Book Description

Human Evolutionary Genetics (HEG) is a groundbreaking text which for the first time brings together molecular genetics and genomics to the study of the origins and movements of human populations.

Starting with an overview of molecular genomics for the non-specialist (which can be a useful review for those with a more genetic background), the book shows how data from the post-genomic era can be used to examine human origins and the human colonization of the planet, richly illustrated with genetic trees and global maps.

For the first time in a textbook, the authors outline how genetic data and the understanding of our origins which emerges, can be applied to contemporary population analyses, including genealogies, forensics and medicine.

Drawing its material from a range of disciplines, this text is an invaluable resource for courses in:

• Human Evolution

• Human Variation

• Biological Anthropology

• Physical Anthropology

• Human Population Genetics ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Essential reading
Clearly laid out like one of the classic undergraduate textbooks (e.g. Genes VII, Albers et al.), this is the only up-to-date introduction in the field.

The authors make great efforts to link advances in genetics to other fields (e.g. linguistics, anthropology), as well as to organise chapters around key issues such as the spread of agriculture, offering space to key authors in these associated fields. Bibliographic/website sources are also well documented.

Evidently, coverage is broad rather than deep, but if you need some basic background (e.g. I wanted to understand how Y-chromosome sequence data illuminated prehistoric migrations but needed some basic information on microsatellites) before proceeding to original papers, then this is the book for you. ... Read more

Book Description

Hailed as a breakthrough in the understanding of human evolution, The History and Geography of Human Genes offers the first full-scale reconstruction of where human populations originated and the paths by which they spread throughout the world. By mapping the worldwide geographic distribution of genes for over 110 traits in over 1800 primarily aboriginal populations, the authors charted migrations and devised a clock by which to date evolutionary history. This monumental work is now available in a more affordable paperback edition without the myriad illustrations and maps, but containing the full text and partial appendices of the authors' pathbreaking endeavor. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

History and Geography of Homan Genes
This work, in hardback, is written with the advanced researcher in mind. The author is world famous for his pioneering efforts in identifying traits in particular traits in ethnic groups with unique genetic markers. The color plates in the index section can be helpful to those who know how to intrepret them.
It's a scholarly treatment of a highly technical subject and a thorough one as well. This is ground-breaking work collected from many samples and analyzed in detail. I think this should be required reading for college students in the field of genetic research.

A review of everything
Cavalli-Sforza presents the nearest approximation possible to the correlation of all measurable human genes, markers and attributes. You might think of the work as the "unified field theory" for evloutionary biology, culture and linguistics.

While the heft even of the abridged version is imposing, the component parts are manageable for those who already have basic statistical knowledge or who are willing to pay attention to the author's explanations. The world's populations are addressed in geographic chunks, and then at various appropriate points, more general conclusions drawn from the pieces.

Given the advances in genetic research acheived since publication, the model may ultimately prove more valuable than the particular contents...but for this decade the contents are fascinating.

Good Book, but Martel is Wrong
The book provided a great deal of information about genetic distances and the relationships between populations. However, Mr. Martel's review includes lies and these lies must be addressed. First of all, the native North Africans were not "very blonde" or "nordic". In fact, the ORIGINAL population was as black as their rock art depictions of themselves (which just so happen to span the Sahara and date back nearly 10000yrs). Many of these Ancient Saharans were, however, completely abosorbed by an incoming of migrants from the Middle East. Perhaps these migrants are the people Mr. Martel is speaking of??? At any rate, with the dessication of the Sahara, most of the original Saharans (blacks) migrated South into The Sudan. In fact, they can still be found in West Africa today. They (especially the Fulani and Dogon) can be recognized in person as easily as they can be recognized in the Ancient Saharan depictions drawn by their ancestors.

Thus, despite Mr. Martel's comments to the contrary, the admixture seen in North Africans today is not so much the result of slaves (modern admixture) as it is the result of both modern admixture as well as ancient admixture - admixture which took place LONG before the Arabs ventured anywhere near the region. As for the Egyptians, they were from the same stock as the rest of North Africa and they almost always depicted themselves as brown and intermediate between and separate from both the white people of the North (Europe), the light skinned Semites (Middle East), and the darker, more Sudanese people of the South (Nubia).

Mr. Martel is not completely wrong in so far as SOME of these Middle Eastern migrants had blonde hair and light eyes (a few individual Lybians were depicted this way). But, such features were most probably seen at the same rate theyre seen in Middle Easterners and North Africans today. Neither people, however, are "Nordics", and to assume they descend from Nordics based on hair color alone is ridiculous. Blondism occurs in Aborigines... are we to believe they descend from Nordics as well? Somehow, I think not.

Very interesting, but...
In this book, a group of Italian researchers present their study of the repartition of a sample of human genetic sequences, based on data they collected between 1978 and 1986. This is certainly very interesting for the study of human races, even if based on only a sample of sequences, many of them being not relevant for races. Although the authors acknowledge that some scientists were able to identify and classify the majors races, they pretend the concept of race is a failure because there is much intra-class variation for some DNA sequences within given races (by saying this they already implicitly recognize the existence of given races.) This is however the fallacy of strawman - attacking a caricatured enemy - for the concept of race never meant that there would not be great inner variation for specific sequences, but only that it is possible to cluster and classify human groups and that such classification should correspond to a higher degree of common ancestry for individuals of the same cluster, as the races are the result of micro-evolution. And given that we now know that most of the genome is not used, that the active genes are a very small proportion, the intra-class variability makes sense, as these genes are not expressed and thus not submitted to the selection of evolutionary pressure. It is enough to find some sequences clusters that correspond to the existing races to show that different races indeed exist, which the authors actually do (something confirmed recently by the result of the genome projects, finding that inter-races distance is 0,1 of the genome, something enormous given that most of the genome is not expressed, and that the distance between humans and monkeys is 1%, the difference between human races being then 10% of the differences between humans and the closest animals.) Besides, the same intra-classes variability is also observed among animal races and vegetal varieties, yet no scientist will say that this makes the concept of animal race or vegetal variety useless. Anyway, this misconception allows the authors to get a green light from the politically correct thought police and avoid censorship.

