Urban Evolutionary Biology fills an important knowledge gap on wild organismal evolution in the urban environment, whilst offering a novel exploration of the fast-growing new field of evolutionary research. The growing rate of urbanization and the maturation of urban study systems worldwide means interest in the urban environment as an agent of evolutionary change is rapidly increasing. We are presently witnessing the emergence of a new field of research in evolutionary biology. Despite its rapid global expansion, the urban environment has until now been a largely neglected study site among evolutionary biologists. With its conspicuously altered ecological dynamics, it stands in stark contrast to the natural environments traditionally used as cornerstones for evolutionary ecology research. Urbanization can offer a great range of new opportunities to test for rapid evolutionary processes as a consequence of human activity, both because of replicate contexts for hypothesis testing, but also because cities are characterized by an array of easily quantifiable environmental axes of variation and thus testable agents of selection. Thanks to a wide possible breadth of inference (in terms of taxa) that may be studied, and a great variety of analytical methods, urban evolution has the potential to stand at a fascinating multi-disciplinary crossroad, enriching the field of evolutionary biology with emergent yet incredibly potent new research themes where the urban habitat is key. Urban Evolutionary Biology is an advanced textbook suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers studying the genetics, evolutionary biology, and ecology of urban environments. It is also highly relevant to urban ecologists and urban wildlife practitioners.

HUMAN HEREDITY, 9e, International Edition presents the concepts underlying human genetics in clear, concise language and provides relevant examples that you can apply to yourself, your family, and your work environment. Author Michael Cummings explains the origin, nature, and amount of genetic diversity present in the human population and how that diversity has been shaped by natural selection. The artwork and accompanying media visually support the material by teaching rather than merely illustrating the ideas under discussion. Examining the social, cultural, and ethical implications associated with the use of genetic technology, Cummings prepares you to become a well-informed consumer of genetic-based health care services or provider of health care services.

What is epidemiology? What are the causes of a new disease? How can pandemics be prevented? Epidemiology is the study of the changing patterns of disease and its main aim is to improve the health of populations. It's a vital field, central to the health of society, to the identification of causes of disease, and to their management and prevention. Epidemiology has had an impact on many areas of medicine; from discovering the relationship between tobacco smoking and lung cancer, to the origin and spread of new epidemics. However, it is often poorly understood, largely due to misrepresentations in the media. In this Very Short Introduction Rodolfo Saracci dispels some of the myths surrounding the study of epidemiology. He provides a general explanation of the principles behind clinical trials, and explains the nature of basic statistics concerning disease. He also looks at the ethical and political issues related to obtaining and using information concerning patients, and trials involving placebos. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

"Coyne's knowledge of evolutionary biology is prodigious, his deployment of it as masterful as his touch is light." -Richard Dawkins
In the current debate about creationism and intelligent design, there is an element of the controversy that is rarely mentioned-the evidence. Yet the proof of evolution by natural selection is vast, varied, and magnificent. In this succinct and accessible summary of the facts supporting the theory of natural selection, Jerry A. Coyne dispels common misunderstandings and fears about evolution and clearly confirms the scientific truth that supports this amazing process of change. Weaving together the many threads of modern work in genetics, paleontology, geology, molecular biology, and anatomy that demonstrate the "indelible stamp" of the processes first proposed by Darwin, "Why Evolution Is True" does not aim to prove creationism wrong. Rather, by using irrefutable evidence, it sets out to prove evolution right.

A savory account of how the pursuit of delicious foods shaped human evolution Nature, it has been said, invites us to eat by appetite and rewards by flavor. But what exactly are flavors? Why are some so pleasing while others are not? Delicious is a supremely entertaining foray into the heart of such questions. With generous helpings of warmth and wit, Rob Dunn and Monica Sanchez offer bold new perspectives on why food is enjoyable and how the pursuit of delicious flavors has guided the course of human history. They consider the role that flavor may have played in the invention of the first tools, the extinction of giant mammals, the evolution of the world's most delicious and fatty fruits, the creation of beer, and our own sociality. Along the way, you will learn about the taste receptors you didn't even know you had, the best way to ferment a mastodon, the relationship between Paleolithic art and cheese, and much more. Blending irresistible storytelling with the latest science, Delicious is a deep history of flavor that will transform the way you think about human evolution and the gustatory pleasures of the foods we eat.

This is a non-technical introduction to the main issues and findings in current brain research. It gives a sense of how neuroscience addresses questions about the relationship between the brain, and thought, memories, perceptions, and actions.

