Evolution category: 1570 books

Modern Humans is a vivid account of the most recent—and perhaps the most important—phase of human evolution: the appearance of anatomically modern people (Homo sapiens) in Africa less than half a million years ago and their later spread throughout the world. Leaving no stone unturned, John F....

Tucked away in Siberia, there are furry, four-legged creatures with wagging tails and floppy ears that are as docile and friendly as any lapdog. But, despite appearances, these are not dogs—they are foxes. They are the result of the most astonishing experiment in breeding ever undertaken—imagine...

Evolution is just a theory, isn’t it? What is a scientific theory anyway? Don’t scientists prove things? What is the difference between a fact, a hypothesis and a theory in science? How does scientific thinking differ from religious thinking? Why are most leading scientists atheists? Are science...

The Evolution of Vertebrate Design is a solid introduction to vertebrate evolution, paleontology, vertebrate biology, and functional, comparative anatomy. Its lucid style also makes it ideal for general readers intrigued by fossil history. Clearly drawn diagrams illustrate biomechanical explanations...

Contributors from a range of disciplines consider the disconnect between human evolutionary studies and the rest of evolutionary biology. The study of human evolution often seems to rely on scenarios and received wisdom rather than theory and methodology, with each new fossil or molecular analysis...

Hailed as a breakthrough in 12 pages of pre-publication reviews by leading evolutionary thinkers, this new book has been rushed into print for impact in the wake of both the honoring and the dishonoring of Darwin’s 209th birthday on February 12.     Rediscovering Darwin: The Rest of Darwin’s...

Evolution and the Emergent Self is an eloquent and evocative new synthesis that explores how the human species emerged from the cosmic dust. Lucidly presenting ideas about the rise of complexity in our genetic, neuronal, ecological, and ultimately cosmological settings, the author takes readers on...

Three major aspects that distinguish this book are that (1) it contains the most detailed analysis of the sexual reproduction (oogenesis, fertilization and embryonic incubation) in a particular phylum of the aquatic invertebrates (Bryozoa) ever made; this analysis is based on an exhaustive review...

As the active interface of the most biologically intimate connection between two living organisms, a mother and her fetus, the placenta is crucial to human evolution and survival. Michael L. Power and Jay Schulkin explore the more than 100 million years of evolution that led to the human placenta...

This is the first book to collate and synthesize the recent burgeoning primary research literature on dog behaviour, evolution, and cognition. The author presents a new ecological approach to the understanding of dog behaviour, demonstrating how dogs can be the subject of rigorous and productive scientific...

This book provides fascinating insights into the development and genetics of evolutionary processes on the basis of animals living in the dark, such as the Astyanax cave fish. Biologically functionless traits show high variability, which results from neutral deleterious mutations no longer being eliminated...

In recent years, scientists have realized that evolution can occur on timescales much shorter than the "long lapse of ages" emphasized by Darwin—in fact, evolutionary change is occurring all around us all the time. This book provides an authoritative and accessible introduction to eco-evolutionary...

What are the evolutionary mechanisms and ecological implications behind a pollinator choosing its favourite flower? Sixty-five million years of evolution has created the complex and integrated system which we see today and understanding the interactions involved is key to environmental sustainability....

The nervous system is particularly fascinating for many biologists because it controls animal characteristics such as movement, behavior, and coordinated thinking. Invertebrate neurobiology has traditionally been studied in specific model organisms, whilst knowledge of the broad diversity of nervous...