Book picks similar to
Origins of Life on the Earth (Concepts of Modern Biology) by Leslie E Orgel
biology
history-biography
life
madrid-salon
Dawkins vs Gould: Survival of the Fittest
Kim Sterelny - 2001
Science has seen its fair share of punch-ups over the years, but one debate, in the field of biology, has become notorious for its intensity. Over the last twenty years, Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould have engaged in a savage battle over evolution, which continues to rage even after Gould's death in 2002. Kim Sterelny moves beyond caricature to expose the real differences between the conceptions of evolution of these two leading scientists. He shows that the conflict extends beyond evolution to their very beliefs in science itself; and, in Gould?s case, to domains in which science plays no role at all.
Darwin's Origin of Species: A Biography
Janet Browne - 2006
As one of the launch titles in Atlantic Monthly Press’ “Books That Changed the World” series, Browne’s history takes readers inside The Origin of the Species and shows why it can fairly claim to be the greatest science book ever published.
Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees
Roger Fouts - 1997
This remarkable book describes Fout's odyssey from novice researcher to celebrity scientist to impassioned crusader for the rights of animals. Living and conversing with these sensitive creatures has given him a profound appreciation of what they can teach us about ourselves. It has also made Fouts an outspoken opponent of biomedical experimentation on chimpanzees. A voyage of scientific discovery and interspecies communication, this is a stirring tale of friendship, courage, and compassion that will change forever the way we view our biological--and spritual--next of kin. Fouts is a professor of Psychology.
Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves
George M. Church - 2012
Building a house would entail no more work than planting a seed in the ground. These scenarios may seem far-fetched, but pioneering geneticist George Church and science writer Ed Regis show that synthetic biology is bringing us ever closer to making such visions a reality. In Regenesis, Church and Regis explore the possibilities—and perils—of the emerging field of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology, in which living organisms are selectively altered by modifying substantial portions of their genomes, allows for the creation of entirely new species of organisms. Until now, nature has been the exclusive arbiter of life, death, and evolution; with synthetic biology, we now have the potential to write our own biological future. Indeed, as Church and Regis show, it even enables us to revisit crucial points in the evolution of life and, through synthetic biological techniques, choose different paths from those nature originally took. Such exploits will involve far more than just microbial tinkering. Full-blown genomic engineering will make possible incredible feats, from resurrecting woolly mammoths and other extinct organisms to creating mirror life forms with a molecular structure the opposite of our own. These technologies—far from the out-of-control nightmare depicted in science fiction—have the power to improve human and animal health, increase our intelligence, enhance our memory, and even extend our life span. A breathtaking look at the potential of this world-changing technology, Regenesis is nothing less than a guide to the future of life.
Organic Chemistry
Robert Thornton Morrison - 1959
Some chapters have been rewritten, making topics such as conjugation and nucleophilic substitution more accessible. Problems are provided which challenge the readers' understanding. read.
Ron Paul's rEVOLution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired
Brian Doherty - 2012
He has strong traditional conservative bona fides: he supports cutting taxes, shrinking government spending, cracking down on illegal immigration, and outlawing abortion. But he is an equally passionate advocate for such seemingly progressive-left stances as ending the drug war, opposing military interventions in the Middle East, abolishing the PATRIOT Act, and constraining the Federal Reserve.Despite such seeming contradictions, he has represented his conservative Texas district for twelve terms now, on and off since 1976, and has twice won the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where the right wing's most energetic young activists gather, in 2010 and 2011.Paul has been condemned across the political and media spectrums as an unbearably radical kook since rising to national prominence with his 2008 presidential bid. But to his growing number of activist supporters, he is the only national politician standing for the Founding Fathers' vision of constitutional liberty. He has touched a constantly growing number of government skeptics who see the political status quo as increasingly unsustainable. In the early days of the 2012 primary season, Paul is capturing a surprising number of votes, highlighting a division between libertarians and big-government conservatism that will define the future of both the Republican Party and American politics.In this indispensable guide, journalist Brian Doherty details Paul's career, traces the evolution of his ideas, and explores his significance in American politics. "Ron Paul's rEVOLution" introduces us to Paul's revolutionary ideological armies, many of them Americans previously divorced from the political process because they believe no one speaks for them. The Paul Revolution is a rising generation of cross-partisan activists concerned with government overreach. These supporters see this freethinking, plain-talking iconoclast as the lone leader prepared to grapple radically with the realities of a government crippled by debt that has dramatically expanded domestically and overseas.
