Book Description
Read it.
You're already living it.
Was diabetes evolution's response to the last Ice Age? Did a deadly genetic disease help our ancestors survive the bubonic plagues of Europe? Will a visit to the tanning salon help lower your cholesterol? Why do we age? Why are some people immune to HIV? Can your genes be turned on -- or off?
Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth, from plants and animals to insects and bacteria.
Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. When the option is a long life with a disease or a short one without it, evolution opts for disease almost every time.
Everything from the climate our ancestors lived in to the crops they planted and ate to their beverage of choice can be seen in our genetic inheritance. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives.
Survival of the Sickest is filled with fascinating insights and cutting-edge research, presented in a way that is both accessible and utterly absorbing. This is a book about the interconnectedness of all life on earth -- and, especially, what that means for us.
Customer Reviews:
Engaging but Sometimes Misleading.......2007-10-17
If Moalem and Prince were more careful with their facts, and pointed their readers to other works in this field, I would rate this book 5 stars. It is lively and readable, and will please many light readers.
On the other hand ... while there is a reference in the notes to a Scientific American review article by Nesse and Williams, there are no mentions of their excellent books "Why We Get Sick" and "Evolution and Healing". While a light reader may find those books a bit dry, a more scientifically minded reader will find much food for thought. Moalem and Prince are not trying to be scholarly, but they should acknowledge their scholarly antecedents. There are echos of Nesse and William's "Evolution ... " in the structure and style of Moalem and Price's "Sickest ...", and that should be noted.
The material on human cryonic suspension (page 42 of the first hard cover edition) should either be properly researched or left out of future editions. Wood frogs cannot depend on external interventions to recover from freezing - humans have more options. Whether cryonics will eventually work or not, cryonics practitioners focus on the minimization of freezing damage to cellular structure, and perfuse their subjects with high concentrations of ice-thwarting chemicals. Research in this area is already improving preservation for transplants. There is still massive cell damage, of course, and the cryonic subjects beginning the process are already "dead", so there will be a lot to repair. However, the structural, chemical, and genetic information necessary to make those repairs and replacements is preserved by the modified freezing process. Molecular scale nanomachines and external computation and direction will be essential to repair the damage, but high-tech external manipulation is needed now to cure many diseases. The necessary technology is under development. Check the Alcor (www.alcor.org) and Foresight Institute (www.foresight.org) websites for pointers to these fascinating subjects. They, too, can be a little purple in their prose, but they usually acknowledge the speculative nature of their work, and the long road ahead of them.
I hope the other unreferenced material in "Survival ..." is more firmly grounded. While the "on the one hand, on the other hand" style of many scientific works is aggravating to readers who want blinding certainty, it does help careful readers understand the actual state of knowledge. Even if banished to the notes, such "weasel wording" can keep the authors of review books such as this from being tagged as exemplars of error, as they note happened to Lamark. Moalem can write a better book than this, and I hope he gets the opportunity.
Very,very, interesting.......2007-09-21
This is one of those books that is a delightful read, educating, interesting, and entertaining. The author puts forth his theories that many modern diseases are variations of evolutionary traits that were held by our ancestors that enabled them to survive the ice age and bubonic plague. He goes on to describe how viruses cause certain behavior in their carriers to help the viruses survival. The common cold leaves you well enough to stay moving and go to work so you can spread the virus to others, while the parasitic malaria wants you immobile and in bed because mosquitos can continue to carry it even better with you immobile.
The author also presents a case currently making head way in evolutionary science that is challenging the savannah theory. He proposes that we are evolved form aquatic apes as opposed to grassland dwellers, which would explain our hairlessness like other aquatic mammals and being bipedal. We also have fat stored at the skin like water dwellers and our infants have swimming instincts at birth that have been proven by water birthing that is very successful.
And finally I was really fascinated by the finding that what scientists have believed were "junk DNA" is slowly being shown to actually be a creative force that causes mutations in DNA for the benefit of survival of the species. I have always had trouble believing in the evolutionary theory because no mechanism could be created with causing it outside of God, and God would not need it. I also believed that the key was in DNA. Now I have a cause, the DNA itself creates and casues beneficial mutations.
I really can not do this book justice in a review with out making it far to long so buy the book if the above sounds interesting. The book presents an excellent case and has made me a believer.
Evolution in a way you never knew!.......2007-09-08
Everything out there is influencing the evolution of everything else. The bacteria and viruses and parasites that cause disease in us have affected our evolution as we have adapted in ways to cope with their effects. In response they have evolved in turn, and keep on doing so.
There are many dietary diseases that have had an evolutionary advantage in our ancestors but that today do more harm than good. In a person with hemochromatosis, for example, the body always thinks that it doesn't have enough iron and continues to absorb iron unabated. The excess iron can lead to liver failure, heart failure, diabetes, and even cancer.
Why would a disease so deadly be bred into our genetic code? Remember how natural selection works. If a given genetic trait makes you stronger--especially if it makes you stronger before you have children--then you're more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass that trait on. People with hemochromatosis have therefore an evolutionary advantage--protection against the bubonic plague!
On one set of experiments, macrophages from people who had hemochromatosis and macrophages from people who did not were matched against bacteria in separate dishes to test their killing ability. The hemochromatic macrophages crushed the bacteria. They are thought to be significantly better at combating bacteria by limiting the availability of iron than the nonhemochromatic macrophages. So though hemochromatosis will kill those inflicted with it decades later, they are much more likely than people without hemochromatosis to survive plagues, reproduce, and pass the mutation on to their children.
Diabetes also provided an evolutionary advantage to our ancestors by providing superior ability to withstand the cold by eliminating water and driving up sugar levels (like alcohol, sugar is a natural antifreeze). As a theory, it's hotly controversial, but diabetes may have helped our European ancestors survive the sudden cold, including the ice-age.
Malaria is an infectious disease that infects as many as 500 million people every year, killing more than 1 million of them. But not everyone who gets bit by malaria-carrying mosquitoes gets infected. And not everybody who gets infected dies. So what's helping the malaria survivors? People with a genetic tendency for sickle-cell anemia, another inherited blood disorder, had better natural resistance to malaria.