The book follows with an exposition of their data analysis method. The main issue is the distance measure for the genetic data, something new for me. Otherwise, they use standard methods of data mining / pattern recognition : design of classification trees, and clustering with principal component analysis (PCA, for which the authors use the PC acronym).

Then, after 60 pages, come their results, which make the rest of the book, 300, p, that is most of it. It is way too much to review in detail, I will make general comments.

Globally, when dealing with the main racial groups, their findings are corroborations of what was already known or supplementary information. The PCA gives a mapping corresponding to the main racial groups (Africans, Australoids, Mongoloids, Euripids.) .After 200 000 years of existence (at about -200 000), our African ancestors start to move northwards and evolve into the common ancestor of the non-African races. 100 000 years later, at -110 000, occurs the split between the Australoids and the Eurasian. And then at -80 000 the split between Mongoloids and Euripids, Europeans appearing very lately, at -20 000.

In the remaining 200 pages, the authors deal with each local populations, proceeding continent by continent, and comparing the local races together. Interestingly, they add a lot of environmental and cultural information. But here they miss the most relevant, namely the history and anthropology that is relevant to the given population, which makes them miss important considerations and analysis. For example they seem to believe that the Basque are an ancient Indigenous population, failing to know the well established facts that they arrived very late (in the 8th century) and are believed to have come from the Caucasus. It would have been interesting to compare the Basques with the populations of the Caucasus, instead of comparing them with the native Western Europeans. Or they fail to know that the native populations of North-Africa (Berbers, Kabyls, etc.) were very blond and tall Nordic people, as is attested by the Egyptian, Greek and Roman antic sources, as well as by their Arabs conquerors. And when the Spanish conquered the Canari Island, the Berbers (Ganches) they found there were also Nordics. The genetic change of the North-African population occurred after the Arabs imported many African (Negroids) slaves, as they did in many other places, like Egypt, Palestine, etc. This the authors ignore, speaking only of the Arab genetic influence (which was probably insignificant.) It would have then relevant to compare the North-Africans with the Nordics and with the Negroids, and see how close they are to each, and the same for those Berbers populations in the mountain who did not so much racially mix and often have light hair of eyes. To their credit, the authors find out with their genetic analysis that the North-Africans have Caucasoid ancestors.

In conclusion, this book is a mine of interesting data analysis. It would have been though quite better if the authors had teamed up with historians competent in the field of racial history, or with true anthropologists (anthropology having becoming ethnology.) Let's hope that the next similar book, which will exploit the data of the human genome, will be able to improve this. Anyway, human diversity, as long as intermixing does not destroy it, is a thrilling subject that illuminates history, as this book shows.

An extremely technical book
This volume is an abridgement of the full $200 "History & Geography of the Human Genes," and I found it quite incomprehensible. If you think you might want this book, I would suggest taking a look at its unabridged version in a local library first. The same author has summarized his findings in two other books which are aimed at the general reader. "Genes, Peoples, and Languages" is the most recent, while "The Great Human Diasporas" is the most accessible to the layman. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Masterpiece
This book is a masterpiece: it goes from the simple and straightforward (with examples of sequential equilibria) to technical and challenging material (such as the Mertens-Zamir type space). I own Fudenberg-Tirole and Osborne-Rubinstein, but it is Myerson that gets picked up the most. What I find most rewarding is that Myerson introduces everything gently, working from examples to build a general theory.

not bad
very comprehensive book. Covers pretty much everything. It's supposed to be a graduate text but undergrads can handle it as long as they know some math and aren't too scared by all the notation. Oh and Myerson is nice guy too.

still on the frontier because of disinformation
This book is not good only because it explains all well known difficult concepts which noone so far has been able to explain clearly and rigourosly in one book but for new important topics that are less known for the majority of game theorists. I'm refering to the idea of networks and cooperation structures and also cooperation under uncertainty with the idea of virtual utility.

The Best Book for Learning Pure Game Theory
Myerson's book is fantastic. For learning the *theory* of game theory, it is the best book available. Virtually every important topic in game theory is treated at some point in the book (though students are not always beaten over the head with their names).

The plan is well thought out and has some interesting innovations. For example, incomplete information is well integrated and permeates the text in many places, rather than one or a couple chapters. However, beacuse of this -- while the book is superb for learning and developing understanding -- it is not always the best reference. Some topics are not available in one easily indexed locations. (On the other hand, other topics like bargaining and zero sum games are treated in the usual discrete way.)

An Elegant and Deep Treatment
I just completed a game theory book (Game Theory Evolving, Princeton University Press, 2000). To find the best way to present various materials, I went through virtually every game theory book in existence. For the presentation of the basic material on normal and extensive form games, nothing even came close to this book in clarity of presentation and depth of understanding of the issues. Most textbooks, even highly touted ones that are mathematically challenging, do not even come close, and rarely even present the material in a coherent form at all.

I used to do a lot of carpentry, and I always knew the good carpenters from the run of the mill. The latter talk about how to build stuff. The good ones talked about how you choose, preserve, treat, and sharpen your tools. Myerson is, for game theory, like the good carpenter, and this book is more about the nature of the tools of game theory than their deployment--although it is certainly that, too.

The subtitle of this book is silly ("The Analysis of Conflict"). Game theory is the analysis of cooperation as much as conflict, and much, much else as well. So is this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it.His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands of readers to rethink their beliefs about life.

In his internationally bestselling, now classic volume, The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains how the selfish gene can also be a subtle gene. The world of the selfish gene revolves around savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit, and yet, Dawkins argues, acts of apparent altruism do exist in nature.Bees, for example, will commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, and birds will risk their lives to warn the flock of an approaching hawk.

