Recent advances that allow scientists to quickly and accurately sequence a genome have revolutionized our view of the structure and function of genes as well as our understanding of evolution. A new era of genetics is underway, one that allows us to fully embrace Dobzhansky's famous statement that "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution". Genetics: Genes, Genomes, and Evolution presents the fundamental principles of genetics and molecular biology from an evolutionary perspective as informed by genome analysis. By using what has been learned from the analyses of bacterial and eukaryotic genomes as its basis, the book unites evolution, genomics, and genetics in one narrative approach. Genomic analysis is inherently both molecular and evolutionary, and every chapter is approached from this unified perspective. Similarly, genomic studies have provided a deeper appreciation of the profound relationships between all organisms - something reflected in the book's integrated discussion of bacterial and eukaryotic evolution, genetics and genomics. It is an approach that provides students with a uniquely flexible and contemporary view of genetics, genomics, and evolution. Online Resource Centre: - Video tutorials: a series of videos that provide deeper, step-by-step explanations of a range of topics featured in the text. - Flashcards: electronic flashcards covering the key terms from the text. For registered adopters of the text: - Digital image library: Includes electronic files in PowerPoint format of every illustration, photo, graph and table from the text - Lecture notes: Editable lecture notes in PowerPoint format for each chapter help make preparing lectures faster and easier than ever. Each chapter's presentation includes a succinct outline of key concepts, and incorporates the graphics from the chapter - Library of exam-style questions: a suite of questions from which you can pick potential assignments and exams. - Test bank of multiple-choice questions: a ready-made electronic testing resource that can be customized by lecturers and delivered via their institution's virtual learning environment. - Solutions to all questions featured in the book: solutions written by the authors help make the grading of homework assignments easier. - Journal Clubs: a series of questions that guide your students through the reading and interpretation of a research paper that relates to the subject matter of a given chapter. Each Journal club includes model answers for lecturers. - Instructor's guide: The instructor's guide discusses the educational approach taken by Genetics: Genes, Genomes, and Evolution in more detail, why this approach has been taken, what benefits it offers, and how it can be adopted in your class.

Why did Darwin find tortoises so interesting? Are humans really descended from ancient apes? How did the peacock get its tail? What might life look like elsewhere in the universe? In this fascinating and highly-illustrated book, science writer Gerard Cheshire tells the story of evolution, and plots the various devices by which we have all become the organisms we are today. With sections on convergence, sexual selection, epigenetics, and full appendices showing the tree of life. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

Although his name has become a household word after he published "The Origin of the Species," a one-volume edition of his writings that covers the full gamut of his theoretical as well as scientific writings has not been available for many years. "Charles Darwin: An Anthology," covers the heart of the five books for which the author is best known. This readable volume includes "The Autobiography, The Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of the Species, The Descent of Man," and "The Expression of the Emotion."

The volume also includes parts of Darwin's less well-known works. Although it was published last chronologically, "The Autobiography" is an ideal beginning to the volume. A new introduction by the noted anthropologist Lionel Tiger underlines the continuing importance of Darwin's thinking, and explains why it still infl uences contemporary scholarship in many fi elds.

These selections have not been rewritten--they are pure Darwin. The dull and the unessential have been eliminated. What remains is material that best illustrates Darwin's most important and interesting ideas. Th e selection manages as well to retain his most readable prose, while presenting the fundamentals of Darwin's revolutionary thought. Collectively, the volume paints a picture of an immensely curious and indefatigable mind. This volume also includes a critical bibliography that will prove valuable to those interested in further reading.

"Marston Bates" (1906-1974) was an American zoologist. His studies on mosquitoes led to the understanding of the causes of yellow fever in South America. He is the author of numerous science books including "The Land and Wildlife of South America" and "The Nature of Natural History."

"Philip S. Humphrey" is Curator Emeritus and former Director of the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas.

"Lionel Tiger" is Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University. He is the author of "The Decline of Males, Optimism, The Pursuit of Pleasure, China's Food, The Manufacture of Evil, Men in Groups," and with Robin Fox, "The Imperial Animal." He directs the anthropology publishing eff ort at Transaction Publishers.