As you've seen with hemochromatosis, diabetes, and sickle-cell anemia, one generation's evolutionary solution is another generation's evolutionary problem.
At the end of the day, every living thing shares two hardwired imperatives: Survive. Reproduce. To achieve this, some organisms have inherited ingenious techniques to manipulate their hosts--the phenomenon that occurs when a parasite provokes its host to behave in a way that helps the parasite to survive and reproduce.
Orb weavers are a family of spiders that experience host manipulation. A wasp bites the spider, temporarily paralyzing it, then deposits its egg in its abdomen. The spider then goes on with his life oblivious to the egg in him. The egg then hatches, and the larva slowly feeds off the blood of the spider. When it is ready to cocoon, it injects chemicals into the spider's bloodstream to manipulate the spider into building a special web for it--instead of building circular webs, it goes back and forth building a rectangular web. Once the web is completed, the larva kills the spider by sucking off all its blood, and then throwing its carcass to the jungle floor below. It then uses the specially built web for it to cocoon by hanging on it.
A worm that infects ants is a classic example of another host manipulator. As the worms being carried by the ant develop, one of them makes its way to the ant's brain where it manipulates the ant's nervous system. Suddenly, the ant behaves in completely uncharacteristic fashion. At night, it leaves its colony and hangs on the tip of a grass, waiting to be eaten by a sheep. If it does not, it returns to its colony only to resume again its journey at night to the tip of a grass waiting to be eaten. Once eaten by a sheep, the worm would have succeeded in its manipulation, and would grow inside the sheep's stomach, its intended host.
The rabies Virus is another interesting host manipulator. It manipulates its host into becoming aggressive, which will make its host bite others and thus also infecting others.
Here is one amazing example of host manipulation: One researcher has discovered that women infected with T. gondii spend more money on clothes and are consistently rated as beings more attractive than women without the infection. Infected women were more easy-going, more warm-hearted, had more friends, and cared more about how they looked. However, they were also less trustworthy and had more relationships with men. Infected men, on the other hand, were less well groomed, more likely to be loners, and more willing to fight. They were also more likely to be suspicious and jealous and less willing to follow rules.
A normal sneeze occurs when the body's self-defense system senses a foreign invader trying to get in through your nasal passages and acts to repel the invasion by expelling it with a sneeze. But sneezing when you've got a cold? There's obviously no way to expel the cold virus which is already lodged in you. The cold virus has learned this reflex so it can infect your colleagues, family and your friends. Your body is actually being manipulated by the virus into sneezing!
The herpes virus may heighten sexual feeling, which will increase the probability of transmission. In other words, sometimes the herpes virus may want you to get some action in order for it to spread to other hosts.
So what if we made it easier for a given type of bacteria to survive in a healthy human than to survive in a sick human? Would this create evolutionary pressure against behavior that harms us? In fact there is an evolutionary advantage for the malaria parasite to push its hosts toward the brink of death. The more parasites swarming through our blood, the more parasites the mosquito is likely to ingest; the more parasites the mosquito ingests, the more likely it will cause an infection when it bites someone else. Cholera is similar--it doesn't need us moving around to find new hosts, so there's no reason for the bacteria to select against virulence. The bottom line is that if an infectious client has allies (such as mosquitoes) or good delivery systems (such as unprotected water supplies), peaceful coexistence with its host becomes a lot less important. In those cases evolution is likely to favor versions of the parasite that best exploit its host's resources, allowing the parasite to multiply as much as possible. Some researchers believe that we can use this understanding to influence the evolution of parasites away from virulence. The basic theory is this: shut down the modes of transmission that don't require human participation and suddenly all the evolutionary pressure is directed at allowing the human host to get up and get out. According to this theory, the virulence of a cholera outbreak in a given population should be directly related to the quality and safety of that population's water supply. If sewage flows easily into rivers that people wash in or drink from, then the cholera strain would evolve toward virulence--it can multiply freely, essentially using up its hosts, relying on its access to the water supply for transmission. But if the water supply is well protected, the organism should evolve away from virulence--the longer it remains in a more mobile host, the better its chance of transmission.
A series of cholera outbreaks that began in Peru in 1991 and spread across South and Central America over the next few years provide compelling evidence that this theory might actually work. The water supply systems from country to country ranged from relatively advanced to seriously rudimentary. Sure enough, when the bacteria invaded nations with poorly protected water supplies, such as Ecuador, the virus became more harmful as it spread. But in countries with safe water supplies, such as Chile, the bacteria evolved downward in virulence and killed fewer people. The implications of this are huge. Instead of challenging bacteria to become stronger and more dangerous through an antibiotic arms race (which we are currently losing), we could essentially challenge them to get along. If mosquitoes didn't have access to bedridden malaria patients, the microbe would be under evolutionary pressure to evolve in a way that allowed the infected person to remain mobile, increasing the opportunity for it to spread.
A series of groundbreaking research has shown that certain compounds can attach themselves to specific genes and suppress their expression. Let's take a look at a few examples. Depending upon the time of year the vole (a type of mouse) is due to give birth, baby voles are born with either a thick coat or a thin coat. The gene for a thick coat is always there--it's just turned on or off depending on the level of light the mother senses in her environment around the time of conception.
One species of lizard is born with a long tail and large body or a small tail and small body depending on one thing only--whether their mother smelled a lizard-eating snake while pregnant. When her babies are entering a snake-filled world, they are born with a long tail and big body, making them less likely to be snake food.
This is a fascinating book and I highly recommend it. I truly enjoyed reading it and I have learnt things I never imagined! Now that's what I call precious reading!
Understanding genetic disease from an evolutionary point of view.......2007-09-01
We really don't "need" disease. This is a bit misleading. It just so happens that some genetic disorders, such as sickle-cell anemia, favism, diabetes, hemochromatosis, the tendency to obesity, etc., confer on the afflicted compensatory advantages. Thus a predilection for getting fat is adaptive if a drought or a long winter beckons, or a person with a genetic tendency toward sickle-cell anemia is less likely to get malaria, and so on. Note that it is only diseases caused by genetic mutations that Dr. Moalem is talking about.