This revised edition of Dawkins' fascinating book contains two new chapters.One, entitled "Nice Guys Finish First," demonstrates how cooperation can evolve even in a basically selfish world.The other new chapter, entitled "The Long Reach of the Gene," which reflects the arguments presented in Dawkins' The Extended Phenotype, clarifies the startling view that genes may reach outside the bodies in which they dwell and manipulate other individuals and even the world at large. Containing a wealth of remarkable new insights into the biological world, the second edition once again drives home the fact that truth is stranger than fiction. ... Read more

Reviews (147)

THE BEST POPULAR SCIENCE BOOK I HAVE EVER READ
The Selfish Gene is the best popular science book I have ever read, PERIOD. In it, Dawkins provides clear explanations of the mechanism of evolution, to the point that the reader can teach someone about evolution right after reading. It does not in any way patronize the reader, but instead delves deep into complex subjects, ranging from game theory to psychology, to explain evolution.

The main idea in the book is to change the perspective of evolution: it is genes that use bodies and organisms to reach their goals of reproduction. In my opinion, however, the most brilliant part of the book is the very beginning, in which Dawkins explains how it could come about that some chemicals (genes) actually would grow a "wish" to reproduce. The answer makes the reader feel really smart, and that is what pop science is all about.

Much of the book is devoted to showing how evolution can in fact explain altruism, agression, aging, cooperation, sexual relations, etc. He spends a lot of time debunking the theory that animals act a certain way "for the good of the species". His argument is that animals have no want, it is the genes that want more of themselves available.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with a wide open mind, a logical train of thought, and deep curiosity about life. Dawkins will change the way you see life, and he will hold your hand through the entire process, quenching your thrist for knowledge. It is written in such a simple way that it is hard to understand why this book is not recommended at high schools. Anyways, I hope you choose this book, it is one of those that make you sad to have finished.

An excellent read in Evolution
The Selfish gene is one of the pioneering books in modern evolutionary thought, which will not be surprising to anyone who reads it. Dawkins writes comprehensively and thoroughly without letting his complex and mainly innovative ideas become dry or boring.

Although The Selfish Gene discusses many advanced concepts, it is by no means aimed only at professional readers. I do think, though, that it would be an advantage to be familiar with the main tenets of evolutionary theory before starting this book, for you will be taken to a realm beyond basic organic evolution. Dawkins goes further to explain formerly troublesome problems in evolutionary thought with a convincing argument for gene selection. Like any thorough essayist, he discusses the other prevailing notions of selective units in an evolving population and then goes on to argue why it is the gene, not the individual or the population as a whole, that is under selective pressure.

Dawkins provides dozens of stunningly interesting examples in nature to provide evidence for his arguments, maintaining all the while a humorous and clear writing style. You need not worry about trudging through complicated mathematical proofs or obscure evolutionary jargon.

I would recommend The Selfish Gene to all who are interested in evolutionary thought. Be you familiar or unfamiliar with this topic, you will derive pleasure and inspiration from this book.

Essential
Reading this book today, one can easily forget how revolutionary it was. Many of the new, controversial ideas inside are now accepted scientific dogma; memes now have their own entire field of study.

Enlightening and exciting for both the layperson and expert, if you haven't read it yet, you're missing out!

Evolution Paradigm shift? hmmm...
Richard Dawkins is one of the best natural science writers of our time. This is a must read for anyone trying to familiarize with Dawkin's ideas; a really great representative book of his thought. Dawkins is no traditional evolution thinker, he is continually trying to visualize nature as a hole, trying not to loose perspective and seeing the big picture. He surely is an excellent system observer and analyzer. Is he right? Honestly, I don't know. What I know is that his view of nature is clarifying and aids you to understand things otherwise would be kind of intricated in essence.
I really recommend this book to anyone interested in evolution, specially in an unorthodox view of evolution.

HA! This is so funny!
There are plenty of reviews here written about this book that well describe it's genius in ways that allow me to focus the amazon review reader to some rare review humor. Some apparently find the idea of evolution or more accurately it's implications less than appealing. While you will find some of the most entertaining reviews on this website among Mr. Dawkins readers, mainly in the "blind watchmaker" review section, allow me to highlight those readers who apparently thought Mr. Dawkins work was so outrageous they some how decided to read many of his works and review them on amazon. These can be found by clicking the "see all customer reviews" link at the bottom of the main page of each book and selecting view by 1 star reviews. With that said, this is nothing less than a five star book. I might point out that Mr. Dawkins is a scientist, a fact a biology graduate friend of mine from Cal Tech recently pointed out, not a writer of science such as Matt Ridley, who has some excellent books by the way, but a scientist who writes well and in my opinion brilliantly. Anyway, check those reviews and enjoy. ... Read more

Book Description

Extensively revised and updated throughout, with seven entirelynew chapters and the insights of 31 new contributors, the Third Editionreflects the explosive growth of information in the dynamic field ofimmunology. Coverage includes recent groundbreaking discoveries onmolecular events that regulate the immune response, antigen processingand presentation, cytokines, and immune responses to infectiousagents.Six chapters in the Third Edition focus on completely newtopics--immunoglobulin class switching; somatic mutation and affinitymaturation; immunosuppression; and immunity to viruses, intracellularbacteria, and extracellular bacteria. Antigen processing andpresentation, which were only touched on in the previous edition, arenow described in detail in a separate chapter. Coverage of the role ofspecific cytokines in the immune response has been greatly expanded.Chapters on HIV infection, primary immunodeficiency diseases, allergyand hypersensitivity, and immunoparasitology have been rewritten by newcontributors who are preeminent authorities on these diseases. Allchapters include updated references. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

excellent
the next best thing to actually following the literature. a great way to get a background in a less familiar topic.

