The Evolution Explosion

by Palumbi, Stephen R.

• ISBN13: 9780393020113
• ISBN10: 0393020118
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc

Summary

A critical look at the intersection of evolution and high-tech modern life. Evolution is not only the slow process that ruled the rise and fall of the dinosaurs over hundreds of millions of years. It also happens quicklyso quickly and frequently that it changes how all of us live our lives: drugs fail because diseases evolve; insects overcome the most powerful pesticides; HIV and tuberculosis develop resistance to the newest drugs in a few months. This is evolution with teeth. While the ecological scars of human technology have been well publicized, the broad evolutionary consequences of antibiotic and antiviral use, insecticide applications, and herbicide bioengineering are largely unexplored. Does the human impact on evolution falter at the borders of our own species? Or do we, in fact, generate our own evolutionary pressure? Enthusiastically written for a wide audience, The Evolution Explosion examines these practical and critical aspects of modern evolution with simplicity, force, and humor.

Author Biography

Stephen R. Palumbi is professor of biology at Harvard University, where he teaches evolution, marine biology, and molecular ecology and conducts research on populations and molecular genetics of marine animals.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
From the Mountains to the Sea	3	(5)
Right Before Your Eyes	8	(29)
The Engine of Evolution	37	(28)
Temporary Miracles: The Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance	65	(30)
The Evolution of HIV	95	(36)
Poisoning Insects, and What They Can Do About It	131	(31)
Biotechnology and the Chemical Plow	162	(22)
Evolution All at Sea	184	(23)
Are Humans Still Evolving?	207	(24)
The Ecology and Evolution of Aloha	231	(24)
Sources and Suggested Reading	255	(14)
Index	269