One of the techniques our bodies use when fighting infection is to reduce the amount of iron available to the invaders. Bacteria need iron to reproduce. If there is a lot of it available their numbers can grow quickly. Without iron they can't reproduce at all. Iron is a limiting factor for many kinds of life. Vast stretches of ocean support little in the way of life because the microorganisms that begin the food chain can't grow where there is so little iron. As Dr. Moalem reports in this wide-ranging and eyebrow-lifting book, sprinkle some iron onto those patches of ocean and they will quickly turn green with microorganisms.
So it is a bit of an irony that people who have hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes them to retain large amounts of iron in their bodies, are able to survival infections like the plague. This is because they starve the invading microbes through "iron locking." They have a lot of iron in their bodies, but they keep it away from the bacteria. Other people who have low levels of iron in their bodies are able to withstand bacterial attacks because they also keep what little iron they have away from the germs. In fact, one of the body's initial responses to microbial invasion is to limit the amount of free iron in the system.
Genetic coding for levels of iron in the body is an example of evolutionary adaptation, part of the ongoing arms race between us and the microbes that live in and on our bodies. This is just one of several interesting and new ideas coming from the growing science of evolutionary medicine that I found in Survival of the Sickest. Incidentally, one way to manage hemochromatosis is through donating blood on a regular basis, which explains in part why physicians of old were sometimes successful when they bled their patients.
This got me to thinking about "only women bleed" which led me to think about hemorrhoids (which prove that it isn't only women who bleed). Perhaps bleeding instead of retaining blood, which seems like the more natural thing for our bodies to do, has adaptive value in some people in some environments.
Another interesting idea is this from page 58: "ACHOO syndrome--its full name is autosomal dominant compelling heliopthalmic outburst syndrome." It is a "disorder that causes uncontrolled sneezing when someone is exposed to bright light, usually sunlight, after being in the dark." Dr. Moalem suggests that "way back when our ancestors spent more time in caves, this reflex helped them to clear out any molds or microbes that might have lodged in their noses or upper respiratory tract." Now this may sound a bit far fetched, but I have suffered from low grade allergies all my life, and used to have asthmatic attacks. I came to believe that the buildup in my lungs and the sneezing were signals to me to move on! Of course now I clean and vacuum like a germaphobe, but the idea is the same. My symptoms were adaptive. They more or less forced me to reduce the level of potential irritants and microbes in my environment.
But there is more. I noticed long ago that sometimes the sun in the morning would cause me to sneeze. I never figured out why until I read the above from Dr. Moalem. I am just the kind of person who would need to sneeze those molds out.
Later on in the book Moalem returns to an evolutionary idea that has been kicking around for decades. Beginning with the work of Elaine Morgan from the 1970s the public became aware of the notion that we humans had an aquatic past. She got the idea from marine biologist Alister Hardy. Through such books as The Descent of Woman (1972) and The Aquatic Ape: A Theory of Human Evolution (1982) Morgan argued that some of our unusual adaptations came about because we had an aquatic past. Taking up the idea, Moalem writes, "Every hairless mammal is aquatic or at least plays in the mud--think of hippos, elephants and the African warthog. But there aren't any hairless primates." (p. 198) Furthermore we have fat directly under our skin to help keep us warm just as aquatic mammals do. Also, Moalem notes, "the ability to survive on land and sea" gives us adaptive flexibility. If "chased by a leopard, the semiaquatic ape could dive into the water; chased by a crocodile, it could run into the forest." (p. 199)
These ideas are familiar but what I didn't know was that an aquatic past could have figured in our evolution toward bipedalism. "[S]tanding upright in water allowed...[aquatic apes] to venture into deeper water and still breathe, and the water helped to support their upper bodies, making it easier to support them on two feet." (p. 199)
This is an easy to read book, aimed at a general readership. An earlier, slightly more technical book that covers some of the same territory is Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine (1994) by Randolph M. Nesse and George C. Williams, which I also recommend.
Razzle dazzle them.......2007-08-27
This book embodies much of what I dislike in popular cience books, while having few of the qualities I admire in such books. It relies more on sleigh of the hand and razzle dazzle, you-wouldn't-have-thought-of-it than on throughly thought out, well substantiated lines of thought.
Let's start with the subtitle: "A medical maverick discovers why we need disease". That is a clear case of fiction: nowhere in the book does the author "discover" anything; he merely retells the study of others. This, of course, is not a demerit, as many interesting scientists have difficulties in explaining their work in clear terms, acessible to the layman. However, the author must be hyped as the "discoverer", as the center figure in the tale.
Since James Burke's "Connections", it seems that popular science must explore all the crossroads, no matter how irrelevant. So Moalem goes on long tangents that have little to do with the theory he is trying to substantiate. In order to show how diabetes works to protect the body against cold, the reader is taken through the mechanism of an ice age, how ice core samples are removed and so on. If one were to remove all this "extra" material, this book would be thin indeed.
The book seems to revolve around this material and the author's use of jokes. Unfortunately, his sense of humour tends more towards ha-ha than funny, which helped to further fray my patience towards this book.
All of this is indeed a pity, as the subject is very interesting. If more pages had been dedicated to developing a central line of thought and substantiation and to showing the debate behind all these ideas (in a real light, instead of "the thickheaded traditionalists who won't accept new ideas"), it would be well worth the read.
Amazon.com
Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel's work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that "our" genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven't thought of evolution in the same way since.