On Growth and Form
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson - 1917
Why do living things and physical phenomena take the forms they do? Analyzing the mathematical and physical aspects of biological processes, this historic work, first published in 1917, has become renowned as well for the poetry of is descriptions.
Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life
Eva Jablonka - 2005
New findings in molecular biology challenge the gene-centered version of Darwinian theory according to which adaptation occurs only through natural selection of chance DNA variations. In Evolution in Four Dimensions, Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb argue that there is more to heredity than genes. They trace four dimensions in evolution -- four inheritance systems that play a role in evolution: genetic, epigenetic (or non-DNA cellular transmission of traits), behavioral, and symbolic (transmission through language and other forms of symbolic communication). These systems, they argue, can all provide variations on which natural selection can act. Evolution in Four Dimensions offers a richer, more complex view of evolution than the gene-based, one-dimensional view held by many today. The new synthesis advanced by Jablonka and Lamb makes clear that induced and acquired changes also play a role in evolution. After discussing each of the four inheritance systems in detail, Jablonka and Lamb put Humpty Dumpty together again by showing how all of these systems interact. They consider how each may have originated and guided evolutionary history and they discuss the social and philosophical implications of the four-dimensional view of evolution. Each chapter ends with a dialogue in which the authors engage the contrarieties of the fictional (and skeptical) I.M., or Ifcha Mistabra -- Aramaic for the opposite conjecture -- refining their arguments against I.M.'s vigorous counterarguments. The lucid and accessible text is accompanied by artist-physician Anna Zeligowski's lively drawings, which humorously and effectively illustrate the authors' points.
The Human Brain: An Introduction to Its Functional Anatomy
John Nolte - 1981
The text covers the neuroanatomy that medical and other healthcare students need, with expanded coverage of neurophysiology and inclusion of clinical content providing real-life application of neuroanatomy and neurophysiologic concepts to clinical neurologic disorders. Its readability and enhanced full-color illustrations make it a favorite among both students and faculty.Provides a single-author approach for a more consistent, readable text.Contains summary statement headings to help you find what you're looking for within the text.Provides an outline introducing each chapter to help students organize and stay focused as they learn.Includes appealing four-color, computerized three-dimensional images of the brain and brain structures fully integrated with the text.Complements an Electronic Image Bank that is also available separately.Includes more coverage of neurobiology and neurophysiology.Gives more clinical content, including many images depicting neurologic disorders.Features an expanded section on higher cortical function.Features an expanded section on learning and memory.Contains a new chapter on the development, maintenance, and repair of neural connections-an explosive area of research in neuroscience.Supplies a glossary of key terms.Replaces many of the older figures with new, computer-generated illustrations.
Philosophy of Biology
Peter Godfrey-Smith - 2013
Geared to philosophers, biologists, and students of both, the book provides sophisticated and innovative coverage of the central topics and many of the latest developments in the field. Emphasizing connections between biological theories and other areas of philosophy, and carefully explaining both philosophical and biological terms, Peter Godfrey-Smith discusses the relation between philosophy and science; examines the role of laws, mechanistic explanation, and idealized models in biological theories; describes evolution by natural selection; and assesses attempts to extend Darwin's mechanism to explain changes in ideas, culture, and other phenomena. Further topics include functions and teleology, individuality and organisms, species, the tree of life, and human nature. The book closes with detailed, cutting-edge treatments of the evolution of cooperation, of information in biology, and of the role of communication in living systems at all scales.Authoritative and up-to-date, this is an essential guide for anyone interested in the important philosophical issues raised by the biological sciences.