Fundamental, not necessarily introductory
This book is in many rspects the Immunology equivalent of the G&G pharmacology bible. Or in other words: if you do Immunology for a living, this book should always be within reach. Just like G&G's book, Fundamental Immunology started out in the same way the "encyclopedia" started in the Age of Enlightment: a compendium of all the knowledge available. With the exponential expansion of both Pharmacology and Immunology, these disciplines no longer fit in one, ten, or even a hundred volumes each, and tough choices have to be made. In Paul's FI, these choices are very much geared towards the professional, and far less so to the student. Yet, many of the subjects are treated in a way that not only incorperates much of the up to date details, but also gives thorough treatment of the fundamental concepts behind them. Thus, this book should also be the text of choice for those students that have sufficient tutoring resources available to guide them through the maze of the wild and wonderful world of Immunology.

It can be used as a dictionary.
It is not recommended as a text book, but is as a dictionary. Because it contains many informations about immunology and few illastlations.

Not the best book on the subject
Overly complex in exposition. Insufficiently illustrated. Represents an NIH viewpoint, not the best in science. Does not relate the molecular details to the cellular interactions sufficiently. ... Read more

Book Description

* Contains additional discussion and examples on left truncation as well as material on more general censoring and truncation patterns.
* Introduces the martingale and counting process formulation swil lbe in a new chapter.
* Develops multivariate failure time data in a separate chapter and extends the material on Markov and semi Markov formulations.
* Presents new examples and applications of data analysis. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Truly Novel Approach to Literature
Don't let the fact that Madame Bovary's Ovaries is a fun read fool you; the ideas contained within will forever change the way that you read fiction.Barash and Barash have managed to cogently describe their clever new way to analyze literature.It makes so much sense, you'll ask yourself "why didn't I think of that".In fact, you'll wonder why generation upon generation of English Lit. professors failed to pick up where Darwin left off.

I think it's safe to say that just about any lover of literature will enjoy a fresh perspective of their old favorites after reading Madame Bovary's Ovaries.

Witty, insightful and a fabulous read!
Madame Bovaries Ovaries was simply delightful. This is the perfect book for anyone interested in science, literature or both!

This book offers a new look at the "human condition" so often referred to as a mysteriously intangible entity by dry literary critics.The Barashes simply suggest that this "condition" is a biological one, governed by (but not limited to) Darwinian principles.

Their friendly and straightforth style makes this book a joy to read. Its more like a lively conversation than literary criticism.

Their Darwinian look at literature was never dry nor heavy handed.The Barashes provide a refreshing new look at literature in a style that is witty, casual and ironic. ... Read more

Book Description

Insects are the most diverse group of organisms in the 3 billion-year history of life on Earth, and the most ecologically dominant animals on land. This book chronicles for the first time the complete evolutionary history of insects: their living diversity, relationships and 400 million years of fossils. Whereas other volumes have focussed on either living species or fossils, this is the first comprehensive synthesis of all aspects of insect evolution. The book is illustrated with 955 photo- and electronmicrographs, drawings, diagrams, and field photos, many in full colour and virtually all of them original. The book will appeal to anyone engaged with insect diversity: professional entomologists and students, insect and fossil collectors, and naturalists. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is a unique compendium and synthesis of the cumulative knowledge of more than 100 years of discovery and study of North American tertiary mammals. The potentially most valuable contribution of this book is the detailed information of the distribution in time and space of each species at fossil localities, recorded in a uniform scheme, so that each chapter provides the same level of information. Thirty six chapters are devoted to a particular family or order, written by leading North American authorities, including discussion of anatomical features, systematics, and paleobiology. Three introductory chapters summarize information on the geological time scale, Tertiary vegetation, and Pleistocene events, and four summary chapters integrate systematic and biogeographic information for higher taxa. This book will serve as a unique data base for continuing studies in faunal diversification and change, and for questions such as how changing biogeography and climates influenced the evolution of mammalian communities. It will be an invaluable addition to the libraries of paleontologists and zoologists. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

very good but very overpriced
A very useful book for essentially all the genera of mammals in the groups listed in the title.The two things that kept me from giving it 5 stars are; it is VERY overpriced, aside from libraries, few can afford it, also the listings of localities are done a bit ackwardly.Overall a very useful resource. ... Read more

Book Description

Because molecular and cellular biology is such an exciting and rapidly moving area of science, teaching it at the undergraduate level is a rewarding, yet challenging, task. The Cell: A Molecular Approach meets this challenge by providing students with not only the most current information, but also with an introduction to the experimental nature of contemporary research. Designed for use in introductory cell biology courses, The Cell presents current comprehensive science in a readable and cohesive text that students can master in the course of one semester.

The new Third Edition of The Cell retains the organization, themes, and special features of earlier editions, but is updated to reflect scientific advances since publication of the Second Edition in 2000, including:

* progress that has been made in genome sequencing
* advances in understanding transcriptional regulation and mRNA processing
* the use of DNA microarrays in global studies of gene expression and cancer diagnostics
* advances in nuclear transport and protein trafficking
* progress in understanding the regulation of programmed cell death
* potential medical applications of embryonic stem cells
* the development of oncogene-targeted cancer treatments

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE CELL

With a clear focus on cell biology as an integrative theme, topics such as developmental biology, plant biology, the immune system, the nervous system, and muscle physiology are covered in their broader biological context.

"Key Experiment" boxes in each chapter describe seminal experiments in modern cell biology, showing the details and background to give students a sense of doing science.

"Molecular Medicine" boxes relate basic science to clinical practice or potential and show the excitement of molecular discovery and solutions to disease.

Chapter summaries are organized in outline form corresponding to the major sections and subsections of each chapter. This section-by-section format is coupled with a list of the key terms introduced in each section, providing a succinct but comprehensive review of the material.

The full-color art program is both pedagogically and scientifically outstanding.

In addition, each chapter includes: a brief chapter outline, bold-faced key terms (also defined in the glossary), and chapter-end questions (15 per chapter) with answers in the back of the book. The deliberate and cumulative result of this pedagogy is a book that students can master. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

cell biology book
fast shipping, recieved book just as described, good as new!
i'd do business with seller again thanks.

The cooper cell
This book contained very usefull text information especially for whom undertaking cell biology. It as also recommended by Lecturers in Victoria University of Technology, in Australia. It provides excellent details of cell functions and related items in both the general view and the molecular view. The older version is also a very good source, but I think it is a bit out dated. I would recommend this text to whom is studying cell biology.