A fundamental and groundbreaking reassessment of how we view and manage cancer When we think of the forces driving cancer, we don't necessarily think of evolution. But evolution and cancer are closely linked because the historical processes that created life also created cancer. The Cheating Cell delves into this extraordinary relationship, and shows that by understanding cancer's evolutionary origins, researchers can come up with more effective, revolutionary treatments. Athena Aktipis goes back billions of years to explore when unicellular forms became multicellular organisms. Within these bodies of cooperating cells, cheating ones arose, overusing resources and replicating out of control, giving rise to cancer. Aktipis illustrates how evolution has paved the way for cancer's ubiquity, and why it will exist as long as multicellular life does. Even so, she argues, this doesn't mean we should give up on treating cancer-in fact, evolutionary approaches offer new and promising options for the disease's prevention and treatments that aim at long-term management rather than simple eradication. Looking across species-from sponges and cacti to dogs and elephants-we are discovering new mechanisms of tumor suppression and the many ways that multicellular life-forms have evolved to keep cancer under control. By accepting that cancer is a part of our biological past, present, and future-and that we cannot win a war against evolution-treatments can become smarter, more strategic, and more humane. Unifying the latest research from biology, ecology, medicine, and social science, The Cheating Cell challenges us to rethink cancer's fundamental nature and our relationship to it.

There exists an undeniable chasm between the capacities of humans and those of animals. Our minds have spawned civilizations and technologies that have changed the face of the Earth, whereas even our closest animal relatives sit unobtrusively in their dwindling habitats. Yet despite longstanding debates, the nature of this apparent gap has remained unclear. What exactly is the difference between our minds and theirs?
In "The Gap," psychologist Thomas Suddendorf provides a definitive account of the mental qualities that separate humans from other animals, as well as how these differences arose. Drawing on two decades of research on apes, children, and human evolution, he surveys the abilities most often cited as uniquely human--language, intelligence, morality, culture, theory of mind, and mental time travel--and finds that two traits account for most of the ways in which our minds appear so distinct: Namely, our open-ended ability to imagine and reflect on scenarios, and our insatiable drive to link our minds together. These two traits explain how our species was able to amplify qualities that we inherited in parallel with our animal counterparts; transforming animal communication into language, memory into mental time travel, sociality into mind reading, problem solving into abstract reasoning, traditions into culture, and empathy into morality.
Suddendorf concludes with the provocative suggestion that our unrivalled status may be our own creation--and that the gap is growing wider not so much because we are becoming smarter but because we are killing off our closest intelligent animal relatives.
Weaving together the latest findings in animal behavior, child development, anthropology, psychology, and neuroscience, this book will change the way we think about our place in nature. A major argument for reconsidering what makes us human, "The Gap" is essential reading for anyone interested in our evolutionary origins and our relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom.

Why are men, like other primate males, usually the aggressors and risk takers? Why do women typically have fewer sexual partners? In "Why Sex Matters," Bobbi Low ranges from ancient Rome to modern America, from the Amazon to the Arctic, and from single-celled organisms to international politics, to show that these and many other questions about human behavior largely come down to evolution and sex. More precisely, as she shows in this uniquely comprehensive and accessible survey of behavioral and evolutionary ecology, they come down to the basic principle that all organisms evolved to maximize their reproductive success and seek resources to do so, but that sometimes cooperation and collaboration are the most effective ways to succeed.

This newly revised edition has been thoroughly updated to include the latest research and reflect exciting changes in the field, including how our evolutionary past continues to affect our ecological present.

From the moment it first began to contemplate the world, three questions have occupied the human mind: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Artists (notably Paul Gauguin), religious thinkers, philosophers, and most recently scientists have all searched for answers. Here, the authors describe how scientists decipher human origin from the record encrypted in the DNA and protein molecules. After explaining the nature of descent and the methods available for studying genealogical relationships, they summarize the information revealed by the molecular archives about the Tree of Life and our location on one of its branches. The knowledge thus gleaned allows them to draw conclusions about our identity, our place in the living world, our future, and the ethical implications of the changed perspective.

Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish is the unexpected story of how one creature's journey out of the water made the human body what it is today - and one man's voyage of discovery in search of our origins. Have you ever wondered why our bodies look and work and fail the way they do? One of the world's leading experts in evolutionary history, Neil Shubin reveals the secrets of our biology: why if we want to understand our limbs we should take a close look at Tiktaalik, the first fish capable of doing a push-up; why if we want to know why we hiccup, the answer is in the way fish breathe; and why it is that fish teeth are surprisingly similar to human breasts. 'This would be Darwin's book of the year' Sunday Telegraph 'An intelligent, exhilarating, and compelling scientific adventure story' Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat 'Delightful ... his enthusiasm is infectious' Steven D. Levitt, author of Freakonomics 'Profoundly fascinating ... a magisterial work ... expressed so clearly and with such good humour' Financial Times 'Will make you think about your organs in ways you have never considered before' Sunday Times Neil Shubin is a palaeontologist in the great tradition of his mentors, Ernst Mayr and Stephen Jay Gould. He has discovered fossils around the world that have changed the way we think about many of the key transitions in evolution and has pioneered a new synthesis of expeditionary palaeontology, developmental genetics and genomics. He trained at Columbia, Harvard and Berkeley and is currently Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Chicago.

Immunology offers the most contemporary perspective on the science available, providing a clear, easy-to-follow introduction to the discipline suitable for undergraduate students. In a course where students often get lost in vast amounts of detail and the sheer complexity of the immune response, Immunology helps students see "the big picture" with an approachable narrative that presents the exquisite details of immunology while emphasizing the connections between key themes that students so often lose sight of when learning the material. Immunology features an exceptional illustration program and includes simple, clear explanations, abundant examples, and features that unravel the mysteries of immunology through accounts of classical discoveries and recent, cutting-edge research. Since many students in the course are preparing to enter careers in research, medicine, and other health professions, an appropriate amount of applied knowledge and clinical content is included in the narrative, features, and engaging case studies. Students will easily be able to make connections, moving beyond memorizing just what we know to truly understanding how we know what we know-and why.

Winner of a British Medical Association Book Award A Brain Pickings Best Science Book of the Year Early birds and night owls are born, not made. Sleep patterns may be the most obvious manifestation of the highly individualized biological clocks we inherit, but these clocks also regulate bodily functions from digestion to hormone levels to cognition. Living at odds with our internal timepieces, Till Roenneberg shows, can make us chronically sleep deprived and more likely to smoke, gain weight, feel depressed, fall ill, and fail geometry. By understanding and respecting our internal time, we can live better. "Internal Time is a cautionary tale-actually a series of 24 tales, not coincidentally. Roenneberg ranges widely from the inner workings of biological rhythms to their social implications, illuminating each scientific tutorial with an anecdote inspired by clinical research...Written with grace and good humor, Internal Time is a serious work of science incorporating the latest research in chronobiology...[A] compelling volume." -A. Roger Ekirch, Wall Street Journal "This is a fascinating introduction to an important topic, which will appeal to anyone who wishes to delve deep into the world of chronobiology, or simply wonders why they struggle to get a good night's sleep." -Richard Wiseman, New Scientist

So how "did" women get their curves? Why do they have breasts, while other mammals only develop breast tissue while lactating, and why do women menstruate, when virtually no other beings do so? What are the reasons for female orgasm? Why are human females kept in the dark about their own time of ovulation and maximum fertility, and why are they the only animals to experience menopause?

David P. Barash and Judith Eve Lipton, coauthors of acclaimed books on human sexuality and gender, discuss the theories scientists have advanced to explain these evolutionary enigmas (sometimes called "Just-So stories" by their detractors) and present hypotheses of their own. Some scientific theories are based on legitimate empirical data, while others are pure speculation. Barash and Lipton distinguish between what is solid and what remains uncertain, skillfully incorporating their expert knowledge of biology, psychology, animal behavior, anthropology, and human sexuality into their entertaining critiques. Inviting readers to examine the evidence and draw their own conclusions, Barash and Lipton tell an evolutionary suspense story that captures the excitement and thrill of true scientific detection.

Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde, the founders of the exciting new discipline of neuromagic, have convinced some of the world's greatest magicians to allow scientists to study their techniques for tricking the brain. The implications of neuromagic go beyond illuminating our behavior; early research points to new approaches for everything from the diagnosis of autism to marketing techniques and education. Fun and accessible, "Sleights of Mind" is "a tour through consciousness, attention, and deception via the marriage of professional magic and cognitive neuroscience" (Vanessa Schipani, " The Scientist").

An all-in-one visual guide to human anatomy with encyclopedic coverage from bones and muscles to systems and processes.

This in-depth manual to the human body’s physical structure, chemical workings, and potential problems is a must-have reference to help further your studies or knowledge of how our bodies work.

Each page of The Human Body Book, updated to reflect the latest medical information, is illustrated with colorful and comprehensive diagrams, which are thoroughly annotated to take you right into the cells and fibers that are responsible for keeping the human body ticking.

