Gene Myth explains in clear, accessible language how genes really work. Ruth Hubbard and Elijah Wald then evaluate the tremendous impact of genetic information on how we are treated by doctors and health insurance companies, by schools, by the criminal justice system, and by potential employers." "The authors are especially critical of the multi-billion-dollar Human Genome Initiative, the huge research project to map every gene on the DNA of a prototypical human being. Hubbard and Wald deflate the grandiose promises of therapeutic benefits that are supposed to emerge from the project. They point instead to the real threats to privacy and civil liberties already resulting from the unregulated increase in genetic predictions." "At a time when the biosciences are undergoing a revolution, the enthusiasm of scientists and the media about new genetic information and technologies needs to be tempered with realism. Hubbard and Wald argue that all citizens, not just scientists, should be able to participate in making the necessary decisions about how to regulate information, protect privacy, and avoid discrimination. Exploding the Gene Myth is a forceful plea for a society that would invest in safe, healthful living and working conditions for everyone rather than the search for ideal or improved genes."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved