The Origins of Life From the Birth of Life to the Origin of Language

by Smith, John Maynard; Szathmáry, Eörs

• ISBN13: 9780192862099
• ISBN10: 019286209X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-11-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

When John Maynard Smith and Eörs Szathmáry published The Major Transitions in Evolution , it was seen as a major work in biology. Nature hailed it as a book of "grand and daunting sweep...A splendid and rewarding tour de force ." And New Scientist wrote that it captured "the essence of modern biology," calling it "an extremely significant book which, as a bonus, is very readable." Now, in The Origins of Life , Maynard Smith and Szathmáry have completely rewritten Transitions to bring their ideas to a wider audience of general readers. Here is a brilliant, original picture of how life evolved on earth, focusing primarily on six major transitionsdramatic breakthroughs in the way that information was passed between generations. The authors offer illuminating explorations of the origin of life itself, the arrival of the first cells with nuclei, the first reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperative animal societies, and the birth of language. The Origins of Life represents the thinking of two leading scientists on questions that engage us allhow life began and how it gradually evolved from tiny invisible cells into whales and trees and human beings.

Author Biography

John Maynard Smith is an internationally renowned biologiest, widely respected for the originality of his ideas and quality of his thinking. He is a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex. Eors Szathmary is a Professor at the Collegium Budapest, in Hungary.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Life and information	1	(14)
The major transitions	15	(16)
From chemistry to heredity	31	(6)
From the RNA world to the modern world	37	(10)
From heredity to simple cells	47	(12)
The origin of eukaryotic cells	59	(20)
The origin of sex	79	(16)
Genetic conflict	95	(6)
Living together	101	(8)
The evolution of many-celled organisms	109	(16)
Animal societies	125	(12)
From animal societies to human societies	137	(12)
The origin of language	149	(22)
Further reading	171	(2)
Glossary	173	(4)
Index	177