The definitive work on the philosophical nature and impact of the theories of Charles Darwin, written by a well-known authority on the history and philosophy of Darwinism.
Broadly explores the theories of Charles Darwin and Darwin studies
Incorporates much information about modern Biology
Offers a comprehensive discussion of Darwinism and Christianity - including Creationism - by one of the leading authorities in the field
Written in clear, concise, user-friendly language supplemented with quality illustrations
Examines the status of evolutionary theory as a genuine theory and its implications for philosophy, epistemology and ethics
Provides a strong understanding of the philosophical nature and impact of Darwin's thought
Holds wide appeal for general audiences outside the world of academic philosophy
Strongly supports Darwinism and fully explores modern naturalistic explanations of religion

Genetic differences in humans, like those between individuals of any animal or plant species and those between species, are all products of the evolutionary development of the living world. Th ese diff erences, with their behavioral consequences, can only be understood in the light of evolution. Our understanding of evolution, however, has itself evolved. Th e Darwin-Wallace theory of evolution appeared in the nineteenth century. Since then, development of evolutionary thought has gone through several stages. Th e contributions in this volume describe those stages.

The first four decades after Darwin were dominated by studies in comparative anatomy, embryology, systematics, zoogeography, phytogeography, and paleontology, all intended to discover and examine the evidences of evolution. But the phylogenies of the animal and plant kingdoms, that is, the history of the linkages of animal and plant organisms as they change through time, were less well documented. In particular, the phylogeny of humans is still not completely known.

The period following World War Two saw acceleration of activity in fi elds in and bordering on behavioral genetics. Research in neuroendocrinology showed that higher cortical centers could infl uence and be infl uenced by the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, adrenals, and gonads. Genetic diversity in the function of these organs had obvious consequences for social and cultural behavior. Th e failure of some early and long-reinforced attempts at conditioning by students of comparative animal behavior showed species-specifi c innate behavior could not be ignored in any theory that attempts to combine psychology and anthropology. Th is classic volume summarizes the development of evolutionary thinking, and describes how what we know about genetic diversity links up with research on human behavior.

"J. N. Spuhler" was known for his pioneering work in the department of anthropological genetics. He taught in many universities including Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Mexico. He received the National Academy of Science award for scientific reviewing and his work has appeared in scholarly journals including: "Journal of Anthropological Research, Annual Review of Anthropology," and "American Journal of Physical Anthropology."

Offers an original and fertile way to integrate spiritual and scientific views of human evolution. It offers a new and refreshing alternative to the way we think about our origins: random mutation (mechanistic neo-Darwinism), Genesis (God did it all personally), and Intelligent Design (God personally does what we can't otherwise account for). The result is an invigorating perspective on how our best qualities -- our capacity for love, our appreciation of beauty, our altruistic capability, our creativity and intelligence -- have come into being and evolved. How we think about our origin matters: if we think we are machines living among other machines, we will act accordingly. By showing evolution as a creative and intelligent process with its own inherent logic, THE ORIGIN OF HUMAN NATURE resolves the dilemma of how to have, at the same time, both truth and ethics. Instead of starting in an imagined remote and 'uncertain past' and moving to the present, this book starts at the certain and 'immediate present' and works back. That consciousness, creativity, and intelligence exist is certain. The question is: how can these have evolved? Dr Albert Low has made a study of human nature throughout his life. To write this book he draws on his prolonged meditations on creativity and the human condition, his years of providing psychological and spiritual counseling, and a wide-ranging knowledge of Western psychology, philosophy, and science.

This book delves into one of the greatest riddles perplexing modern science: Why are humans so smart? In a format understandable even by the non-expert, the author investigates the origins of human intelligence, starting with classical Darwinian concepts. Thus, the strengths and beauty of natural selection are presented with many examples taken from natural history. Common criticisms of Darwin, from scientists and non-scientists alike, are confronted and shown to be either inconclusive or outright false. The author then launches into a discussion of human intelligence, the most important feature of human evolution, and how it cannot be fully explained by mutational selection. Modern humans are smarter than what is demanded by our evolutionary experience as hunter-gatherers. The difficulty lies in the inability of natural selection to answer the following question: how can a complex set of genes, controlling expensive traits with little immediate benefit, come into permanent existence within a short time period in every member of a small population (which was dispersed and geographically isolated over a huge planet) which had a low reproductive output and a low mutation rate? The book concludes with a speculative epigenetic theory of intelligence that does not require DNA mutations as a source of evolution. Although the book is comprehensible by anyone with a college education, this last section in particular should intrigue both layman and expert alike.

