Building on earlier ideas (presented in The Runaway Brain, 1993,
and Exons, Introns and Talking Genes, 1991), Wills, an English
evolutionary biologist transplanted to the Univ. of Calif., San
Diego, makes a cogent case for the continued and even more rapid
future evolution of our species. The counterargument: Since the
advent of life-saving drugs, vaccines, clean water, and other
public health measures, even the "unfit" survive so handily that
natural selection has nothing to work on. Not true, says Wills (and
most evolutionary biologists), presenting such interesting evidence
in support of his position as the finding that native Tibetans have
as a group lived longer than anyone anywhere else at extreme
altitudes with the help of adaptive changes. (Even during
pregnancy, the Tibetan fetus is able to extract more oxygen and
achieve a normal birth weight more successfully than newborns of
nonadapted Chinese living the same area.) Wills is at his best in
presenting examples such as this, as well as in his detailed
discussions of the genetic trade-offs that have led to the survival
of sickle cell or cystic fibrosis genes. Via these, he reprises the
paleontological literature, focusing on his pet theme: the rapid
growth of the human brain and mental faculties. His opinion:
Environment plays a major role in interactions with genes, which
among themselves may act quite mysteriously. He also points to new
evidence that the uterus itself constitutes an environment that
contributes to the concordance for certain traits seen - and the
difference in others - in identical twins. Ultimately, Wills
forecasts a rosy future: "smart" pills for us to swallow as we
learn more about the makeup of biochemical mind boosters; a gene
pool diverse enough to meet future contingencies; life spans double
what they are now. More important than this clearly optimistic
vision are the cogent arguments about our evolutionary path to date
and that make possible the uniquely human qualities of language,
culture, and civilization. (Kirkus Reviews)
Are we still evolving? Scientists have grappled with this question
since the time of Darwin. Now, in this provocative book, biologist
Christopher Wills argues that we are not only continuing to evolve
but that our pace of change is accelerating. He examines the rapid,
short-term evolutionary change taking place in people living at the
earth's extremes (even as babies, Tibetans can draw in more oxygen
than lowlanders), and the new physiology of those who participate
in extreme sports. But the more we shape our environment, the more
it seems to shape us: Whether the future has us wiring our brains
into vast electronic databases, or popping "smart drugs" that alter
the brain's very biochemical structure, new environmental pressures
are speeding up our evolution in ways that we cannot now predict
but that will help us to survive the future.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
