Our Genes

Our Genes PDF Author: Rasmus Grønfeldt Winther
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316762092
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
Situated at the intersection of natural science and philosophy, Our Genes explores historical practices, investigates current trends, and imagines future work in genetic research to answer persistent, political questions about human diversity. Readers are guided through fascinating thought experiments, complex measures and metrics, fundamental evolutionary patterns, and in-depth treatment of exciting case studies. The work culminates in a philosophical rationale, based on scientific evidence, for a moderate position about the explanatory power of genes that is often left unarticulated. Simply put, human evolutionary genomics - our genes - can tell us much about who we are as individuals and as collectives. However, while they convey scientific certainty in the popular imagination, genes cannot answer some of our most important questions. Alternating between an up-close and a zoomed-out focus on genes and genomes, individuals and collectives, species and populations, Our Genes argues that the answers we seek point to rich, necessary work ahead.

Our Genes

Our Genes PDF Author: Rasmus Grønfeldt Winther
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316762092
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 395

Get Book Here

Book Description
Situated at the intersection of natural science and philosophy, Our Genes explores historical practices, investigates current trends, and imagines future work in genetic research to answer persistent, political questions about human diversity. Readers are guided through fascinating thought experiments, complex measures and metrics, fundamental evolutionary patterns, and in-depth treatment of exciting case studies. The work culminates in a philosophical rationale, based on scientific evidence, for a moderate position about the explanatory power of genes that is often left unarticulated. Simply put, human evolutionary genomics - our genes - can tell us much about who we are as individuals and as collectives. However, while they convey scientific certainty in the popular imagination, genes cannot answer some of our most important questions. Alternating between an up-close and a zoomed-out focus on genes and genomes, individuals and collectives, species and populations, Our Genes argues that the answers we seek point to rich, necessary work ahead.

Are We Slaves to our Genes?

Are We Slaves to our Genes? PDF Author: Denis R. Alexander
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108426336
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Genetic differences can influence differences in our human behaviours, but only occasionally undermine the reality of our free will.

What's in Your Genes?

What's in Your Genes? PDF Author: Katie McKissick
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1440567646
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Get the low-down on genetics with easy-to-understand terms and clear explanations. From interpreting dominant and recessive genes to learning about mutations, this book shows the different factors that can determine a person's DNA.

Am I My Genes?

Am I My Genes? PDF Author: Robert Klitzman
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN: 0199837163
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
In this volume, the psychiatrist Robert Klitzman explores how individuals confront the complex issues associated with genetic testing in their daily lives.

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.

Modifying Our Genes

Modifying Our Genes PDF Author: Alexander Massmann
Publisher: SCM Press
ISBN: 0334059550
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 101

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Book Description
If our bodies could do more things, would our lives be better? Genome editing is a rapidly developing technology that can modify human genes. It can cure heritable diseases, but we could even make certain genetic “improvements” to healthy people. Should we change human embryos genetically to achieve such goals? Bringing together a leading molecular biologist and a Christian ethicist this book responds to the need for solid information and helpful orientation for a pressing moral issue. They explain relevant technical issues without the jargon, clarify the most important philosophical and religious arguments and bring empirical insights to the question of what helps us lead meaningful lives.

The Society of Genes

The Society of Genes PDF Author: Itai Yanai
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674425022
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
Nearly four decades ago Richard Dawkins published The Selfish Gene, famously reducing humans to “survival machines” whose sole purpose was to preserve “the selfish molecules known as genes.” How these selfish genes work together to construct the organism, however, remained a mystery. Standing atop a wealth of new research, The Society of Genes now provides a vision of how genes cooperate and compete in the struggle for life. Pioneers in the nascent field of systems biology, Itai Yanai and Martin Lercher present a compelling new framework to understand how the human genome evolved and why understanding the interactions among our genes shifts the basic paradigm of modern biology. Contrary to what Dawkins’s popular metaphor seems to imply, the genome is not made of individual genes that focus solely on their own survival. Instead, our genomes comprise a society of genes which, like human societies, is composed of members that form alliances and rivalries. In language accessible to lay readers, The Society of Genes uncovers genetic strategies of cooperation and competition at biological scales ranging from individual cells to entire species. It captures the way the genome works in cancer cells and Neanderthals, in sexual reproduction and the origin of life, always underscoring one critical point: that only by putting the interactions among genes at center stage can we appreciate the logic of life.

Mean Genes

Mean Genes PDF Author: Terry Burnham
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465046983
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Short, sassy, and bold, Mean Genes uses a Darwinian lens to examine the issues that most deeply affect our lives: body image, money, addiction, violence, and the endless search for happiness, love, and fidelity. But Burnham and Phelan don't simply describe the connections between our genes and our behavior; they also outline steps that we can take to tame our primal instincts and so improve the quality of our lives. Why do we want (and do) so many things that are bad for us? We vow to lose those extra five pounds, put more money in the bank, and mend neglected relationships, but our attempts often end in failure. Mean Genes reveals that struggles for self-improvement are, in fact, battles against our own genes -- genes that helped our cavewoman and caveman ancestors flourish but that are selfish and out of place in the modern world. Why do we like junk food more than fruit? Why is the road to romance so rocky? Why is happiness so elusive? What drives us into debt? An investigation into the biological nature of temptation and the struggle for control, Mean Genes answers these and other fundamental questions about human nature while giving us an edge to lead more satisfying lives.

The Stranger in My Genes

The Stranger in My Genes PDF Author: Bill Griffeth
Publisher: New England Historic Genealogical Society
ISBN: 088082350X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
Bill Griffeth, longtime genealogy buff, takes a DNA test that has an unexpected outcome: "If the results were correct, it meant that the family tree I had spent years documenting was not my own." Bill undertakes a quest to solve the mystery of his origins, which shakes his sense of identity. As he takes us on his journey, we learn about choices made by his ancestors, parents, and others - and we see Bill measure and weigh his own difficult choices as he confronts the past.

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