Why are there miles and miles of "unused" DNA within each of our bodies? Why should a bee give up its own chance to reproduce to help raise her sisters and brothers? With a prophet's clarity, Dawkins told us the answers from the perspective of molecules competing for limited space and resources to produce more of their own kind. Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, he paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution. He also introduced the concept of self-reproducing ideas, or memes, which (seemingly) use humans exclusively for their propagation. If we are puppets, he says, at least we can try to understand our strings. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
The million copy international bestseller, critically acclaimed and translated into over 25 languages. This 30th anniversary edition includes a new introduction from the author as well as the original prefaces and foreword, and extracts from early reviews. As relevant and influential today as when it was first published, The Selfish Gene has become a classic exposition of evolutionary thought. Professor Dawkins articulates a gene's eye view of evolution - a view giving centre stage to these persistent units of information, and in which organisms can be seen as vehicles for their replication. This imaginative, powerful, and stylistically brilliant work not only brought the insights of Neo-Darwinism to a wide audience, but galvanized the biology community, generating much debate and stimulating whole new areas of research.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent overview of evolution.......2007-10-08
Scholars pro-evolution can generally be divided into 1) those who believe in evolution at the group level (ie: The reason lions behave in a particular way is because they want to survive as a species) or 2) those who believe in evolution at an individual level (ie: The reason a particular bird behaves in a particular way is because he wants to survive as an individual bird). Dawkins' views are closer to the latter. In fact, he takes it a step further and argues for evolution at the gene level. I think he makes a very convincing case for his views. Of course nothing is certain (except uncertainty perhaps) so he does not prove his theory definitively.
The book can be hard to read at times and may be a bit slow for those with no background in biology or science. Nevertheless I think anyone with patience can read, enjoy and learn from this important book.
No matter what your views this is a very educational and important book. Highly recommended.
Fancifully Dark.......2007-09-21
In his play "Suddenly, Last Summer," Tennessee Williams writes of a young man who, on vacation at the seashore, watches newly hatched baby turtles struggling down to the safety of the water. Only a small percentage get there, though, because the gulls overhead scoop them up and eat them faster than they can crawl. The young man, observing this and already under great psychic tension, tells his cousin that now "I have seen God!" Later on, we realize the man is morally insane, and that perhaps this was the turning point; his descent into insanity.
Whether Williams himself thought of God the same way, I don't know. But certainly the example of the turtles and gulls had been chosen, out of thousands of other such biological observations, because the young man chose to find God - or truth - in it. He could, if he had been in a sunnier mood, chosen to look at nesting robins or a mare and her colt.
In "The Selfish Gene," Dr. Dawkins argues against the idea of altruism in nature: mothers take care of their young because they love them, etc. Dawkins says they do it because it's in their genes. But he takes it one step further: he says it's the genes themselves that are struggling to survive - not the whole animal. The analogy of genes "using" animal bodies for their own "selfish" ends, as if we were robots and the genes our drivers, is made over and over again.
Of course, Dawkins realizes this is not correct. Darwinism asserts that biological life came into existence blindly: cells and animals came (and continue to come) into being, not because they chose to, but because of natural selection. And the ones who survive do so because of serendipity.
This is a very hard concept, of course, to understand. I remember Sister Pauline laboring to explain to us girls in junior biology class that the white butterflies didn't decide to turn black; they turned black over generations, due to natural selection. She had a hard time of it. (Catholics are "allowed" to choose between a literal or analogous interpretation of the Bible, so she was not breaking any official rules!)
In other words, a "selfish" gene (or animal) makes no more sense in Darwinistic terms than an "altruistic" one.
Dawkins explicitly states this on page 196. But he uses the selfish gene analogy so many more times - hundreds of times - that, just from the sheer repetitiveness of the theme, it may sink in too deeply (and do some psychic damage) to people who are not currently living on the sunny side of the street, so to speak.
For those people, like the gentleman who wrote the touching review of how this book contributed to fits of depression, I'd say: This point of view has no more legitimacy than the altrustic point of view.
An additional (and, I think, unnecessary) weight on the sensitive reader's soul is the aspersions that Dr. Dawkins, an aggressive atheist, throws on the concept of God - limited mainly, I think, to his chapter on memes (he saves most of his vituperation on this issue for another book, "The God Delusion").
On that score, I'd say: please realize that scientists don't know everything. People in different professions develop different mental prejudices: lawyers think like lawyers, engineers like engineers, etc. And scientists, for whom scientific method is everything, tend to think that anything that's not measurable therefore doesn't exist. This is a logical fallacy. They also tend to think they are so intelligent, and the world outside science is so simple, that they can read a few survey books on religion, philosophy, or history and know all there is to know about the field. This leads them to made irresponsible, blanket statements, completely unaware of how little they know.
On page 201, he winds up a chapter by saying all is not gloomy; humans can still strive towards altruism; that "[w]e, alone on earth, can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators." Then, in a long footnote, he writes that some of his colleagues disapproved of this passionate summation. "In some cases, the criticism came from doctrinaire sociobiologists jealously protective of genetic influence...." and in others, from "high priests of the left jealously protective of a favorite demonological icon!" (His exclamation point.) These latter, apparently, were objecting that he on the one hand implied a belief in free will while on the other hand talking like a genetic determinist. He objects to this, saying, if I understand it, that he's both, and ends the argument by saying, "We, that is our brains, are separate and independent enough from our genes to rebel against them. ...[W]e do so in a small way every time we use contraception."
Now, I don't pretend to have a handle on the philosophical and sociobiological arguments regarding whether or not humans have free will, or even what exactly free will is. But in the above I don't see that Dr. Dawkins really does, either: he treats it far too simply.
In sum, read the book, but don't let it get you down. After all, if the village priest doesn't have the right to bully people intellectually, than neither does the research scientist.
Mandatory reading for students/interested persons.......2007-09-17
This is an excellent primer to biological evolution and could also be a valuable co-text with a standard high school biology course. Written in British english, it is quite understandable though more academic than casual.
Dawkins' use of the 'gene's eye view' of the world permeates the text. It is very easy to follow. A great book to rebut any creationist's
viewpoint. This was Dawkins' first book in the field. It will not disappoint or talk down to you.
Enjoy.
a mixed bag.......2007-09-09
Parts of the book were utterly fascinating to me, such as the groundbreaking idea of the "meme" as a unit of cultural transmission. But the argument that species are survival machines for our "immortal genes" seems seriously flawed.