New! Second Edition of Cooper text is available!
The field of cell biology is so vast and changing so rapidly that teaching it can be a daunting prospect. The First Edition of The Cell: A Molecular Approach, published in 1997, offered the perfect solution for teachers and their students--current, comprehensive science combined with the readability and cohesiveness of a single-authored text. Designed for one-semester introductory cell biology courses, this book enabled students to master the material in the entire book, not simply to sample a small fraction from a much larger text. The new Second Edition of The Cell retains the organization, themes, and special features of the original, but it has been completely updated in major areas of scientific progress, including: genome analysis; chromatin and transcription; nuclear transport; protein sorting and trafficking; signal transduction; the cell cycle; and programmed cell death.

The new Second Edition was published June 16, 2000.

Excellent basic book
I teach cellular biolgy in senior hihg school, and I found in this book an excellent tool, were my students can find the basic information that they need. The CD is also a great idea, because the students can see some proceses in motion.

Excellent introductory book
I am an engineer by training and I am interested in appling biological principles to solving engineering problems (I am also the author of a book entitled Intelligent Systems for Engineering: A Knowledge-based Approach). Prof. Cooper's book is an amazingly well written book. Anyone can easily understand the concepts presented. My only advice to the author is to make the CD-ROM more interactive and if possible add narration. Congratuations on writing such an excellent book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Rosemary and Peter Grant and those assisting them have spend twenty years on Daphne Major, an island in the Galapagos studying natural selection.They recognize each individual bird on the island, when there are four hundred at the time of the author's visit, or when there are over a thousand.They have observed about twenty generations of finches -- continuously.
Jonathan Weiner follows these scientists as they watch Darwin's finches and come up with a new understanding of life itself. ... Read more

Reviews (50)

A perfect sequel to "Origin of Species"
"The Beak of the Finch", subtitled, "A Story of Evolution in Our Time", is a truly amazing book. Its principle topic is the work of Peter and Rosemary Grant, who have been studying the finches of the Galapagos Islands ("Darwin's Finches") in great detail since 1973. They have collected and analyzed data on 24 generations and close to 19,000 individual birds. The result of their work is empirical proof of Darwin's theory of evolution, along with a tremendous amount of new data concerning the mechanisms of evolution and life. The author (Jonathan Weiner) quotes liberally from Darwin. Of course Darwin was not right in every detail, but modern work is validating much of the speculation of "Origin" and other works. Some points I gleaned: (1) Natural selection works much more quickly than Darwin or anyone else had, until recently, realized. Under extreme selection pressure the finches were recorded evolving in one direction, then another. The reason the pace has been misjudged by several orders of magnitude is that the effects follow environment, and tend to net out over long periods of time, leaving the impression of a much slower pace. (2) The theory of evolution has been rigorously proven through the traditional scientific method of exact hypothetical predictions confirmed with experiment and observation. (3) Stephen J. Gould mentions frequently that the observation of evolution is neither unknown or even rare. I learned from Weiner that observed incidents are not necessarily subtle or obscure, and learned about many fascinating specific cases. (4) American farmers have never realized a net gain against insects by use of insecticides. When the cotton fields were cleared of "pests" in the forties, adjacent species began invading their crops almost immediately. Pesticides, of course, select for pesticide resistant insects. Before pesticides were introduced farmers lost 7% of their crop to insects. In 1993 the number was 13% and has risen steadily since the first pesticide was introduced. The irony is that the farmers being destroyed by the inevitable forces of evolution are deep in the cotton/bible belt, where they are simultaneously (not all of them of course) trying to keep their schools from teaching evolution, thus crippling the chances of saving their crops. (5) Antibiotic resistance is, of course, taking the same course as pesticide resistance, threatening everyone's health. I had missed the point that the same fundie saying s/he doesn't "believe" in evolution is likely aware of one of it's most immediate effects, bacteria surging ahead in our ongoing war. (6) I gleaned a pretty good grasp of how divergence and speciation occur in the absence of geographical barriers. This has been a stumbling block to understanding for me, because the geographical separation requirement seemed too rare for the effects attributed to it. Very briefly, when a species is severely stressed by changing environment, there are commonly two or more survival niches best addressed by different evolved configurations (beak shape and overall size, in the case of the finches). Offspring suited to a niche survives, and by staying out of each others' niches, the separating groups survive and prosper. Speciation can occur if the conditions favoring the separation persist long enough. (7) "Preserving a species" is an almost meaningless statement. Species are constantly in evolutionary flux, and the descendents of animals we preserve will likely not be the same species, especially if we introduce or reintroduce them to the wild.

Brilliant exposition of evolutionary biology for the layman
Writing about science, scientists, and history in a way that keeps an educated layman absorbed is an extremely difficult craft. This writer is so adept at it that his Pulitzer Prize was almost inevitable; and I'll now read everything he writes. The Beak of the Finch is about what Darwin deduced from limited observations, which only in the past couple of decades has been confirmed and better understood by biologists. The book focuses on the work of Peter and Rosemary Grant and their students in the Galapagos Islands, which Darwin visited on the Beagle. I picked up this book before going to the Galapagos--as should everyone lucky enough to do that--but it would be just as fascinating for the armchair traveler and the would-be or wannabe biologist. I marked numerous passages to read to wife and teenaged kids on our trip, and even the most cynical and anti-school of the kids rated it extremely interesting and beautifully written. The shocking punch line: "Nearly half of all Americans say they don't believe the theory of evolution."

Darwin's fascinating finches.
Although Creationists have long argued that evolution is "only a theory" which cannot be scientifically proven (see, for instance, THE HANDY-DANDY EVOLUTION REFUTER, Wheaton, Illinois), and that whatever processes the Creator used to create, those processes "are not now operating anywhere in the natural universe" (Duane Gish, EVOLUTION? THE FOSSILS SAY NO!), current evolutionary studies are now demonstrating what even Charles Darwin thought was impossible.

