There has been no mechanistic explanation for evolutionary change consistent with phylogeny in the 150 years since the publication of 'Origins'. As a result, progress in the field of evolutionary biology has stagnated, relying on descriptive observations and genetic associations rather testable scientific measures. This book illuminates the need for a larger evolutionary-based platform for biology. Like physics and chemistry, biology needs a central theory in order to frame the questions that arise, the way hypotheses are tested, and how to interpret the data in the context of a continuum.The reduction of biology to its self-referential, self-organized properties provides the opportunity to recognize the continuum from the Singularity/Big Bang to Consciousness based on cell-cell communication for homeostasis.

The theory of pattern formation, assumed to be applicable to all multicellular organisms, has been developed largely through the study of animal, and to a lesser extent, plant systems. Fungi, members of the third major kingdom of eukaryotes, have not been featured in these studies, although much research of fungal morphology has been undertaken with taxonomic intentions. This first account of the developmental biology of fungal morphogenesis considers whether evidence exists for the action of pattern-forming mechanisms in the development of fungal structures. Chapters on the fruit body, on a range of aspects of the hyphae and the mycelium, and on genetic control and nuclear events in morphogenesis provide new insights into the mechanisms used in fungal development.

The 26 recognized minor phyla comprise aberrant clades, as most of them terminate as blind offshoots. Untied from the discussion on their phylogenesis of minor phyla, this book is largely devoted, for the first time, to aspects of reproduction and development in minor phyletics. The minor phyla are not as speciose (1,795 species/phylum) as the major phyla (157,066 species/phylum) are. The accumulation of deleterious genes causes inbreeding depression among progenies arising from parthenogenesis, clonal multiplication and selfing hermaphrodites. The reason for the limited species diversity in minor phyla is traced to (i) eutelism in 65.7% of minor phyletics and (ii) existence of 21.6% clonals, (iii) 6.4% parthenogens and (iv) 1.2% selfing hermaphroditism. Gonochorism obligately requires motility to search for a mate. The combination of low motility and gonochorism from Placozoa to hemocoelomatic minor phyla has limited diversity to < 1,000 species. Over 19% of minor phyletics are hermaphrodites. With the need to manifest and maintain dual sexuality, fecundity of hermaphrodites may be reduced to 50% of that in gonochores. Adopting an array of strategies, < 100 hermaphrodites are selfers. In eutelics, mitotic division is ceased in somatic cells after hatching. For the first time, the prevalence of eutelism has been brought to light in numbers of all the six pseudocoelomate phyla and priapulids. Eutelism limits fecundity to 30-300 eggs in free-living pseudocoelomates, priapulids and possibly other hemocoelomates. In them, sperm production is less than that of egg production; as a result, a large fraction of their eggs is sterile. With a high proportion of non-eutelic gametic cells (35%), Nematoda and possibly Nematomorpha and Acanthocephala are more fecund than rotifers, in which the proportion is 15%. Briefly, the reasons for the limited species diversity in minor phyletics are traced to eutelism, parthenogenesis and clonal multiplication. Surprisingly, parthenogenesis and clonal multiplication mutually eliminate each other. This is also true of hermaphroditism and parthenogenesis. However, clonal multiplication is prevalent from structurally simplest Placozoa to the most complex Ascidiacea, except in pseudocoelomates and hemocoelomates. A limited number of cells and cell types, and the consequent structural simplicity facilitate manifestation of parthenogenesis in pseudocoelomates and parasitism in Mesozoa, Myxozoa, 59% of Nematoda, Nematomorpha, Acanthocephala and Pentastomida. Despite hermaphroditism, Bryozoa (5,700 species) and Ascidiacea (3,000 species) are speciose among minor phyla. For the first time, the importance of fusion of fragments or colonies - an event equivalent to gamete fusion at fertilization - is recognized as a source of new gene combination. Besides, the colonies in these minor phyla degenerate and regenerate more or less regularly. Only the fittest degenerated colonies may be rejuvenated and regenerated.

A Probabilistic Model of the Genotype/Phenotype Relationship provides a new hypothesis on the relationship between genotype and phenotype. The main idea of the book is that this relationship is probabilistic, in other words, the genotype does not fully explain the phenotype. This idea is developed and discussed using the current knowledge on complex genetic diseases, phenotypic plasticity, canalization and others.