First and foremost in my mind, it is hard for me to swallow that organisms practice altruism because the gene or genes that are responsible for this altruism have a probability of existing in the recipient of the altruism, the probability increasing with the closeness of familial relatedness. How, then, to explain altruism beyond the family, or even beyond the species? The author mentions that there is at least one well-documented case of a dolphin rescuing a drowning human being. In the book this was suggested to be a mistake. One of Earth's most intelligent animals has a gene for rescuing long, narrow objects and cannot tell the difference between a human and its own species. I got doubtful when contradictory evidence was explained as a mistake. And what about organisms' adopting children originating from other parents? Always a mistake? Highly expensive practice for when the real deal arises?
I do not understand why there must be *a* unit of natural selection. Can't there be more than one, sometimes at odds with each other, sometimes in tandem? I do believe genes are selected over other genes, but I believe groups can be selected over other groups, too. Perhaps other units, both larger and smaller than genes (Why not the selfish base pair?), are also naturally selected.
Finally, especially considering recent discoveries in genomics that have downsized the number of estimated human genes, there cannot be one gene behind any behavioral trait you can think of, a gene for being nice to your cousin, for example. I get that a gene can have many functions and can have a net effect of being nice to your cousin, and in its absence you would be less nice to your cousin, but this makes for a complicated web which would get torn apart as succeeding generations inherit just part of the web. The influences of biology, environment, and history get harder to ignore.
a new way to look at the world.......2007-08-29
Dawkins challenges us to look at old ideas (Darwinian) in a new light. At times I found his mathematical calculations tedious to follow, however when I bothered to think them through, they did make sense. I esepcially enjoyed the chapter on game theory because it helped to explain why humans do not usually behave in blatantly exploitive ways in spite of our "selfish genes". I recommend the book to anyone who wonders how the world works.
Book Description
Genetics: From Genes to Genomes is a cutting-edge, introductory genetics text authored by an unparalleled author team, including Nobel Prize winner, Leland Hartwell. The Third Edition continues to build upon the integration of Mendelian and molecular principles, providing students with the links between early genetics understanding and the new molecular discoveries that have changed the way the field of genetics is viewed.
Customer Reviews:
Not for the uninitiated.......2007-07-07
This is a good book if you already have a foundation in genetics. Oddly, the book is marketed as your basic undergrad genetics text. Yet instead of just explaining the concepts, it leads you on the path of discovery of how researchers figured all this stuff out. If you are still learning the subject, you may do better with Klug/Cummings/Spencer. If you are going into higher levels of biology and want to learn some research methods, this is a good book.
Genetics: From Genes to Genomes.......2007-03-09
The book came in very quickly and I am very happy with the purchase.
Book Description
Genetics: From Genes to Genomes is a cutting-edge, introductory genetics text authored by an unparalleled author team, including Nobel Prize winner, Leland Hartwell. The Second Edition continues to build upon the integration of Mendelian and molecular principles, providing students with the links between early genetics understanding and the new molecular discoveries that have changed the way the field of genetics is viewed.
Customer Reviews:
Genetics: From Genes to Genomes.......2006-02-23
Great figures to go with the text. Not a quick read, but it is a great genetics resource.
Genetics: From Genes to Genomes.......2005-02-07
I found this book extremely verbose and unorganized. It would serve as a great reference book for a lab researcher or grad student. But it's way too technical and dense for an introductory genetics class. The authors do a poor job presenting the material in a comprehensible way to an undergraduate genetics student. Not recommended.
Great general Genetics textbook.......2004-12-12
I think this is a great text book for General Genetics class! In fact, this is the text we have been using at UC Berkeley.
The authors are not only clear & concise in delivering their topics, but also able to formulate challenging questions to test students' undestanding.
Genetics concepts well understood.......2003-09-14
Excellent book that goes in depth to the science of genetics.
Book Description
Composed of cutting-edge reasearch and featuring an engaging writing style, the author offers compelling scientific answers to the profound human questions regarding love and work.
Beginning with a historial introduction, the text logically progresses by discussing adaptive problems humans face and ends with a chapter showing how the new field of evolutionary psychology encompasses all branches of psychology. Each chapter is alive with the subjects that most occupy our minds: sex, mating, getting along, getting ahead, friends, enemies, and social hierarchies. Why is child abuse 40 times more prevalent among step-families than biologically intact families? Why, according to one study, did 75% of men but 0% of women consent to have sex with a complete stranger? Buss explores these intriguing quandaries with his vision of psychology in the new millenium as a new science of the mind.
Anyone with an interest in the biological facets of human psychology will find this a fascinating read.
Customer Reviews:
Good Intro.......2007-10-12
This was the first book I read dealing with Evolutionary Psychology. I read it after college and law school so the textbook format was actually perfect for what I was looking for. It begins with a rudimentary and straight forward explanation of evolution by natural selection. From there it gets into the details of evolutionary psychology. It is a very solid introduction to the field in my opinion. I was told that when it comes to EP to start with Buss's book but don't end there and I sort of see why. I don't think you could go wrong by starting here.
high on appeal, low on rigor.......2005-06-24
I used this book as a text book for a course I taught on Evolutionary Psychology. On the whole, the students really enjoyed the text and they found Buss's writing style to be very engaging and easy to read. I would agree.
Nevertheless, I feel this book--like the whole field of Evolutionary Psychology--requires a far more rigorous scientific framework before it can be considered a field that can substantively explain human behavior from an evolutionary perspective. Don't get me wrong: evolutionary hypotheses can provide a lot of insight into particular human behaviors. However, I would have liked to see much more discussion on what is science, what constitutes a scientifically valid argument, how do we falsify a particular hypothesis, etc. These issues could be covered in a few pages or so, and I think they could help flesh out or perhaps even justify some of the arguments put forth in the text. As it stands now, the book reads more like an apologetic and as I skim the pages, I get the same feeling that I do when I've been pamphleted by evangelicals. Buss's arguments are fraught with generalizations: studies on college kids are extrapolated to the whole human species, studies on plumage color in birds are used to argue for handicaps in humans, and on and on it goes. There are sentences that make pretty extraordinarly claims that go unreferenced and there are sentences that make trivial points that are tailed by six references.