Life: The Science of Biology
David E. Sadava - 2006
H. Freeman and Company. Visit the
Life, Eighth Edition preview site.
LIFE HAS EVOLVED. . . from its original publication to this dramatically revitalized Eighth Edition. LIFE has always shown students how biology works, offering an engaging and coherent presentation of the fundamentals of biology by describing the landmark experiments that revealed them. This edition builds on those strengths and introduces several innovations.As with previous editions, the Eighth Edition will also be available in three paperback volumes: • Volume I: The Cell and Heredity, Chapters 1-20 • Volume II: Evolution, Diversity and Ecology, Chapters 1, 21-33, 52-57 • Volume III: Plants and Animals, Chapters 1, 34-51
Hierarchy in the Forest: The Evolution of Egalitarian Behavior
Christopher Boehm - 1999
Christopher Boehm, an anthropologist whose fieldwork has focused on the political arrangements of human and nonhuman primate groups, postulates that egalitarianism is in effect a hierarchy in which the weak combine forces to dominate the strong.The political flexibility of our species is formidable: we can be quite egalitarian, we can be quite despotic. Hierarchy in the Forest traces the roots of these contradictory traits in chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and early human societies. Boehm looks at the loose group structures of hunter-gatherers, then at tribal segmentation, and finally at present-day governments to see how these conflicting tendencies are reflected.Hierarchy in the Forest claims new territory for biological anthropology and evolutionary biology by extending the domain of these sciences into a crucial aspect of human political and social behavior. This book will be a key document in the study of the evolutionary basis of genuine altruism.
Origins of Life
Robert M. Hazen - 2005
The Grand Question of Lifes Origins 2. The Historical Setting of Origins Research 3. What Is Life? 4. Is There Life on Mars? 5. Earths Oldest Fossils 6. Fossil Isotopes 7. Molecular Biosignatures 8. Emergence 9. The Miller-Urey Experiment 10. Life from the Bottom of the Sea 11. The Deep, Hot Biosphere 12. Experiments at High Pressure 13. More Experiments Under Pressure 14. Deep Space Dust, Molten Rock, and Zeolite 15. Macromolecules and the Tree of Life 16. Lipids and Membrane Self-Organization 17. Life on Clay, Clay as Life 18. Lifes Curious Handedness 19. Self-Replicating Molecular Systems 20. Günter Wächtershäusers Grand Hypothesis 21. The RNA World 22. The Pre-RNA World 23. Natural Selection and Competition 24. Three Scenarios for the Origin of Life
Altered Genes, Twisted Truth: How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food Has Subverted Science, Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public
Steven M. Druker - 2012
It tells the fascinating and frequently astounding story of how the massive enterprise to restructure the genetic core of the world's food supply came into being, how it advanced by consistently violating the protocols of science, and how for more than three decades, hundreds of eminent biologists and esteemed institutions have systematically contorted the truth in order to conceal the unique risks of its products-and get them onto our dinner plates.Altered Genes, Twisted Truth provides a graphic account of how this elaborate fraud was crafted and how it not only deceived the general public, but Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Barack Obama and a host of other astute and influential individuals as well. The book also exposes how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was induced to become a key accomplice--and how it has broken the law and repeatedly lied in order to usher genetically engineered foods onto the market without the safety testing that's required by federal statute. As a result, for fifteen years America's families have been regularly ingesting a group of novel products that the FDA's own scientific staff had previously determined to be unduly hazardous to human health.By the time this gripping story comes to a close, it will be clear that the degradation of science it documents has not only been unsavory but unprecedented--and that in no other instance have so many scientists so seriously subverted the standards they were trained to uphold, misled so many people, and imposed such magnitude of risk on both human health and the health of the environment.