Evolution

by Scientific American

• ISBN13: 9780226742694
• ISBN10: 0226742695
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

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 controversyor grabbed as many headlinesas 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.

Author Biography

Scientific American, the premier general-interest science magazine, reports the most important developments in modern science, medicine, and technology to more than three million readers worldwide. The oldest continuously published magazine in the United States, it has been at the forefront of science for more than 150 years.

Table of Contents

THE EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE	3	(84)
The Evolution of the Universe	3	(10)
P. JAMES E. PEEBLES, DAVID N. SCHRAMM, EDWIN L. TURNER AND RICHARD G. KRON
The First Stars in the Universe	13	(11)
RICHARD B. LARSON AND VOLKER BROMM
Exploring Our Universe and Others	24	(8)
MARTIN REES
Searching for Life in Our Solar System	32	(8)
BRUCE M. JAKOSKY
The Fate of Life in the Universe	40	(11)
LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS AND GLENN D. STARKMAN
Life's Rocky Start	51	(10)
ROBERT M. HAZEN
Misconceptions about the Big Bang	61	(11)
CHARLES H. LINEWEAVER AND TAMARA M. DAVIS
The Evolution of the Earth	72	(15)
CLAUDE J. ALLÈGRE AND STEPHEN H. SCHNEIDER
CELLULAR EVOLUTION
Uprooting the Tree of Life	87	(12)
W. FORD DOOLITTLE
The Birth of Complex Cells	99	(15)
CHRISTIAN DE DUVE
Viral Quasispecies	114	(12)
MANFRED EIGEN
How Cells Respond to Stress	126	(14)
WILLIAM J. WELCH
Cell Communication: The Inside Story	140	(10)
JOHN D. SCOTT AND TONY PAWSON
Life, Death and the Immune System	150	(13)
SIR GUSTAV J.V. NOSSAL
Cybernetic Cells	163
W. WAYT GIBBS
DINOSAURS AND OTHER MONSTERS
Rulers of the Jurassic Seas	121	(61)
RYOSUKE MOTANI
The Mammals That Conquered the Seas	182	(11)
KATE WONG
Breathing Life into Tyrannosaurus rex	193	(10)
GREGORY M. ERICKSON
Madagascar's Mesozoic Secrets	203	(10)
JOHN J. FLYNN AND ANDRÉ R. WYSS
Which Came First, the Feather or the Bird?	213	(12)
RICHARD O. PRUM AND ALAN H. BRUSH
The Terror Birds of South America	225	(9)
LARRY G. MARSHALL
The Evolution of Life on the Earth	234	(17)
STEPHEN JAY GOULD
HUMAN EVOLUTION
An Ancestor to Call Our Own	251	(9)
KATE WONG
Early Hominid Fossils from Africa	260	(9)
MEAVE LEAKEY AND ALAN WALKER
Planet of the Apes	269	(11)
DAVID R. BEGUN
Once We Were Not Alone	280	(11)
IAN TATTERSALL
Out of Africa Again...and Again?	291	(10)
IAN TATTERSALL
Who Were the Neandertals?	301	(9)
KATE WONG
Food for Thought	310	(12)
WILLIAM R. LEONARD
Skin Deep	322	(8)
NINA G. JABLONSKI AND GEORGE CHAPLIN
The Evolution of Human Birth	330	(8)
KAREN R. ROSENBERG AND WENDA R. TREVATHAN
Once Were Cannibals	338	(9)
TIM D. WHITE
If Humans Were Built to Last	347	(8)
S. JAY OLSHANSKY, BRUCE A. CARNES AND ROBERT N. BUTLER
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS	355