Professor Buss does a good job in conveying the basics of natural selection, but then uses some of the most tenuous definitions of fitness in trying to make an adaptive argument: questionaires, age, symmetry, and even intuition are all stand-ins for fitness. This is a shame because in order to know when selection will operate, we need to know how phenotypic (including behavioral) variation covaries with fitness. Because his fitness proxies are so weak, I have a hard time buying many of the arguments advanced in the book. Other evolutionary forces are rarely discussed; such lapses are unfortunate since it is likely that drift has played some (if not a major) role in getting populations to cross adaptive valleys, as well as affecting the evolutionary dynamics of frequency-dependent selection. But I digress...
I hope future editions (and I'm sure they're on their way) will include a chapter on scientific and evolutionary epistemology. That is, I would like to see a chapter address the question: what steps do evolutionary biologists proceed through when they make an adaptive argument. This would be a timely and useful contribution given that intelligent-design folks are trying to loosen up and poke holes in the definition of science. One chapter starts down this road but never critically discusses how hypotheses are tested (and rejected!), it focuses more on how hypotheses are developed--and believe me, evolutionary psychologists are good at coming up with hypotheses. Professor Buss's book, with its profligate use of unfalsifiable hypotheses, does not help the cause in this respect. Sure, evolutionary psychologists can always hide behind Lakatos as they denigrate Popper for being too severe, or, like Dunbar et al., they can actually learn some math, some scientific epistemology, and help bring evolutionary psychology into a more rigorous, more reputable position. Buss's book does too much of the former and not enough of the latter.
HUMAN CIVILIZATION FROM THE PRESENT: WHY WE ACT THIS WAY.......2004-03-27
Each day for twenty-something years I woke up to see reality as it was presented to me. I noticed many patterns in life that are hard not to notice -- such as the difference between men and women in how they approach sexual opportunities. Men will readily say yes, women firmly no. Why?
Evolution is such an intriguing and elegant theory on its approach to our current behavior. Boss's contention is that the present behaviors we see today in our modern era -- fear of snakes, high male sexual drive -- arose from our ancestors. Those who did not have such characteristics did not become our ancestors. Thus, over time, certain characteristics were more likely to be successful in the mating process, and those are the same characteristics we see today. Boss's insight required a lot of keen intellectual insight into many different hypothesis.
Some of these hypothesis seemed far-fetched at first. Who would think that there would be statistical differences in how maternal grandparents v. paternal grandparents relate to their grandchildren. There are, however. Maternal grandmothers have less risk in investing in a grandchild who is not biologically related since she is confident that her daughter is biologically hers, and she can be certain that her daughter's child is biologically related, too. The hypothesis that paternal grandfathers would be most distant -- since they have the most to lose -- turned out to be true. (Paternal grandfathers cannot be 100% certain that they fathered their son or daughter, and thus, they cannot be sure that that child's son or daughter is biologically related).
This is perhaps one of the most important contributions in scientific literature since Watson and Clark's published report on their findings of DNA.
Michael Gordon
A thorough, rigorous, and illuminating book........2002-06-01
David Buss, author of The Evolution of Desire and The Dangerous Passion, brings his formidable intellect, research experience, knowledge, and writing talent to bear in this impressive introduction to the field of Evolutionary Psychology. It is obvious from reading the book that it was painstakingly researched. An impressive breadth of research studies in evolutionary psychology and relevant work from other disciplines, including anthropology, biology, and sociology are clearly explained and their implications discussed. Alternative hypotheses and interpretations of research, where alternatives have been explicitly proposed, are even-handedly explored. The chapters of the book are organized by the kinds of problems of survival and reproduction faced by our ancestors. This organization makes the broad range of specific research covered in the book easy to understand and integrate into a coherent understanding of the evolutionary origins of human cognition and behavior. Thought-provoking, absorbing, and exceptionally well written: Dr. Buss's Evolutionary Psychology text is an absolute joy to read. It is a must-have for psychologists, biologists, and any student of human nature.
Procede with Caution.......2001-01-13
I have not read the text book. I am a former student of Dr. Buss' and suspect that it will be as vacant in theory as his previous literary attempts. Evolutionary Psychology is an extremely interesting field, but as with any field must be considered in an interdisciplanary manner. The reviewers that make blanket statements about Evolutionary Psychology being the only world view might benefit from reading some philosophy without prejudging it as merely a coping mechanism. For those of you who considering purchasing this book, the last time I spoke with Dr. Buss, he had only very superficial knowledge of the more detailed and sophisticated theories in this field of study and this will probably be reflected in the text book. To be fair, his writing is often enjoyable and as others have said, does read like a novel, but do not mistake this for depth of knowledge.
Book Description
Genetics: Analysis of Genes and Genomes, Sixth Edition by Hartl and Jones presents the modern world of genetics; treating classical, molecular, and population genetics as unified subdisciplines in a field that, even in our post-genomic era, still goes by the name "genetics." This approach to teaching genetics is a logical progression in a time when the various subdisciplines of genetics are so closely interwoven.
Written by two renowned authorities in the field, Genetics, Sixth Edition provides the most current, clear, comprehensive, and balanced introduction to genetics and genomics at the college level. It treats transmission genetics, molecular genetics, and evolutionary genetics as fully integrated subjects, and provides students with an unprecedented understanding of the basic processes of gene transmission, mutation, expression, and regulation. The text also explores the connections between modern and historical experimental methods used by geneticists, and offers valuable insight into the important historical and social context of genetics and genomics.