Darwin first introduced us to the finches that inhabit the Galapagos Islands in his ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES. Through their research since 1973, evolutionary scientists, Peter and Rosemary Grant, have discovered that Darwin's finches are even more interesting than Darwin ever dreamed, and reveal that Darwin may not have known the strengths of his own theory. Jonathan Weiner's Pulitzer-Prize winning book provides a fine introduction to evolutionary science, while also delivering conclusive proof that evolution is happening "in jittery motion," daily and hourly all around us (pp. 8-9). "The beak of the finch," Weiner writes, "is an icon of evolution the way the Bohr atom is an icon of modern physics, and the study of either one shows us more primal energy and eternal change than our minds are built to take in. Yet like the vista of the atoms, the vista of evolution in action, of evolution in the flesh, has enormous implications for our sense of reality, of what life is, and for our sense of power, of what we can do with life" (p. 112). For this reason, Weiner's brilliant book should be considered required reading.

G. Merritt

An insight on evolution
"The Beak of the Finch" analyzed many of Darwin's theories on evolution. Most of the book follows the Grant's as they study thirteen species of finches on the Galapagos Islands, especially the island of Daphne Major. The Grant's studies focused mainly on how the finches reacted to environmental changes and how natural selection influenced their evolutionary change. Jonathan Weiner also provides insight into other experiments done by other scientists on finches and other species.

The book was an interesting read and the author did a good job of keeping complex science concepts simple for the purpose of suiting every type of reader. He included the stories of the Grant's and numerous other scientists to keep the novel interesting and not strictly scientific. The novel was presented in a story-like fashion on how evolutionary concepts were supported.The idea that evolutionary changes are always occurring and that the results of evolution can be seen in both short and long time periods is presented in the novel. Overall, the book was enjoyable and gave the reader valuable insight on evolution and Darwinism.

a good read, if you're interested
This book is a fascinating look into the science of volution. It is centeres around the very place that inspired Darwin: the alapagos Islands. Peter and Rosemary Grant, along with many other respected scientists, keep watch on the island of Daphne Major and keep close tabs on the finch population living there. The virtually inaccessible island is perfect for this study because of its sheer simplicity and isolation from the outside world. The Grants can keep a close eye on every environmental factor on the island, and know every one of the finches by sight. Over the past twenty years they have seen remarkable changes in the finches' traights, especially their beaks. They have had a first-hand look at what Darwin said would take millions of years: evolution in action.
The Beak of the Finch is a well-written book that throws a whole new light of authenticity on the theory of evolution. It suggests that evolution is not the slow process Darwin thought it was, but that it can be seen clearly from year to year, season to season. However, it runs into the same problem that has been plaguing the evolutionism-creationism debate for years: it offers no hard evidence that large-scale evolution can occur. If you are an evolutionist, it will confirm your beliefs with several documented cases of proven natural selection. If you are a creationist, chances are it won't sway you much. Creationists argue that you can not extrapolate from relatively minor changes like the ones mentioned to evolving into completely different species. It is a good book if the topic interests you, but most will probably find it more tedious than it is worth as a convincing argument for evolution. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Molecular Driving Forces is an introductory statistical thermodynamics text that describes the principles and forces that drive chemical and biological processes. It shows how the complex behaviors of molecules can result from a few simple physical processes, and a central theme is how simple models can give surprisingly accurate insights into the workings of the molecular world.

Written in a clear and reader-friendly style, the book gives an excellent introduction to the subject for novices. It should be useful to those who want to develop their understanding of this important field, seeing how physical principles can be applied to the study of modern problems in the chemical, biological, and materials sciences. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Want to understand the physics if life? Need to read this!
The topic of this book, the physical chemistry of molecules, especially those relevant to biology, is one of the most challenging courses to a college student in chemist. But these authors have tried to make it easy for you - and they succeed. They used figures, pictures and analogies to help you to understand some of the most sophisticated concepts in science. For example entropy. The authors are leading researchers in the field and they brought a unique perspective to the subject; the writing is very lucid. ... Read more

Book Description

In a book that is both groundbreaking and accessible, Daniel C. Dennett, whom Chet Raymo of The Boston Globe calls "one of the most provocative thinkers on the planet," focuses his unerringly logical mind on the theory of natural selection, showing how Darwin's great idea transforms and illuminates our traditional view of humanity's place in the universe. Dennett vividly describes the theory itself and then extends Darwin's vision with impeccable arguments to their often surprising conclusions, challenging the views of some of the most famous scientists of our day. ... Read more

Reviews (118)

Forceful, persuasive presentation of natural selection
Richard Dawkins books, starting with The "Selfish Gene," brought Darwin's dangerous idea of natural selection to a new widespread recognition. He addressed an audience that otherwise might not have been inspired to engage Darwin, and left them with the amazing and somewhat disturbing implications of a world guided by the Darwinian hand of selection and adaptation rather than the divine hand of the Bible.

In "Darwin's Dangerous Idea," Dennett takes the flag of natural selection on to its next step, toward a secular view of nature where meaning may be found in natural history. Dennett is a forceful and persuasive polemicist capable of making Darwin's core idea both understandable and hard to argue.

Sure, many will remain unconvinced that the "universal acid" of Darwin's algorithm of variation and selection reveals the bare bones of just about anything, as Dennett argues. But Dennett does exactly what we expect from an excellent analytic philosopher of his calibre, and all too often don't get, a powerful and enduring argument for the usefulness of a very basic idea.

The greatest danger of Darwin's idea is not, as many religious conservatives seem to fear, that Darwin will erode faith in God. As powerful as Darwin's dangerous idea is, it has not itself been a threat to religious faith. The faithful have always had a way to reconcile their faith with the modern view of natural history along Darwinian lines. The greatest danger is that Darwin's idea seduces us into telling second rate evolutionary stories that don't add to our real understanding the way Darwin's core concept does. As Dennett says, the greatest danger of Darwin's idea is its seductiveness.