The true role of biology in determining sexual orientation is an oft-debated issue in both the popular media and scientific communities, and evaluating the literature on the topic can be daunting. "Nature's Choice: What Science Reveals About the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation" offers both a comprehensive review of the scientific literature and a fresh perspective on this complex and politically charged subject. Respected researcher, speaker, and author Dr. Cheryl L. Weill offers readers of all backgrounds an enlightening analysis of findings from over twenty years of research on the factor of biology in the determination of sexual orientation. "Nature's Choice: What Science Reveals About the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation" brilliantly distills complicated studies and research findings dealing with brain anatomy, genetics, sex-typical behavior in children, auditory, startle reflex, and many other areas. Spanning a wide range of important topics including human sexual development and the effects of hormones, Ellis and Ames' Gestational Neurohormonal Theory, the ins, outs, and implications of how scientific research is funded, and a model of the role of testosterone in determining human sexuality, "Nature's Choice" is an exciting book to educate and inspire readers from scientific and non-scientific backgrounds equally. For a complete Instructor's Manual and other supplementary materials see: www.natures-choice.info

In the 17th century, Descartes put forth the metaphor of the machine to explain the functioning of living beings. In the 18th century, La Mettrie extended the metaphor to man. The clock was then used as the paradigm of the machine. In the 20th century, this metaphor still held but the clock was replaced by a computer.

Nowadays, the organism is viewed as a robot obeying signals emanating from a computer program controlled by genetic information. This book shows that such a conception leads to contradictions not only in the theory of biology but also in its experimental research program, thereby impeding its development.

The analysis of this problem is based on the most recent experimental data obtained in molecular biology as well as the history and philosophy of biology. It shows that the machine theory did not succeed in breaking with Aristotles finalism.

The book presents a new approach to biological systems based on cellular Darwinism. Genes are ruled by probabilistic mechanisms allowing cells to differentiate stochastically. Embryo development is not governed by a determinist genetic program but by natural selection occurring among cell populations inside the organism.

This theory has considerable philosophical consequences. Man may be a machine but he is a random one.

In paleoanthropology the group of hominids known as the "robust" australopithecines has emerged as one of the most interesting. Through them we have the opportunity to examine the origin, natural history, and ultimate extinction of not just a single species, but of an entire branch in the hominid fossil record.

It is generally agreed that the human lineage can be traced back to this group of comparatively small-brained, large-toothed creatures. This volume focuses on the evolutionary history of these early hominids with state-of-the-art contributions by leading international authorities in the field. Although a case can be made for a "robust" lineage, the functional and taxonomic implications of the morphological features are subject to vigorous disagreement. An area of lively debate is the possible causal relationship between the presence of early Homo and the origin, evolution, and virtual extinction of "robust" australopithecines.

This volume summarizes what has been learned about the evolutionary history of the "robust" australopithecines in the 50 years since Robert Broom first encountered the visage of a new kind of ape-man from Kromdraai. New discoveries from Kromdraai to Lomekwi have served to keep us aware that the paleontological record for hominid evolution is hardly exhausted. Because of such finds no single volume can hope to stand as a summary on the "robust" australopithecines for very long, but this classic volume comes close to achieving this goal. The book sheds new light upon some old questions and also acts to provide new questions. The answers to those questions bring us closer to a fuller understanding and appreciation of the origins, evolution, and ultimate demise of the "robust" australopithecines.

Since the "robust" australopithecines most likely stand as our closest relatives, a better understanding of their origin, history, and demise serves to provide heightened appreciation of the course of human evolution itself. This definitive volume addresses the questions and problems surrounding this important lineage.

"Frederick E. Grine" is professor and chairperson in the department of anthropology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He has published many scientific articles in books and international journals, and he is co-editor of "Primate Phylogeny and Scanning Microscopy of Vertebrate Mineralized Tissues" and author of "Regional Human Anatomy."

Living things are constantly engaged in a struggle for existence, and ingenious devices for the purpose of self-preservation can be seen in all types of animal and plant life. However, nature also displays phenomena that are not related to survival or that seem clearly to violate the principle of self-preservation--particularly when organisms interact with one another. Darwin investigated these apparent contradictions and proposed that both mechanisms of self preservation and those of reproduction are explained by a more basic principle of "natural selection"--the reproductive survival of the fittest. George C. Williams in "Group Selection" challenges the adequacy of this process of selection at the individual level.

