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The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution
Sean B. Carroll · back to the book
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24 books with the same feel
Include books by the same authorThe Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry
Bryan Sykes · 319 pages
"In 1994 Professor Bryan Sykes, a leading world authority on DNA and human evolution, was called in to examine the frozen remains of a man trapped in glacial ice in northern Italy. News of the discovery of the Ice Man and his age, which was put at over five thousand years, fascinated the world. But what made the story particularly extraordinary was that Professor Sykes was also able to track down
Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors
Nicholas Wade · 313 pages
Nicholas Wade's articles are a major reason why the science section has become the most popular, nationwide, in the New York Times. In his groundbreaking Before the Dawn, Wade reveals humanity's origins as never before—a journey made possible only recently by genetic science, whose incredible findings have answered such questions as: What was the first human language like? How large were the first
River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life
Richard Dawkins · 172 pages
How did the replication bomb we call "life" begin and where in the world, or rather, in the universe, is it heading? Writing with characteristic wit and an ability to clarify complex phenomena (the New York Times described his style as "the sort of science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius"), Richard Dawkins confronts this ancient mystery. Dawkins has been named by the London Daily
Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life
Eva Jablonka, Marion J. Lamb · 576 pages
How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of de-Extinction
Beth Shapiro · 220 pages
"Could extinct species like mammoths and passenger pigeons be brought back to life? The science says yes. In [this book], Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist and pioneer in 'ancient DNA' research, walks readers through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction. From deciding which species should be restored, to sequencing their genomes, to anticipating how revived populations mig
Arrival of the Fittest: Solving Evolution's Greatest Puzzle
Andreas Wagner · 291 pages
Renowned evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner draws on over fifteen years of research to present the missing piece in Darwin's theory. Using experimental and computational technologies that were heretofore unimagined, he has found that adaptations are not just driven by chance, but by a set of laws that allow nature to discover new molecules and mechanisms in a fraction of the time that random va
Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease
Sharon Moalem · 279 pages
Survival of the Sickest: The Surprising Connections Between Disease and Longevity is a 2007 New York Times Bestselling science book by Sharon Moalem, an evolutionary biologist and neurogeneticist, and Jonathan Prince, senior advisor and speechwriter for the Clinton administration. It was originally titled, Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease.
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes
Adam Rutherford · 408 pages
In our unique genomes, every one of us carries the story of our species--births, deaths, disease, war, famine, migration, and a lot of sex. But those stories have always been locked away--until now. Who are our ancestors? Where did they come from? Geneticists have suddenly become historians, and the hard evidence in our DNA has blown the lid off what we thought we knew. Acclaimed science writer Ad
The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism
Michael J. Behe · 320 pages
Draws on new findings in genetics to pose an argument for intelligent design that refutes Darwinian beliefs about evolution while offering alternative analyses of such factors as disease, random mutations, and the human struggle for survival.
Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life
Daniel C. Dennett · 586 pages
In this groundbreaking and very accessible book, Daniel C. Dennett, the acclaimed author of Consciousness Explained, demonstrates the power of the theory of natural selection and shows how Darwin's great idea transforms and illuminates our traditional view of our place in the universe. Following Darwinian thinking to its logical conclusions is a risky business, with pitfalls for everybody. Creati
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari · 456 pages
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What hap
Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution
Nick Lane · 344 pages
The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey
Spencer Wells · 224 pages
"Showing how the secrets about our ancestors are hidden in our genetic code, Spencer Wells reveals how developments in the cutting-edge science of population genetics have made it possible to create a family tree for the whole of humanity. We now know not only where our ancestors lived but who they fought, loved, and influenced.". "Informed by this new science, The Journey of Man is replete with
Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins
Steve Olson · 298 pages
Mapping Human History is a comprehensive guide to the evolution of humans. The book is carefully chaptered into specific sections which focus on explaining both the geographical causes of human evolution (for example, isolation); the nature of which human characteristics are transferred to future generations by genetic processes; and the effects this has had on the distribution of humans across th
Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes
Svante Paabo · 288 pages
"What can we learn from the genes of our closest evolutionary relatives? Neanderthal Man tells the story of geneticist Svante Paabo's mission to answer that question, beginning with the study of DNA in Egyptian mummies in the early 1980s and culminating in his sequencing of the Neanderthal genome in 2009. From Paabo, we learn how Neanderthal genes offer a unique window into the lives of our homini
Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts
Emily Anthes · 241 pages
For centuries, we have toyed with our creature companions, breeding dogs that herd and hunt, housecats that look like tigers, and teacup pigs that fit snugly in our handbags. But what happens when we take animal alteration a step further, engineering a cat that glows green under ultraviolet light or cloning the beloved family Labrador Retriever? Science has given us a whole new toolbox for tinkeri
A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
Jennifer A. Doudna, Samuel H. Sternberg · 304 pages
**A trailblazing biologist grapples with her role in the biggest scientific discovery of our era: a cheap, easy way of rewriting genetic code, with nearly limitless promise and peril.** Not since the atomic bomb has a technology so alarmed its inventors that they warned the world about its use. Not, that is, until the spring of 2015, when biologist Jennifer Doudna called for a worldwide morator
Epigenetics: The Ultimate Mystery of Inheritance
Richard C. Francis · 234 pages
Discusses how scientific evidence is increasingly showing a link between the stress of the environment on an individual and the seemingly inherited traits of his or her subsequent generations.
The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology
Robert Wright · 496 pages
Eight Little Piggies: Reflections in Natural History
Stephen Jay Gould · 479 pages
Contemplative essays speaking often of the importance of the unbroken connection of modern man and our ancestors.
Lone Survivors: How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth
Chris Stringer · 320 pages
A leading researcher on human evolution proposes a new and controversial theory of how our species came to be In this groundbreaking and engaging work of science, world-renowned paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer sets out a new theory of humanity's origin, challenging both the multiregionalists (who hold that modern humans developed from ancient ancestors in different parts of the world) and h