Dennett brings the power of Darwin's view of nature to us in a renewed and clarified form, and makes many of its implication startlingly clear. But then he leaves us to wonder what is left once the "universal acid" of Darwinism had eroded the rest of our cherished ideas.

Dennett doesn't always convince me that he has quite eroded *all* of the other ways of viewing nature by making such a forceful case for Darwin's selection and adaptation, but he does make it clear that these are ideas that must be understood and applied if we are to truly understand our role in nature. Whether we can take them as far as Dennett does, that's left to the reader to decide.

While I can't agree with all of the nuances and implications of Dennett's arguments here, it is very hard to find specific fault with them, and I certainly was left with the feeling that Dennett is more right then wrong in his conclusions. The greatest weakness of this book, like Dawkins' Selfish Gene, is that it is perhaps _too_ compelling, it seems to lead us beyond science and into a secular religion of sorts.

Dennett's writing style is very user friendly
The density of the subject matter makes this slow reading as all good philosophy often is. Daniel Dennett's writing style goes a long way toward making this accessible. He relies on very good story telling, excellent metaphors, and avoids a lot of the dense jargon heavy prose often found in other philosopy works. The condensed introductions and summaries at the beginning and end of each chapter make it easy to review material again and again, without having to do complete rereadings.

Dennett creates one of the most conceptually vivid pictures of the evolutionary scheme, and demonstrates how evolutionary algorithms occur even outside the field of biology. Intelligent detractors of evolution will find themselves accusing Dennett of turning evolution into a theory of everything. Assuming of course their minds do not become dissolved within this universal acid. I don't think Dennett makes it a theory of everything, but it just might become a theory that has at least something to say about most important things. Proponents of evolution will discover new ways of thinking about evolution. Even career biologists will find conceptual doors that an intelligent scientifically oriented philosopher like Dennett can best point to. Nobody can truly digest this book without having their thinking altered in some significant ways.

Dennett's user-friendly style makes philosophy exciting even for the more philosophobic readers. No one interested in the various debates about evolution, regardless of their personal position, should miss this book. It stands to eventually change the entire arena for dialogue on this subject.

Philosophy, not Science
As a Darwinist and a reader of Dawkins and Gould, I read this book primarily to familiarize myself with the scientific refutation of other prominent Darwinists, specifically Gould. I say "scientific," because on the upper left corner of the back cover of the paperback, it is categorized as "Science," so I thought I was reading a science book.

I started reading the book past the half-way point, in the area of content that most interested me, and I discovered a couple of things.

First, there are metaphoric terms used throughout this book, introduced in earlier chapters, which make the book difficult to fully comprehend when opening it up to read at an arbitrary later chapter, if you aren't already familiar with the metaphors (such as "skyhook" and "crane").

Second, apparently, among other subjects, this is also a book on architecture. Specifically, on arcane aspects of the architecture of domes and their supporting structures. Several pages were dedicated to this subject, including detailed pictures and diagrams. Apparently this proved that Gould is wrong, which made absolutely no sense to me, so I bit the bullet and started back at page 1.

I enjoyed the first three or so chapters of this book. A good introduction to the history of thought which immediately pre-dated Darwin, which put into context how truly revolutionary His ideas were at the time.

I couldn't get through the final chapters, something about the evolution of morals. A worthy subject, I'm sure, it's just not the subject for which I picked up this book. Again, I thought I was reading a science book.

Ultimately, I came away thinking, "Why did Dennett write this book?" More specifically, why did a non-scientist write a book purportedly about Science? Well, Dennett answers that for me, sort of. In an anecdote he tells about attending a conference of Thinkers and Scientists in the Northeasten US, and how, during a Q&A type session with attendees, the responses given clearly showed that many of these educated people had a very poor understanding of Darwin's Ideas. It was this experience, he claims, which helped further to motivate him to write this book, ostensibly to set the record straight.

If Dennett had written a book which simply synthesized and explained the current state of Darwinist thinking, I would have been more receptive. Instead, I read a book by a Philosopher who is pretending to be a Scientist, espousing his own scientific ideas, and I don't think he was able to pull that off credibly.

Shallow
I am for evolution, but I find Dennett's arguments very weak. It is books like this that sustain creationists.

Dennett's Stupid Idea
If creationists wanted a book that would make evolution look absurd, they could do no better than Darwin's Dangerous Idea. Allies of science and reason are done no favor by the likes of Dennett (who, by the way, has no formal scientific qualifications) and his crudely reductionist screeds. ... Read more

Book Description

In the genome era, the analysis of gene expression has become a critical requirement in many laboratories. But there has been no comprehensive source of strategic, conceptual, and technical information to guide this often complex task. Transcriptional Regulation in Eukaryotes answers that need. Written by two experienced investigators, Michael Carey and Stephen Smale at the UCLA School of Medicine, and based in part on the Gene Expression course taught at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, this book directly addresses all the concerns of a laboratory studying the regulation of a newly isolated gene and the biochemistry of a new transcription factor.

Chapter 1 reviews the state-of-the-art in the RNA polymerase II transcription field;

Chapters 2–10 are a systematic guide to the investigation of regulatory mechanisms for newly identified genes;

Chapters 11–15 discuss approaches for synthesizing recombinant transcription factors, analyzing their binding, and deciphering their mode of action.

Transcriptional Regulation in Eukaryotes reveals not only what to do but why, and how to plan properly for success. This approach is ideal for graduate students, physician-scientists, postdocs, and others entering the field, but is also valuable for established investigators undertaking in-depth studies in specific systems. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

a great reference for transcription lab work!
I purchased this book for my lab and I cannot praise it highly enough.The only problem is that grad students and postdocs keep stealing it from my office and I'm always having to go out and hunt it down on someone's bench!When introducing a new technique to your lab, it is a good idea to read the chapater on that technique before you pick up your pipet.The descriptions of methodology and the degree of detail are first rate. I hope that Carey and Smale bring out a new edition soon that covers the new innovations in the transcription field from the five years since their current edition was published.