First published in 1960, this book discusses the ethical implications of the view of man's nature and his place in the biological world. C. H. Waddington highlights issues of the time, such as social upheavals related to social mobility, and the changing nature of philosophical thinking in relation to the nature of good. The author argues that man differs from all other animals in his ability for social teaching and learning and that this provides him with a second method of evolutionary advance, in addition to biology. He advances this through the idea that man has the capacity to entertain ethical ideas, which is an essential and necessary feature of this new mode of evolution. From here he draws the conclusion that a consideration of the broad trends of evolution provides a framework within which we can rationally discuss the relative merits of the various systems of ethical belief current in the world. In presenting his argument, Waddington draws on research in biology, psychology, the social sciences, and philosophy. He concludes with a short consideration of some of the most important ethical problems facing mankind at the time of the book's publication.

First published in 1961, this book explains the main trends and problems in modern biological thought, at that time. It was based on lectures presented at the University College of the West Indies, Jamaica, in 1960 to members from different faculties and is therefore an accessible guide for all to the subject.

Originally published in 1985, The Semantic Theory of Evolution addresses the notion that life is not shaped by the single law of natural selection, but instead by a plurality of laws that resemble grammatical rules in language. This remarkable work presents a semantic theory centering on the concept of the ribotype. Supported by both sound facts and logical arguments, this analysis reaches beyond the established cadre of biological thought to unravel many of life's mysteries and paradoxes, including the origin of the cell and the nucleus and the evolution of ribosomes.

'Intimate and thoughtful... Exciting... [A] sweeping evolutionary history.' Science The author of the bestselling Your Inner Fish gives us a brilliant, up-to-date account of the great transformations in the history of life on Earth. This is a story full of surprises. If you think that feathers arose to help animals fly, or lungs to help them walk on land, you'd be in good company. You'd also be entirely wrong. Neil Shubin delves deep into the mystery of life, the ongoing revolutions in our understanding of how we got here, and brings us closer to answering one of the great questions - was life on earth inevitable...or was it all an accident?

This book highlights the results from over a year of ethnobotanical research in a rural and an urban community in Jamaica, where we interviewed more than 100 people who use medicinal plants for healthcare. The goal of this research was to better understand patterns of medicinal plant knowledge, and to find out which plants are used in consensus by local people for a variety of illnesses. For this book, we selected 25 popular medicinal plant species mentioned during fieldwork. Through individual interviews, we were able to rank plants according to their frequency of mention, and categorized the medicinal uses for each species as "major" (mentioned by more than 20% of people in a community) or "minor" (mentioned by more than 5%, but less than 20% of people). Botanical identification of plant specimens collected in the wild allowed for cross-linking of common and scientific plant names. To supplement field research, we undertook a comprehensive search and review of the ethnobotanical and biomedical literature. Our book summarizes all this information in detail under specific sub-headings.

This book aims to clarify the potential association between frailty and cardiovascular disease in older people. Covering the biological as well as the clinical point of view, it allows researchers and clinicians to discover the significance of this topic. The contributions cover the most important aspects in the potential relationship between frailty and cardiovascular disease. In particular, authoritative authors in this field have clarified the definition and the epidemiology of frailty and cardiovascular disease in older people. A large part of the volume is dedicated to the biological mechanisms of frailty and cardiovascular disease, trying to find those in common between these two conditions. Since this book is dedicated to both researchers and clinicians, we have proposed some chapters to the importance of comprehensive geriatric assessment in the evaluation and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and frailty. In this regard, the importance of geriatric evaluation in cardiac surgery for older people is well covered. Finally, the importance of cardiac rehabilitation and physical exercise is summarized, being, actually, the most important treatments for both frailty and cardiovascular disease. Written by many well-known and widely published experts in their respective fields, this book will appeal to a wide readership such as researchers in the field and clinicians, especially suited in geriatric medicine and cardiology who, every day, face frail older patients.

The main objective of this book is to provide a comprehensive review on stem cells and their role in tissue regeneration, homeostasis and therapy. In addition, the role of cancer stem cells in cancer initiation, progression and drug resistance are discussed. The cell signaling pathways and microRNA regulating stem cell self-renewal, tissue homeostasis and drug resistance are also mentioned. Overall, these reviews will provide a new understanding of the influence of stem cells in tissue regeneration, disease regulation, therapy and drug resistance in several human diseases.

