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Gregor Johann Mendel continues to fascinate the general public as
well as scholars, the former for his life and the latter for his
achievements. Solitude of a Humble Genius is a two-volume biography
presenting Mendel in the context of the history of biology and
philosophy, and in the context of the setting in which he lived and
worked. In this first volume the authors set the stage for a new
interpretation of Mendel's achievements and personality. The period
of Mendel's life covered by this volume is critical to
understanding why he saw what other biologists, including Charles
Darwin, for example, didn't. In searching for clues to Mendel's
thinking, the authors discuss at length the origin of his genes;
the history of the region of his birth; they also spend a day and
then the four seasons of the year with his family; and finally they
examine the schooling he received, as well as the cultural and
political influences he was exposed to. An indispensible part of
the work is Norman Klein's artwork. In this first volume alone, it
comprises nearly 80 original drawings and includes cartoons that
enliven the narration, scenes from Mendel's life, portraits, and
plans and drawings of the cities and buildings in which he lived,
studied, and worked.
Gregor Johann Mendel continues to fascinate the general public
as well as scholars, the former for his life and the latter for his
achievements. "Solitude of a Humble Genius" is a two-volume
biography presenting Mendel in the context of the history of
biology and philosophy, and in the context of the setting in which
he lived and worked. In this first volume the authors set the stage
for a new interpretation of Mendel s achievements and personality.
The period of Mendel s life covered by this volume is critical to
understanding why he saw what other biologists, including Charles
Darwin, for example, didn t. In searching for clues to Mendel s
thinking, the authors discuss at length the origin of his genes;
the history of the region of his birth; they also spend a day and
then the four seasons of the year with his family; and finally they
examine the schooling he received, as well as the cultural and
political influences he was exposed to.
An indispensible part of the work is Norman Klein s artwork. In
this first volume alone, it comprises nearly 80 original drawings
and includes cartoons that enliven the narration, scenes from
Mendel s life, portraits, and plans and drawings of the cities and
buildings in which he lived, studied, and worked."
Zoologists have categorized primates into a single order, and no
one doubts today that they share a common ancestry. Humans and Old
and New World non human primate species, from the lemurs of
Madagascar to the African anthro poid apes, represent diverging
branches of an evolutionary common trunk. Along with
species-specific characters, all primates have retained a number of
ancestral traits, relics of their common origin. The comparative
study of these species-specific and ancestral traits makes it
possible to reconstruct the evolu tionary pathways of humans and
nonhuman primates. The discovery of the human blood groups and,
later, of the Major Histocom patibility Complex (MHC) had a seminal
effect on the field of human genetics, providing the first sound
examples of mendel ian polymorphisms. The use of blood group and
MHC alleles as genetic markers in biological anthropology gen
erated a conceptual revolution and persuaded researchers to begin
to think in terms of populations and not only intems of typology.
The counterparts of these human red and white cell antigens were
found and studied in nunhuman primates, and progress in this field
is summarized in this book.
From molecules to populations and back In biology, the most
vigorous organisms often ensue from a union of two disparate, pure
lines. In science, too, laws of hybrid vigor seem to operate at the
interface between two disciplines, an interface that often proves
to be fertile ground for germinating concepts and new outlooks. The
fringes of research into the major histocompatibility complex (Mhc)
have provided such an interface several times in the past and the
encounters have invigorated fields such as transplantation biology,
cellular immunology, and immunogenetics. In the last few years, a
new interface has been emerging between Mhc and evolutionary
genetics, and particularly the branch of evolutionary genetics
dealing with molecular evolution. Mhc research relies upon
molecular evolutionary genetics, with its grand superstructure of
mathematical formulations, to come to grips with the events leading
to and maintaining the Mhc polymorphism. Without the armament of
rigorous statistical procedures developed by evolutionary
geneticists, the intricate relationships among Mhc genes cannot be
resolved. It will undoubtedly be a molecular geneticist who is the
final arbiter in the dispute concerning the nature of the selection
pressure molding the Mhc genes. And it is doubtful whether the true
function of Mhc can ever be comprehended without the vantage point
afforded by the elucidation of its evolutionary history.
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.
The book provides up-to-date summaries on the main systems of blood
group antigens and MHC molecules. The human systems are used to
explain the necessary background knowledge and the systems in
nonhuman primates are then described and compared. The emphasis is
on the molecular nature of the gene products, the evolutionary
relationships among the various systems, and the presumed mechanims
by which the systems have evolved. All articles are written in such
a way that they can serve as an introduction to the field for
nonexperts and at the same time as a handbook for experts. Numerous
tables, diagrams, and figures provide overviews of structure,
distribution in different species, lists of known forms, and
evolutionary relationships. Extensive reference lists guide the
reader through the literature on each topic.
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