Lori Bernstein
Assistant Professor
Texas A & M University

Good Book for the beginner and expert....
There are so many method for experiment regarding transcriptional regulations. In this book, you may find brief purpose, background knowledge and technical guide for the allmost experiment about transcriptionalregulations. ... Read more

Reviews (50)

Molecular Biology - medical students need backup
Molecular Biology of the Cell is written in a straightforward easy-to-read manner. The book is especially well up-to-date on many ascpects and, to my delight, connective tissue components are given enough space. This is your book if you're interested in molecular biology. A drawback from the point of view of a medical student is the lack of integration of metabolism to the organ level, let alone human body. Molecular Biology of the Cell sticks to its header by consistently leaving out topics such as - insulin regulation of blood glucose - ketone bodies - fasting (and ketone bodies) - CYP enzyme family (cytochrome P450) - pentose phosphate pathway/hexose monophosphate shunt/glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase - purine catabolism/xanthine oxidase/uric acid/gout

Clearly, if backed up with a texbook of biochemistry or physiology covering metabolism on a higher level, Molecular Biology of the Cell is an excellent choice, even for medical students.

Best intro molecular/cell text out there.
Well, considering that this book got me through a full year of molecular and cell biology as an undergraduate, I'm pretty fond of the book. Especially considering that the second half of the year was taught by two people who had never taught a class in their lives before. Reason for the five stars is that this is an INTRODUCTORY level textbook written about 7 years ago. Even considering that, it's thorough enough and comprehensive enough for an entire year. I wasn't expecting work done last year to be included and I wasn't expecting that it would delve into the intricate details of photosynthetic reaction centers or the latest in optical methods in single molecule dynamics. If you want that kind of detail, go to the journals or specialized texts. However, for those undergraduates undertaking a full year of MCB, I can't recommend this text highly enough. And if you're looking for prokaryotic information, I'd go pick up a copy of Prescott, Harley, and Klein's "Microbiology."

A perfect introduction to the subject
I will say that I had no trouble in reading and understanding this book. All subjects are nicely elaborated and picturized with detailed schematics or with electron microscopy pictures. Scanning electron pictures are the best but very minimal.All basic concepts are covered structure of cell, protein synthesis, DANA , cell structures,nerve cells, atp, etc. You may want to skip better books when it comes to biochemistry or developmental biology but this book gives smooth introduction all subjects and than you make your direction. Compared to book written by Karp, I prefer this one for wider coverage but Karp has some sections called "experimental pathways" that open your vision to latest developments.

May be catagorised: "Antique"
Ounce apon a time in the beginning of the 90's there was a great book: "Molecular Biology of the Cell". However, this very book missed the oppportunity to keep up with exponentiall growth of knowledge accumulated in this field. Indeed it lacks the fundamental information needed by every cell biology student and may only satisfy the needs of a AP biology class at High School.

an outstanding book but somewhat outdated
This book is the most comprehensive book of cell biology I have ever read. I think it is still better than Lodish's Molecular Cell Biology, even the 4th edition of the latter is updated. It helped me greatly in my preparation for GRE Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology Test (I received a score of 750, 98%). However, 7 years have passed since this edition and many progresses in cell biology have been made in these years and a new edition is needed. It is said on Medscape Bookstore that the 4th edition of Molecular Biology of the Cell is due to be published in 2002-04 and now I am waiting for it. ... Read more

Book Description

Phylogenetic Trees Made Easy helps beginners get started in creating phylogenetic trees from protein or nucleic acid sequence data. Although aimed at molecular and cell biologists who may not be familiar with phylogenetic or evolutionary theory, it also serves students who may be familiar with phylogenetic theory but are unfamiliar with the tools used to apply that theory. The reader is led, step by step, through identifying sequences that are homologous to a sequence of interest, downloading these sequences from databases, creating multiple alignments, and using several different methods to construct trees."Learn More" boxes present background on the various concepts and methods, and an accompanying CD and Website provide files needed for working through the tutorials in the text.Key changes to the Second Edition include:

* discussion and screen shots updated to reflect current software versions
* all software discussed available for Macintosh, PC, and UNIX platforms
* detailed discussion of PAUP* for both Macintosh and Windows
* inclusion of PHYLIP as an alternative to PAUP*
* addition of "Advanced Topics," including constructing deep phylogenies from protein structure comparisons, ancestral sequence reconstruction, and measuring positive selection as evidence of adaptive evolutionEvery copy of the Second Edition includes a CD with current Windows and Macintosh beta versions of PAUP*. These time-limited versions will allow semester-length use of this popular software, giving students hands-on experience in tree-building as they work through the text. ... Read more

Book Description

Molecular markers have opened exciting new windows through which to view the natural biological world. This treatment addresses the many applications for genetic markers (from polymorphic proteins and DNA) from the perspectives of population biology, behavioral ecology, organismal evolution, and phylogeny. Opening chapters review the history and purview of molecular approaches, and compare and contrast various laboratory techniques for revealing molecular markers. Subsequent chapters review the extensive scientific literature of molecular ecology and evolution, and describe a cornucopia of captivating discoveries about nature's workings, past and present.

The book is taxonomically balanced with numerous examples from plants, animals, and microbes. It is also temporally balanced with examples ranging from assessments of genetic parentage and kinship in the most recent generations to phylogenetic assessments deep in the Tree of Life (and nearly everything in-between). This Second Edition of a seminal work (first published in 1994) brings the reader up-to-date on the many dramatic advances and insights made over the last decade. Furthermore, by retaining descriptions of many pioneering works, this book also traces the empirical and conceptual roots of each subject, and thereby provides a rich sense of the field's history.

Appropriate for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and scientists in such disciplines as ecology, genetics, population biology, ethology, molecular biology, systematics, and conservation biology, this new edition is for anyone interested in the application of molecular markers to organisms in the wild. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great.
Excelent book, full of diverse examples. Excelent to read too. Full of very interesting informations. Everyone who is interested at the subject should read it. ... Read more