All living things are remarkably complex, yet their DNA is
unstable, undergoing countless random mutations over generations.
Despite this instability, most animals do not grow two heads or
die, plants continue to thrive, and bacteria continue to divide.
"Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems" tackles this
perplexing paradox. The book explores why genetic changes do not
cause organisms to fail catastrophically and how evolution shapes
organisms' robustness. Andreas Wagner looks at this problem from
the ground up, starting with the alphabet of DNA, the genetic code,
RNA, and protein molecules, moving on to genetic networks and
embryonic development, and working his way up to whole organisms.
He then develops an evolutionary explanation for robustness.
Wagner shows how evolution by natural selection preferentially
finds and favors robust solutions to the problems organisms face in
surviving and reproducing. Such robustness, he argues, also
enhances the potential for future evolutionary innovation. Wagner
also argues that robustness has less to do with organisms having
plenty of spare parts (the redundancy theory that has been popular)
and more to do with the reality that mutations can change organisms
in ways that do not substantively affect their fitness.
Unparalleled in its field, this book offers the most detailed
analysis available of all facets of robustness within organisms. It
will appeal not only to biologists but also to engineers interested
in the design of robust systems and to social scientists concerned
with robustness in human communities and populations.
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