Customer Reviews:
Horrible Book.......2006-05-24
Absolutely horrible book. Chapters are written very poorly. They don't follow a pattern, but if I had to say there were one it would be tell you the big picture first so you have no idea what they're talking about then go into detail about each of the units and then after you've read the whole chapter you find it useful to reread the beginning again because you now know what the authors are talking about. Inconsistent use of vocabulary as well, they talk in colloquial terms and then all of the sudden use the word 'nascent' for instance, then you never see the word again. Nothing wrong with such things but the lack of consistency in the book makes it extremely poor in my opinion. Very poorly written, the information is there but organization is pathetic
BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION ABOUT GENES AND GENOMES ! SUPERB.......2004-10-23
GOOD PICTURE REPRESENTATION WITH EXCELLENT NOTES AND LOTS OF EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT GENE AND GENOMES . PROBLEMS HAVE SOME ERRORS ITS LITTLE CONFUSING BUT OVERALL A FABALOUS TEXT BOOK OF GENETICS. GOOD FOR STANDARD EXAM PREPARATIONS AND ALSO FOR UNDERGRAD/GRAD STUDENTS . ALL THE BEST CHECK FOR FOR MINNOR ERRORS IN THE TEXT .... TAKE THE BEST OUT OF IT .....
Average customer rating:
- Buen servicio
- Poorly structured, badly written
- A superbly presented and comprehensive introduction
- A complete, up-to-date text book on population genetics
- A complete, up-to-date text book on population genetics
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Genetics of Populations (Biological Science (Jones and Bartlett))
Philip W. Hedrick
Manufacturer: Jones and Bartlett
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Molecular Markers, Natural History, and Evolution
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Principles of Population Genetics, Fourth Edition
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A Primer of Population Genetics
ASIN: 0763747726 |
Book Description
The study of population genetics is one of the keys to understanding the evolutionary process. Written by a leading expert in the field, Genetics of Populations, Third Edition, is the most current and comprehensive introduction to the field for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and researchers in genetics, evolution, conservation, and related fields. In the past several years, interest in the application of population genetics principles to new molecular data has greatly increased, and Dr. Philip Hedrick's new edition keeps pace with this dynamic area of study by emphasizing this recent shift.
This text integrates coverage of theoretical issues with a clear presentation of experimental population genetics and empirical data. By drawing examples from both recent and classic studies, and by using a variety of organisms to illustrate the phenomena of population genetics, Genetics of Populations, Third Edition, provides students and researchers with the most comprehensive resource available.
Customer Reviews:
Buen servicio.......2007-02-20
El libro esta bien, solo que en la parte de abajo vino un poco roto. Pero por lo
demás esta bien. El tiempo de entrega fue el convenido.
Poorly structured, badly written.......2006-03-24
This and Hartl and Clark's book are the standard textbooks for population genetics. I am an applied math/bio grad student working in this area. Hedrick's book contains a huge amount of information, but honestly I think it is poorly organized and often poorly written. Rather than a clear explication of the theory with examples, it is constructed more like a collection of related ideas, facts and examples thrown together to make loose rather confusing chapters. Population genetics is a tricky subject and Hedrick does not make much of an effort to communicate the ideas clearly. For example, in the mutation chapter, rather than say something like: here is the general problem, here are types of mutations, here are some mutation models with examples, here are some ways to estimate mutation and here are some case studies from the literature, he mixes all these things together presenting formulas and data in an jumbled, intermingled way that is not particularly easy to read. The result is that it is difficult to extract (for me) the essence of the concepts and summarize everything for myself. If you are required to use this text for a class, I highly recommend looking at other resources. Hartl's book's good, but slightly more basic. Gillespe's Concise Guide is also really good, but again, the subject is difficult and requires a good amount of mathematical background. To summarize, if you study pop gen, you should really probably read and own this book because of its ubiquity and the information contained within. However, don't be surprised when you find it sub par.
A superbly presented and comprehensive introduction.......2004-12-05
A superbly presented and comprehensive introduction to population genetics as one of the fundamental underlying principles and processes of the evolutionary process, Genetics Of Populations is now published in a newly updated and significantly revised third edition. Author Philip W. Hedrick (Arizona State University) integrates theoretical issues with a clear and acceptable presentation of experimental population genetics with empirical data providing students and researchers with one of the most articulate and up-to-date texts available. Features new to this latest addition is a focus on data from genome projects that compare population samples to identify patterns of genetic diversity and genes that have been under selection. All of the individual chapters have been completely updated with the latest examples and approaches in this rapidly evolving field of study. Of special value for curriculum development are the new and updated tables, chapter exercises, end-of-chapter problems, art, photographs, featured researchers, extensive bibliography, and detailed index. Highly recommended.
A complete, up-to-date text book on population genetics.......2000-03-30
This text-book deals with population genetic theory in great detail, without loosing sight of the basics. This makes it a good introduction in population genetics as well as a complete reference work. With chapters on evolutionairy and quantative genetics and numerous examples this book describes the state of the art in population genetic research. Compared to Hartl and Clark's Principles of Population Genetics, Genetics of Populations is more detailed and more clearly structured. Overall an excellent book.
A complete, up-to-date text book on population genetics.......2000-03-30
This text-book deals with population genetic theory in great detail, without loosing sight of the basics. This makes it a good introduction in population genetics as well as a complete reference work. With chapters on evolutionairy and quantative genetics and numerous examples this book describes the state of the art in population genetic research. Compared to Hartl and Clark's Introduction to Population Genetics, Genetics of Populations is more detailed and more clearly structured. Overall an excellent book.
Average customer rating:
- Genes IX
- New Edition Reflecting New Discoveries.
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Genes IX
Benjamin Lewin
Manufacturer: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
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Epigenetics
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Cells
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Condensed Protocols from Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual
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Molecular Biology of the Cell, Fourth Edition
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Biology of Cancer
ASIN: 0763740632 |
Product Description
From renowned author Benjamin Lewin comes the newest edition of his classic text, Genes IX. For decades Lewin has provided the teaching community with the most cutting edge presentation of molecular biology and molecular genetics, covering gene structure, sequencing, organization, and expression. The new Ninth Edition boasts a fresh modern design and contemporary art program, as well as a new organization which allows students to focus more sharply on individual topics. Thoroughly updated throughout, including a new chapter on Epigenetic Effects, Genes IX proves to be the most current, comprehensive and student-friendly molecular biology text available!