Williams has here collected the work of the chief partisans with opposed viewpoints on the theory of selection at the group level to state their arguments and rebuttals. A minority of modern biologists offer evidence to show that groups of living things are organized to assure their collective survival; they are not merely collections of individuals designed for their own survival and reproduction. In opposition, defenders of the traditional point of view charge that mechanisms of group survival are based on illusion and misinterpretation.

Because of the wide range of opinion expressed in "Group Selection," the reader is exposed to all sides of the dispute and encouraged to form his or her own views. In addition, as a source book on current evolutionary issues or for research or reference material, "Group Selection" remains a valuable addition to every personal and institutional library in the biological sciences.

"George C. Williams" is professor emeritus of biological sciences at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is the author of "Adaptation and Natural Selection" and has contributed numerous articles to scholarly publications on the behavior and ecology of fish and has published several technical articles on evolutionary mechanisms, especially in relation to social behavior, strategies of reproduction, and adaptive features of life cycles. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and was awarded its Elliot Medal.

The Compact Guide: Charles Darwin reveals the famous scientist's life in compelling detail. From his expedition aboard the Beagle and his legendary research in the Galapagos Islands, to his marriage and illness and the publication of his groundbreaking works, this book sheds fascinating light on the most remarkable aspects of Darwin's life - the extraordinary adventure of discovery that led Darwin to some of his greatest breakthroughs; the controversy with Alfred Russel Wallace on who first originated the idea of evolution by natural selection; and the Darwin family's prosperous but often tragic home life, and how Charles became one of the first Victorians to reject religion and God.

These nine short tales vividly depict key discoveries in evolutionary biology and the excitement of the scientific process. Online resources available atwww.aw-bc.com/carroll.

Phylogenomics: A Primer, Second Edition is for advanced undergraduate and graduate biology students studying molecular biology, comparative biology, evolution, genomics, and biodiversity. This book explains the essential concepts underlying the storage and manipulation of genomics level data, construction of phylogenetic trees, population genetics, natural selection, the tree of life, DNA barcoding, and metagenomics. The inclusion of problem-solving exercises in each chapter provides students with a solid grasp of the important molecular and evolutionary questions facing modern biologists as well as the tools needed to answer them.

Learn how nutrition has driven--and continues to drive--human evolution

This pioneering text draws from molecular nutrition, nutritional sciences, dietetics, genetics, genomics, and anthropology to examine how chemical nutrients and genetics shape the human species. It presents a vital portrait of the fundamental role that nutrition has played and continues to play in shaping who and what human beings are, where we evolved from, and where we might be headed as a species.

The author's innovative molecular biological approach moves the field of nutrition well beyond its traditional dietetic and anthropological origins to the front lines of genomic research. Following a presentation of molecular biology concepts that are essential for the study of human nutrition, the author explores such key topics as:

Bioinformatics and the -omics revolution

Recent human evolution

Molecular mechanisms of gene-nutrient interactions

Role of nutrients and genomics in disease

Evolution of micronutrient metabolism, protein structure, and human disease

Nutrients and the human life cycle

Mismatch of contemporary dietary patterns and our genetic makeup

Laboratory tools for nutrigenomics and human evolutionary studies

Figures and illustrations provided throughout the text help readers grasp and visualize complex concepts and processes with ease. For readers interested in pursuing particular topics in greater depth, an extensive list of current references is provided.

This text is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students in human nutrition, dietetics, metabolism, molecular biology, and many other allied health sciences. Nowhere else can readers find such an integratedblend of medical, nutritional, and biochemical disciplines to aid in understanding the role of nutrients in human evolution.

The true role of biology in determining sexual orientation is an oft-debated issue in both the popular media and scientific communities, and evaluating the literature on the topic can be daunting. "Nature's Choice: What Science Reveals About the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation" offers both a comprehensive review of the scientific literature and a fresh perspective on this complex and politically charged subject. Respected researcher, speaker, and author Dr. Cheryl L. Weill offers readers of all backgrounds an enlightening analysis of findings from over twenty years of research on the factor of biology in the determination of sexual orientation. "Nature's Choice: What Science Reveals About the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation" brilliantly distills complicated studies and research findings dealing with brain anatomy, genetics, sex-typical behavior in children, auditory, startle reflex, and many other areas. Spanning a wide range of important topics including human sexual development and the effects of hormones, Ellis and Ames' Gestational Neurohormonal Theory, the ins, outs, and implications of how scientific research is funded, and a model of the role of testosterone in determining human sexuality, "Nature's Choice" is an exciting book to educate and inspire readers from scientific and non-scientific backgrounds equally. For a complete Instructor's Manual and other supplementary materials see: www.natures-choice.info

