Evolution : a Scientific American reader

• Pubblicazione: Chicago, : University of Chicago Press, c2006
• Edizione: 1st ed.
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (365 p.)
• Disciplina: 576.8
• Soggetto topico: Evolution (Biology)
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references.
• Nota di contenuto: The evolution of the universe / P. James Peebles, David N. Schramm, Edwin L. Turner and Richard G. Kron -- The first stars in the universe / Richard B. Larson and Volker Bromm -- Exploring our universe and others / Martin Rees -- Searching for life in our solar system / Bruce M. Jakosky -- The fate of life in the universe / Lawrence M. Krauss and Glenn D. Starkman -- Life's rocky start / Robert M. Hazen -- Misconceptions about the big bang / Charles H. Lineweaver and Tamara M. Davis -- The evolution of the Earth / Claude J. Allegre and Stephen H. Schneider -- Uprooting the tree of life / W. Ford Doolittle -- The birth of complex cells / Christian de Duve -- Viral quasispecies / Manfred Eigen -- How cells respond to stress / William J. Welch -- Cell communication : the inside story / John D. Scott and Tony Pawson -- Life, death and the immune system / Gustav J.V. Nossal -- Cybernetic cells / W. Wayt Bibbs -- Rulers of the Jurassic seas / Ryosuke Motani -- The mammals that conquered the seas / Kate Wong -- Breathing life in to Tyrannosaurus rex / Gregory M. Erickson -- Madagascar's Mesozoic secrets / John J. Flynn and Andre R. Wyss -- Which came first, the feather or the bird? / Richard O. Prum and Alan H. Brush -- The terror birds of South America / Larry G. Marshall -- The evolution of life on the Earth / Stephen Jay Gould -- An ancestor to call our own / Kate Wong -- Early Hominid fossils from Africa / Meave Leakey and Alan Walker -- Planet of the apes / David R. Begun -- Once we were not alone / Ian Tattersall -- Out of Africa again ... and again? / Ian Tattersall -- Who were the Neandertals? / Kate Wong -- Food for thought / William R. Leonard -- Skin deep / Nina G. Jablonski and George Chaplin -- The evolution of human birth / Karen R. Rosenberg and Wenda R. Trevathan -- Once were cannibals / Tim D. White -- If humans were built to last / S. Jay Olshansky, Bruce A. Carnes and Robert N. Butler.
• Sommario/riassunto: From the Scopes "Monkey Trial" of 1925 to the court ruling against the Dover Area School Board's proposed intelligent design curriculum in 2005, few scientific topics have engendered as much controversy-or grabbed as many headlines-as evolution. And since the debate shows no signs of abating, there is perhaps no better time to step back and ask: What is evolution? Defined as the gradual process by which something changes into a different and usually more complex and efficient form, evolution explains the formation of the universe, the nature of viruses, and the emergence of humans. A first-rate summary of the actual science of evolution, this Scientific American reader is a timely collection that gives readers an opportunity to consider evolution's impact in various settings. Divided into four sections that consider the evolution of the universe, cells, dinosaurs, and humans, Evolution brings together more than thirty articles written by some of the world's most respected evolutionary scientists. As tour guides through the genesis of the universe and complex cells, P. James E. Peebles examines the evidence in support of an expanding cosmos, while Christian de Duve discusses the birth of eukaryotes. In an article that anticipated his book Full House, Stephen Jay Gould argues that chance and contingency are as important as natural selection for evolutionary change. And Ian Tatersall makes two fascinating contributions, submitting his view that the schematic of human evolution looks less like a ladder and more like a bush. With the latest on what's being researched at every level of evolutionary studies, from prospects of life on other planets to the inner working of cells, Evolution offers general readers an opportunity to update their knowledge on this hot topic while giving students an introduction to the problems and methodologies of an entire field of inquiry.
• Titolo autorizzato: Evolution
• ISBN: 9786611966423; 9780226742731; 0226742733; 9781281966421; 1281966428
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910975093503321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II
• Serie: Scientific American Readers