Customer Reviews:
Genes IX.......2007-09-14
it is a good book for students who want to know basic concept of genetics.
New Edition Reflecting New Discoveries........2007-03-29
In the four years since the publication of Genes VII there have been tremendous changes in the subject resulting from the success of many genome sequencing projects. The importance of RNA as a regulator has become increasingly evident and now can be seen to extend across all levels of gene expression in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The abundance of new material required that either the book be greatly expanded or that some material be removed. The decision was made to allow a modest expansion (from 1050 to 1100 pages) and to remove some material that was not strictly related to genes and their expansion.
As Genes VIII was an improvement over Genes VII in terms of layout and presentation, this trend has been continued to allow the students to focus more sharply on the material. The new look has been tested to prove it facilitates student learning.
Finally a new dedicated web site has been set up for this book. However, when I attempted to browse to it I got a 404 error. I've asked the publisher for a new URL or at least a reason that it's not up.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies
ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Book Description
Science tells us we're all related—one vast family sharing a common ancestor who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago. But countless questions remain about our great journey from the birthplace of Homo sapiens to the ends of the Earth. How did we end up where we are? When did we get there? Why do we display such a wide range of colors and features? The fossil record offers some answers, but exciting new genetic research reveals many more, since our DNA carries a complete chronicle of our species and its migrations.
In Deep Ancestry, scientist and explorer Spencer Wells shows how tiny genetic changes add up over time into a fascinating story. Using scores of real-life examples, helpful analogies, and detailed diagrams and illustrations, he translates complicated concepts into accessible language and explains exactly how each and every individual's DNA contributes another piece to the jigsaw puzzle of human history. The book takes readers inside the Genographic Project, the landmark study now assembling the world's largest collection of population genetic DNA samples and employing the latest in testing technology and computer analysis to examine hundreds of thousands of genetic profiles from all over the globe.
Traveling backward through time from today's scattered billions to the handful of early humans who are ancestors to us all, Deep Ancestry shows how universal our human heritage really is. It combines sophisticated science with our compelling interest in family history and ethnic identity—and transcends humankind's shallow distinctions and superficial differences to touch the depths of our common origins.
Customer Reviews:
Great ongoing story, but too similar to previous book.......2007-08-07
If you have read The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey, you may find this book a bit of a let down. It is not that it is badly written, nor is the story uninteresting. It is just that the narrative has not advanced enough since the last book. There are some interesting additions, but a lot of repeat information. I would start with the DVD Journey of Man. After that you could read either book, but I recall enjoying Journey of Man better. Having said that, I will be looking for the next one because the research is fascinating.
Very Good Book.......2007-07-16
Much help in my quest to learn more about DNA, and my past.
Not for the faint of heart.......2007-05-13
An explanation of the growing efforts all over the world to utilize DNA in discovering ancestral groups, tracing immigration paths, and the significance of the various groups. For a non-science major, this is a challenge. I'm sure the author tried to explain in the clearest language possible, but it is still a stretch for the average reader.
Not disappointed........2007-05-13
As a participant in the Genographic Project I looked forward to reading more in depth about the project. I found the material interesting and well organized.
Mapping the spread of mankind.......2007-05-07
We each inherit half our DNA from each parent, but not all of it is equally split: the Y chromosome always comes from the father, and the mitochondrial DNA, since it's part of the original egg cell, always comes from the mother. Thus, except for mutations, a man's Y chromosome is identical to his father's, his father's father's, and so on back into the mists of time. The same is true on the maternal line for mitochondrial DNA. This provides a great opportunity: analyzing markers on these specific chromosomes allows geneticists to trace one's ancestors back to the last common ancestor on either side, the so-called mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosome Adam. More, whenever there is a mutation, it is inherited down the population line to all future generations, so as populations spread out, the lines can continue to be followed. Examining the DNA of people all around the world, particularly those belonging to indigenous populations that have been in one place for many generations (as contrasted with your typical American mixed breed), allows geneticists to trace the spread of human beings across the globe.
This, in brief, is the Genographic Project, perhaps the most significant undertaking ever for an organization known for its significant undertakings, the National Geographic Society. This book tells the story of the project so far. It starts with a much more in-depth explanation of the concepts that I only describe briefly above, then goes on to relate the findings so far. Just as expected, humans originated in Africa: all the lines can be traced back there, and by far the greatest genetic diversity is to be found there. The later chapters start by describing the ancestry of specific individuals, then generalizing from there to cover the overall movements. Fifty thousand years ago one of the very first band of humans left Africa, and some of them made their way all the way down to Australia, becoming the ancestors of the aborigines. Other bands stopped in the Middle East, while still others populated eastern Asia, eventually moving, about ten or twenty thousand years ago, across a frozen Bering Strait into the Americas.
The whole is much more complicated than this. In fact, there's a fifty-page appendix that described the movements of the key populations at the end. If I have a criticism of this book, it's that there is too much text and not enough diagrams. It would be nice to have a great big map, along the lines of the ones National Geographic is known for, depicting all these moves and splits, rather than having to read comparatively cumbersome words about it.
That being said, this is a fascinating project and fascinating to read about.
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- Symbiosis: An Introduction to Biological Associations
- The Beast in the Garden: The True Story of a Predator's Deadly Return to Suburban America
- The Bulldozer In The Countryside: Suburban Sprawl and the Rise of American Environmentalism (Studies in Environment and History)
- The Causes of Tropical Deforestation: The Economic and Statistical Analysis of Factors Giving Rise to the Loss of the Tropical Forests
- The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them (Complete)
- The Country Vet's Book of Home Remedies for Cats
- The Dynamic Great Lakes
- The Encyclopedia of Ecotourism (Cabi Publishing)
- The Man Who Would Dam the Amazon: and Other Accounts from Afield
- The Panther Mystery (Boxcar Children Mysteries)
Books Index
Books Home
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