Galatea, or the Future of Darwinism W Russell Brain Originally published in 1927 "A brilliant exposition...of the evolutionary hypothesis." The Guardian "Should prove invaluable..." Literary Guide This non-technical but closely-reasoned book is a challenge to the orthodox teaching on evolution known as Neo-Darwinism. The author claims that although Neo-Darwinian theories can possibly account for the evolution of forms, they are quite inadequate to explain the evolution of functions. 88pp ************** Daedalus or Science and the Future J B S Haldane Originally published in 1924. "The essay is brilliant. Sparkling with wit and bristling with challenges." British Medical Journal "Predicts the most startling changes." Morning Post This volume examines the future of scientific research from religious, philosophical social and economic standpoints. 94pp Automaton, or the Future of Mechanical Man H Stafford Hatfield Originally published in 1928 "It is impossible to do justice to his volume in a brief review..."Daily Herald At the time of original publication mankind's chief inventions had been extensions of his senses or limbs. This work prophesies the dawn of an era in which substitutes will gradually be found even for the human brain. 96pp Gallio or the Tyranny of Science J W N Sullivan Originally published in 1927 "So packed with ideas it is not possible to give any adequate resume of its contents." Times Literary Supplement "Remarkable monograph...devastating summary of materialism..." Spectator An attack on the values which science is so successfully imposing upon civilization. 90pp

Noted biologist and philosopher Sahotra Sarkar exposes the frauds and fallacies of Intelligent Design Theory, and its claim to be 'good science'.
A scientific and philosophical exploration of the debate between evolutionary theory and Intelligent Design in the classroom
Puts the debate into its scientific and historical context
Looks at a variety of topics, including the relation between Darwinism and modern evolutionary theory, the use of computer science and information theory by the creationists, and the idea of metaphysical naturalism
Rejects Intelligent Design's claim to legitimacy, showing clearly how and why it is an unsuitable alternative to evolutionary biology in the classroom
A thought-provoking book for those seeking to understand an intellectual debate that is shaping our education policies
Forms part of the provocative and timely "Blackwell Public Philosophy" series

For decades, the creationist movement was primarily fixed in the United States. Then, in the 1970s, American creationists found their ideas welcomed abroad, first in Australia and New Zealand, then in Korea, India, South Africa, Brazil, and elsewhere--including Europe, where creationism plays an expanding role in public debates about science policy and school curricula. In this, the first comprehensive history of creationism in Europe, leading historians, philosophers, and scientists narrate the rise of--and response to--scientific creationism, creation science, intelligent design, and organized anti-evolutionism in countries and religions throughout Europe.

The book provides a unique map of creationism in Europe, plotting the surprising history of creationist activities and strategies there. Over the past forty years, creationism has spread swiftly among European Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus, and Muslims, even as anti-creationists sought to smother its flames. Anti-evolution messages gained such widespread approval, in fact, that in 2007 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a Resolution advising member states to "defend and promote scientific knowledge" and "firmly oppose the teaching of creationism as a scientific discipline on an equal footing with the theory of evolution."

"Creationism in Europe" offers a discerning introduction to the cultural history of modern Europe, the variety of world views in Europe, and the interplay of science and religion in a global context. It will be of interest to students and scholars in the history and philosophy of science, religious studies, and evolutionary theory, as well as policymakers and educators concerned about the spread of creationism in our time.