The opening chapter, Integrated Body, explains how the parts of the body work together at various levels of size and hierarchy to produce the living whole. It also contains an overview of the major body systems, enlivened by real-life 3-D medical scans of the entire body. The chapters that follow provide coverage of the body function by function, system by system. Eleven main body systems are covered in turn, with each section ending on common injuries, diseases, and disorders afflicting that system. The book concludes with a chapter on Growth and Development which looks in detail at how the body changes over the course of a human lifespan.

Why do baby sharks, hyenas, and pelicans kill their siblings? Why do beetles and mice commit infanticide? Why are twins and birth defects more common in older human mothers? "A Natural History of Families" concisely examines what behavioral ecologists have discovered about family dynamics and what these insights might tell us about human biology and behavior. Scott Forbes's engaging account describes an uneasy union among family members in which rivalry for resources often has dramatic and even fatal consequences.

In nature, parents invest resources and control the allocation of resources among their offspring to perpetuate their genetic lineage. Those families sometimes function as cooperative units, the nepotistic and loving havens we choose to identify with. In the natural world, however, dysfunctional familial behavior is disarmingly commonplace.

While explaining why infanticide, fratricide, and other seemingly antisocial behaviors are necessary, Forbes also uncovers several surprising applications to humans. Here the conflict begins in the moments following conception as embryos struggle to wrest control of pregnancy from the mother, and to wring more nourishment from her than she can spare, thus triggering morning sickness, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Mothers, in return, often spontaneously abort embryos with severe genetic defects, allowing for prenatal quality control of offspring.

Using a broad sweep of entertaining examples culled from the world of animals and humans, "A Natural History of Families" is a lively introduction to the behavioral ecology of the family.

In classical scholarship, the presence of legal language in love poetry is commonly interpreted as absurd and incongruous. Ovid's legalisms have been described as frivolous, humorous, and ornamental. Law and Love in Ovid challenges this wide-spread, but ill-informed view. Legal discourse in Latin love poetry is not incidental, but fundamental. Inspired by recent work in the interdisciplinary field of law and literature, Ioannis Ziogas argues that the Roman elegiac poets point to love as the site of law's emergence. The Latin elegiac poets may say 'make love, not law', but in order to make love, they have to make law. Drawing on Agamben, Foucault, and Butler, Law and Love in Ovid explores the juridico-discursive nature of Ovid's love poetry, constructions of sovereignty, imperialism, authority, biopolitics, and the ways in which poetic diction has the force of law. The book is methodologically ambitious, combining legal theory with historically informed closed readings of numerous primary sources. Ziogas aims to restore Ovid to his rightful position in the history of legal humanism. The Roman poet draws on a long tradition that goes back to Hesiod and Solon, in which poetic justice is pitted against corrupt rulers. Ovid's amatory jurisprudence is examined vis-a-vis Paul's letter to the Romans. The juridical nature of Ovid's poetry lies at the heart of his reception in the Middle Ages, from Boccaccio's Decameron to Forcadel's Cupido iurisperitus. The current trend to simultaneously study and marginalize legal discourse in Ovid is a modern construction that Law and Love in Ovid aims to demolish.

This volume represents work by five distinguished ecological geneticists, offering an up-to-date source for theoretical concepts and experiments in an exciting field. Combining ecological fieldwork and laboratory genetics, ecological genetics examines the adjustments and adaptations of wild populations to their environments. Articles focus on important interactions between genetics and population ecology, delving into issues like gene flow and migration, population differentiation, the maintenance of genetic variation, and the demographic and spatial structure of populations. The contributors--Janis Antonovics, Michael Lynch, Montgomery Slatkin, Joseph Travis, and Sara Via--emphasize the importance of population size and structure, interaction between local selection and genetic drift, and an expanded phenotype including quantitative as well as qualitative characters. This new form of ecological genetics focuses on large-scale geographic variation in demographic and genetic dynamics among small, partially isolated populations and will prove extremely valuable in natural resource management and in rare or endangered species conservation. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

'A big-picture forecast of how medicine stands on the threshold of a revolution that will radically change all of our lives' The Times Welcome to a revolution in the science of you! This landmark new book from award-winning scientist Daniel M. Davis explores the future of the human body. Imagine taking drugs to help you acquire new skills, or knowing years in advance the precise likelihood of developing specific cancers, or following a diet and health regime tailored to your microbiome, or even having continuous monitoring of your body's workings and well-being. Written by an award-winning scientist, this landmark book shows how these radical and disconcerting possibilities have been made real. It is at once a gripping drama of scientific ingenuity, discovery and collaboration, and a vision of the human body of dizzying complexity and wonder. 'The startling new discoveries...are radically altering our understanding of how we function and what our future holds' BRIAN COX 'Thrilling' BILL BRYSON 'Brilliant' TIM SPECTOR 'Extraordinary' ALICE ROBERTS

From the author of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller The Female Brain, here is the eagerly awaited follow-up book that demystifies the puzzling male brain.