The Geometric Induction of Bone Formation describes new biomimetic biomaterials that offer mechanistic osteogenic surfaces for the autonomous and spontaneous induction of bone formation without the addition of osteogenic soluble molecular signals of the transforming growth factor- supergene family. The chapters frame our understanding of regenerative medicine in primate species, including humans. The goal is to unravel the fundamental biological mechanisms of bone formation unique to non-human and human primates. The broad target audience dovetails with several disciplines both in the academic and private biotech sectors primarily involved in molecular biology, tissue biology, tissue engineering, biomaterial science, and reconstructive, orthopedic, plastic, and dental surgery. Key Features Includes outstanding images of undecalcified whole mounted sections Summarizes non-human primate research - ideal for clinical translation Reviews methods for creating devices capable of making bone autonomously, i.e. an intrinsically osteo-inductive bioreactor and/or biomaterial Describes the spontaneous induction of bone formation including a whole spectrum of tissue biology, from basic molecular biology to clear-cut morphology and pre-clinical application in non-human primate species Intended for audiences in both academic research and the biotech industry

This book examines how the growing knowledge of the huge range of protist-, animal-, and plant-bacterial interactions, whether in shared ecosystems or intimate symbioses, is fundamentally altering our understanding of biology. The establishment and maintenance of these interactions and their contributions to the health and survival of all partners relies on continuous cell-to-cell communication between them. This dialogue may be concerned with all aspects of the biology of both partners. The book includes chapters devoted to exploring, explaining, and exposing these dialogues across a broad spectrum of plant and animal eukaryotes to a broad field of biologists. Key Features Explores the nature of the interactions between eukaryotic hosts and their microbial symbionts Examines the links between prostist, animal, and plant evolution and microbial communities Reviews specific taxa and the microbial diversity associated with these taxa Illustrates the role microbes play in the physiology and etiology of several model species Includes chapters by an international team of leading scholars

Global climate change is bound to create a number of abiotic and biotic stresses in the environment, which would affect the overall growth and productivity of plants. Like other living beings, plants have the ability to protect themselves by evolving various mechanisms against stresses, despite being sessile in nature. They manage to withstand extremes of temperature, drought, flooding, salinity, heavy metals, atmospheric pollution, toxic chemicals and a variety of living organisms, especially viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects and arachnids and weeds. Incidence of abiotic stresses may alter the plant-pest interactions by enhancing susceptibility of plants to pathogenic organisms. These interactions often change plant response to abiotic stresses. Plant growth regulators modulate plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, and regulate their growth and developmental cascades. A number of physiological and molecular processes that act together in a complex regulatory network, further manage these responses. Crosstalk between autophagy and hormones also occurs to develop tolerance in plants towards multiple abiotic stresses. Similarly, biostimulants, in combination with correct agronomic practices, have shown beneficial effects on plant metabolism due to the hormonal activity that stimulates different metabolic pathways. At the same time, they reduce the use of agrochemicals and impart tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. Further, the use of bio- and nano-fertilizers seem to hold promise to improve the nutrient use efficiency and hence the plant yield under stressful environments. It has also been shown that the seed priming agents impart stress tolerance. Additionally, tolerance or resistance to stress may also be induced by using specific chemical compounds such as polyamines, proline, glycine betaine, hydrogen sulfide, silicon, -aminobutyric acid, -aminobutyric acid and so on. This book discusses the advances in plant performance under stressful conditions. It should be very useful to graduate students, researchers, and scientists in the fields of botanical science, crop science, agriculture, horticulture, ecological and environmental science.

Annual Fishes: Life History Strategy, Diversity, and Evolution is the first comprehensive reference on current knowledge of diverse species that exhibit unique survival strategies and provide important models for basic and applied research. This work fills a void, covering the life cycle, reproductive biology, evolutionary ecology, reproductive behavior, sexual selection, genetics, speciation, and integrative and conservation strategies of annual fishes Bringing together researchers in different areas of annual fishes to summarize previous work, overview the current research, and highlight promising areas of research, the book is organized into three sections focusing on: Diversity, life history, and reproductive biology Ecology and conservation Evolution The book provides a thorough understanding of the complexity of annual fishes and emphasizes their usefulness as a unique model organism for studies in vertebrate biology, particularly in areas such as speciation and senescence. It also notes the gaps in knowledge that challenge future research and encourages the continued expansion and development of research studies on annual fishes to address these gaps so that general vertebrate biology can be better understood. It serves as a valuable resource for scientists in a range of disciplines such as ichthyology, zoology, developmental and evolutionary biology, molecular biology and genetics, and ecology.

Transplantation, Bioengineering, and Regeneration of the Endocrine Pancreas, Volume 2, sets a new standard in transplant and regenerative medicine. The book details the state-of-the-art in modern islet auto-transplantation, also discussing current progress in regenerative medicine research in diabetes medicine. Regenerative medicine is changing the premise of solid organ transplantation, hence this volume catalogs technologies being developed and methods being implemented. Bioengineering and regenerating beta cells, clinical pancreas and islet transplantation, tissue engineering, biomaterial sciences, stem cell biology and developmental biology are all addressed and applied directly to diabetes medicine.

Transplantation, Bioengineering, and Regeneration of the Endocrine Pancreas, Volume 1, sets a new standard in transplant and regenerative medicine. The book details the-state-of-the-art in modern whole pancreas and islet transplantation, including donor selection, immunosuppression, complications, allograft pathology, and more. As regenerative medicine is changing the premise of solid organ transplantation, this volume catalogs the technologies being developed and the methods being implemented to bioengineer or regenerate the endocrine pancreas in order to more effectively treat diabetes. Edited and authored by unparalleled leaders in the field, this new volume argues for a much needed synergy between organ transplantation and regenerative medicine.

Since the discovery of actin by Straub in the 1950's and the pioneering work of Oosawa on actin self-assembly in helical laments in the 1960's, many books and conference proceedings have been published. As one of the most essential p- teins in life, essential for movement in organisms rangingfrom bacteria to higher eukaryotes, it is no surprise that actin has fascinated generations of scientists from many different elds. Actin can be considered as a "living treasure" of biology; the kinetics and thermodynamics of self-assembly, the dissipative nature of actin po- merization, the molecular interactions of monomeric and polymerized actin with regulators, the mechanical properties of actin gels, and more recently the force p- ducing motile and morphogenetic processes organized by the actin nanomachine in response to signaling, are all milestones in actin research. Discoveries that directly derive from and provide deeper insight into the fundamental properties of actin are constantly being made, making actin an ever appealing research molecule. At the same time, the explosion in new technologies and techniques in biological sciences has served to attract researchers from an expanding number of disciplines, to study actin. This book presents the latest developments of these new multiscale approaches of force and movement powered by self-assembly processes, with the hope to opening our perspectives on the many areas of actin-based motility research.

During the last two decades the modern techniques of histochemistry, electron microscopy, plant physiology, biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, immunology, and genetics have been applied to investigate the intricacies of the processes involved in embryo formation, and considerable new information has been generated. A better understanding of these processes has enhanced our capacity to manipulate fertilization and embryo development. This has changed the face of the embryology of angiosperms from a descriptive science to an experimental and applied science. The revolutionary progress made in this fascinating field of sexual reproduction was the motivation to prepare this volume. It includes 21 chapters written by experts who have made substantial contributions to their respective fields. It covers all aspects of the embryology of angiosperms, ranging from development, isolation, and structure of male and female gametes, their fusion in vivo and in vitro, and structure, physiology, and genetics of zygotic embryogenesis, to endosperm and seed development. Advances in somatic embryogenesis, synthetic seed technology and regeneration of haploid plants from male and female gametophytes are discussed. Other important topics covered in this volume are sexual incompatibility, parthenocarpy, and apomixis. The last chapter deals with the embryological perspective of inheritance of extra-nuclear genes. All the chapters contain up-to-date information and are profusely illustrated. Graduate and postgraduate students, teachers, and scientists of botany and other areas of plant sciences will find this book extremely useful.

Fourteen informative papers dealing with their DNA, species interactions, adventiveness, host specificity, potential as boi-contol agents of weeds, chemical control, behaviour, their role in fungal pathogen epidemiology, influence in forests and on ornamentals, collecting and mounting techniques and their interaction with crops are presented here. This is an extensive and valuable contribution to eriophyoid science and a must for present and future researchers in this field.

There has been an increasing interest in the application of dynamical systems to the study of development over the last decade. The explosion of the dynamical systems framework in the physical and biological sciences has opened the door to a new Zeitgeist for studying development. This appeal to dynamical systems by developmentalists is natural given the intuitive links between the established fundamental problems of development and the conceptual and operational scope of nonlinear dynamical systems. This promise of a new approach and framework within which to study development has led to some progress in recent years but also a growing appreciation of the difficulty of both fully examining the new metaphor and realizing its potential. Divided into 4 parts, this book is a result of a recent conference on dynamical systems and development held at Pennsylvania State University. The first 3 parts focus on the content domains of development that have given most theoretical and empirical attention to the potential applications of dynamical systems--physical growth and movement, cognition, and communication. These parts show that a range of nonlinear models have been applied to a host of developmental phenomena. Part 4 highlights two particular methodological issues that hold important implications for the modeling of developmental phenomena with dynamical systems techniques.

The evolution of segmentation is one of the central questions in evolutionary developmental biology. Indeed, it is one of the best case studies for the role of changes in development in the evolution of body plans. Segmented body plans are believed to have appeared several times in animal evolution, and to have contributed significantly to the evolutionary success of the taxa in which they are present. Because of the centrality of the subject, and the continuing interest in understanding segmentation, this book offers an often overlooked focus on the cellular aspects of the process of segmentation, providing an invaluable reference for students of evolutionary developmental biology at all levels. Key Features Explores the role that segmentation has played in the diversity of animals Documents the diverse cellular mechanisms by which segmentation develops Reviews the independent evolutionary origins of segmentation Provides insight into the general patterns of serial homology at the cellular level Related Titles Lynne Bianchi. Developmental Neurobiology (ISBN 978-0-8153-4482-7). Jonathan Bard. Principles of Evolution: Systems, Species, and the History of Life (ISBN 978-0-8153-4539-8). Gerhard Scholtz. Evolutionary Developmental Biology of Crustacea (ISBN 978-9-0580-9637-1). Dr. Ariel D. Chipman is Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behavior of the Silberman Institute of Life Sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author or co-author of dozens of peer reviewed scientific journal articles. His research focuses upon the evolution of animal body plans with a focus on arthropod segmentation, integrating comparative embryology, the fossil record and genome evolution.

Drawing from a lifetime of teaching botany, Dr. Nels Lersten presents the study of the structures and processes involved in the reproduction of plants in his text "Flowering Plant Embryology." This richly illustrated reference text, with more than 350 figures and illustrations, presents general angiosperm embryology as it applies to economically important plants. The unique focus on economically important species increases the relevance of this book to today's students and researchers in the plant sciences.

Lersten emphasizes the plant species that affect human livelihood, including weeds and other cultivated plants that are used for commercial products. Selected from the thousands of economically important plants, the examples chosen for illustration and discussion are familiar, especially to students from North America, Northern Europe, and Japan. Although the emphasis of this book is economically important plants, the information within applies to almost all flowering plants.

Extremely readable and well-written, this book is neither dense nor academic in tone. Lersten treats topics with a uniformity of style and organization that enhances comprehension. Terms are well-defined and the derivation of each is explained to further facilitate student learning. The book presents research results, hypotheses, and speculations about why things are as they are, with supporting facts and specific examples that provide a firm foundation for students' understanding of embryological diversity among economic plants.

Defined as, "The science about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage," embryology has been a mainstay at universities throughout the world for many years. Throughout the last century, embryology became overshadowed by experimental-based genetics and cell biology, transforming the field into developmental biology, which replaced embryology in Biology departments in many universities. Major contributions in this young century in the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry and genomics were integrated with both embryology and developmental biology to provide an understanding of the molecular portrait of a "development cell." That new integrated approach is known as stem-cell biology; it is an understanding of the embryology and development together at the molecular level using engineering, imaging and cell culture principles, and it is at the heart of this seminal book. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine: From Molecular Embryology to Tissue Engineering is completely devoted to the basic developmental, cellular and molecular biological aspects of stem cells as well as their clinical applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. It focuses on the basic biology of embryonic and cancer cells plus their key involvement in self-renewal, muscle repair, epigenetic processes, and therapeutic applications. In addition, it covers other key relevant topics such as nuclear reprogramming induced pluripotency and stem cell culture techniques using novel biomaterials. A thorough introduction to stem-cell biology, this reference is aimed at graduate students, post-docs, and professors as well as executives and scientists in biotech and pharmaceutical companies.