These original contributions on the evolution of primates and the techniques for studying the subject cover an enormous range of material and incorporate the work of specialists from many different fields, showing the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to problems of primate morphology and phylogeny. Collectively, they demonstrate the concerns and methods of leading contemporary workers in this and related fields. Each contributor shows his way of attacking fundamental problems of evolutionary primatology.The range of findings in this book include new clues to the evolution of the middle ear and the subsistence behavior of early primates, a persuasive critique of the Smith-Jones hypothesis that many features of primate cranial morphology are adaptations to the special vicissitudes of arboreal habitation, the remarkable association of relative muscle mass in the hands and feet of catarrhine primates with the particularities of prehensile behaviors, the wealth of behavioral data that may be obtained by the concentrated study of certain primates in the vicinity of waterholes, the striking differences between inferences about the same behavioral phenomena that are based on long-term as opposed to short-term observations of one primate social group, and the strategy of sophisticated mathematical techniques for elucidating biomechanical, evolutionary, and behavioral problems.Each chapter conveys the status and progress of research in these and other particular areas of special interest, pointing the way toward further clarification of the functional biology and phylogeny of primates through the application of relatively new techniques or the comprehensive employment of available methods. No attempt is made to smooth over controversial points of view, or to endorse a single uniform model of primate evolution. This work will be an important reference for evolutionary and physical anthropologists, evolutionary biologists, comparative morphologists, human anatomists, behavioralists, and students of evolution.

The names given to the variety of man-like fossils known to scientists should reflect no more than scientific views of the nature of human evolution. However, often in the past these names have also reflected confusion regarding the basic principles of scientific nomenclature; and the matter has been further complicated by the many new finds of recent decades. It is the unique purpose of this book to clarify the present state of knowledge regarding the main lines of human evolution by expressing what is known (and what is surmised) about them in appropriate taxonomic language.

The papers in this volume were prepared by the world's leading authorities on the subject, and were revised in the light of discussions at a remarkable conference held in Austria in 1962 under the auspices of the Wenner-Gren Foundation. The authors review first the meaning of taxonomic statements as such, and then consider the substance of our present knowledge regarding the number and characteristics of species among living and extinct primates, including man and his ancestors. They also examine the relationship of behavior changes and selection pressures in evolutionary sequences.

Ample illustrations, bibliographies and an index enhance the permanent reference value of the book, which will undoubtedly prove to be among the fundamental paleoanthropological works of our time.

Sherwood L. Washburn (1911-2000) was professor of physical anthropology in the University of California at Berkeley. He was the recipient of the Huxley Medal in 1967 and the American Anthropological Association Distinguished Service Award in 1983.

This engaging book tells the story of human evolution, asking if man is indeed the "chosen species" or merely an evolutionary accident.
Written by world-renowned paleoanthropologists who are co-directors of the excavations at Atapuerca---a World Heritage Site and Europe's oldest known burial site---where a new human species, "homo antecessor," was discovered
Discusses various hypotheses of human evolution, drawing conclusions from verifiable facts and well-founded argument
Offers a compelling narrative written for nonspecialists and students of human evolution
Includes over 60 illustrations
Sold over 100,000 copies in the original Spanish-language edition

The aim of this edited book is to provide health professionals, across a wide variety of specialisms, with a targeted access to evolutionary medicine. Throughout the book, the views of both medical and evolutionary scientists on the latest relevant research is presented with a focus on practical implications. The inclusion of boxes explaining the theoretical background as well as both a glossary for technical terms and a lay summary for non- specialists enable medical researchers, public health professionals, policy makers, physicians, students, scholars and the public alike to quickly and easily access appropriate information. This edited volume is thus relevant to anyone keen on finding out how evolutionary medicine can improve the health and well-being of people.

All animals and plants form associations with hundreds or thousands of different beneficial microorganisms. These symbiotic microbes play an important role in the development, adaptation, health and evolution of their hosts. This book brings together a group of diverse biologists to discuss microbial interactions with multicellular life forms including insects, corals, plants, and mammals, including humans. The various mechanisms by which microorganisms benefit their hosts are discussed, including providing essential nutrients, preventing disease, inducing the immune system, and combating stress. Since the microbiota can be transferred from parent to offspring, it plays an important role in the origin and evolution of animal and plant species. This book should be of interest to the widest range of biological scientists, merging the studies of host and microbial physiology, symbiosis, and the ecology and evolution of symbiotic partners.

Evolutionism and Its Critics is a critical history of evolutionary theories in the social sciences and a defense of them against their many critics. Sanderson deconstructs not only the wide array of social evolutionary theories, but the criticisms of the antievolutionists. Deconstructing evolutionary theories means laying bare their fundamental epistemological, methodological, conceptual, and theoretical assumptions and principles. Deconstructing antievolutionism means showing just where and how the critics have, for the most part, gone wrong. But Evolutionism and Its Critics aims to reconstruct as well as deconstruct and does this by building, on the shoulders of past giants of evolutionary theorizing, a comprehensive evolutionary interpretation of human society based on abundant scientific and historical evidence.