Dr. Louann Brizendine, the founder of the first clinic in the country to study gender differences in brain, behavior, and hormones, turns her attention to the male brain, showing how, through every phase of life, the "male reality" is fundamentally different from the female one. Exploring the latest breakthroughs in male psychology and neurology with her trademark accessibility and candor, she reveals that the male brain:

• is a lean, mean, problem-solving machine. Faced with a personal problem, a man will use his analytical brain structures, not his emotional ones, to find a solution.
• thrives under competition, instinctively plays rough and is obsessed with rank and hierarchy.
• has an area for sexual pursuit that is 2.5 times larger than the female brain, consuming him with sexual fantasies about female body parts.
• experiences such a massive increase in testosterone at puberty that he perceive others' faces to be more aggressive.

The Male Brain finally overturns the stereotypes. Impeccably researched and at the cutting edge of scientific knowledge, this is a book that every man, and especially every woman bedeviled by a man, will need to own.

Metal ions are poorly known whereas they sometimes play a role more significant than vitamins. Moreover they control many diseases, such as the zinc salts in dermatology. Another example is the recent discovery of platinum co-ordination compounds' anti-tumor activity (cisplatine). There is a growing volume of literature too. The chemistry of metal ions has provided new insights into DNA, proteins and membrane chemistry, as well as the physiopathology of diseases. This book contains the proceedings of 2nd International Symposium on Metal Ions in Biology and Medicine, Athens, May 1992.

An essential guide to this major contemporary issue, Consanguinity in Context is a uniquely comprehensive account of intra-familial marriage. Detailed information on past and present religious, social and legal practices and prohibitions is presented as a backdrop to the preferences and beliefs of the 1100+ million people in consanguineous unions. Chapters on population genetics, and the role of consanguinity in reproductive behaviour and genetic variation, set the scene for critical analyses of the influence of consanguinity on health in the early years of life. The discussion on consanguinity and disorders of adulthood is the first review of its kind and is particularly relevant given the ageing of the global population. Incest is treated as a separate issue, with historical and present-day examples examined. The final three chapters deal in detail with practical issues, including genetic testing, education and counselling, national and international legislation and imperatives, and the future of consanguineous marriage worldwide.

Pain seems like a fairly straightforward experience - you get hurt and it, well, hurts. But how would you describe it? By the number of broken bones or stitches? By the cause - the crowning baby, the sharp knife, the straying lover? What does a 7 on a pain scale of 1 to 10 really mean? Pain is complicated. But most of the time, the way we treat pain is superficial - we seek out states of perfect painlessness by avoiding it at all costs, or suppressing it, usually with drugs. This has left us hurting all the more. Through in-depth interviews, investigation into the history of pain and original research, Ouch! paints a new picture of pain as a complex and multi-layered phenomenon. Authors Margee Kerr and Linda McRobbie Rodriguez tell the stories of sufferers and survivors, courageous kids and their brave parents, athletes and artists, people who find healing and pleasure in pain, and scientists pushing the boundaries of pain research, to challenge the notion that all pain is bad and harmful. They reveal why who defines pain matters and how history, science, and culture shape how we experience pain. Ouch! dismantles prevailing assumptions about pain and that not all pain is bad, not all pain should be avoided, and, in the right context, pain can even feel good. To build a healthier relationship with pain, we must understand how it works, how it is expressed and how we communicate and think about it. Once we understand how pain is made, we can remake it.

The leading sports massage expert Mel Cash now publishes this indispensable guide to the human muscular and skeletal system. It contains all the most relevant information needed to understand how the human body moves and maintains posture, drawing together knowledge from several different areas of medical science and presenting it in a clear and simple style. There is nothing similar available on the market, and the book is essential for all students of human biology, medicine and physical therapy (orthodox and complementary), and anyone involved at any level in sport, exercise, or dance. The 40 specially commissioned colour illustrations, plus 25 line drawings, provide a full picture of the human muscular and skeletal system, and the accompanying text explains how they may become injured, and the various other causes of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction.