Product Description

Evo Devo is evolutionary development biology, the third revolution in evolutionary biology. The first was marked by the publication of The Origin of Spec ies. The second occurred in the early 20th century, when Darwin's theories were merged with the study of genetics. Now the insights of Evo Devo are astonishing the biology world by showing how the endless forms of animals - butterflies and zebras, trilobites and dinosaurs, apes and humans - are made and evolved. Perhaps the most surprising finding of Evo Devo is the discovery that a small number of primitive genes led to the formation of fundamental organs and appendages in all animal forms. The gene that causes humans to form arms and legs is the same gene that causes birds and insects to form wings, and fish to form fins. Similarly, one ancient gene has led to the creation of eyes across the animal kingdom. Changes in the way this ancient toolkit of genes is used have created all the diversity that surrounds us. Sean Carroll is the ideal author to lead the curious on this intellectual adventure. He is the acknowledged leader of the field, and his seminal discoveries have been featured in Time and the New York Times.

Product Details

• Published on: 2009-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: MP3 CD

THE INDEPENDENT
'Impressively, skillful first book'

Review
"Once in a while, though, a book comes along that not only transports the layman to the cutting edge of science, but helps transform the intellectual or cultural landscape... Sean Carroll's Endless Forms Most Beautiful... deserves to... EvoDevo is a complex and highly technical subject but Carroll manages magnificently to translate the debates into a lay language without patronising the reader.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful provides an essential glimpse into both the creation of lifeand the excitement of scientific discovery." (KENAN MALIK SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

"Carroll does something superb - something very few other popular science writers try to do. Instead of trying to merely recreate the excitement of teh scientist hot on the trail of something new, Carroll actually explains the source of the excitement to the reader... a book for those with a natural scientific curiosity.. never before has such an evolutionary synthesis had such an explanatory power." (MORNING STAR )

"in attempting to make Evo Devo accessible to a wider readership... Carroll does it splendidly." (STEVEN ROSE THE GUARDIAN )

MORNING STAR
"Carroll does something superb - something very few other popular science writers try to do. Instead of trying to merely recreate the excitement of teh scientist hot on the trail of something new, Carroll actually explains the source of the excitement to the reader... a book for those with a natural scientific curiosity.. never before has such an evolutionary synthesis had such an explanatory power."

Customer Reviews

Switching On/Off the Spectacular
Carroll contends the greatest spectacle of life is the development of a single cell into a complete organism. From that one cell comes trillions, grouped into special functions and producing everything from wings to webbed feet. How can such variation derive from a single fertilised egg? More importantly, in Carroll's view, how can creatures with a similar number of working genes, such as mice and humans be so different? This highly readable overview of how embryos develop into adult bodies explores the mechanics of the process in exquisite and illuminating detail.

The amount of media attention given DNA has often led us to assume direct links can be made between "a gene" and parts of the organism. Carroll sets straight this misleading image. Everything that goes into building a body, from butterfly wings to a zebra's stripes, relies on a sequence of events. The sequence begins with what he dubs the "Tool Kit" of development. Basic to all animal life are the HOX genes which control which parts are front/back, top/bottom and inside/outside. Other tools build limbs, regulate processes, arrange for hair, scales or feathers as required. Once the basic organisation is made, the development process uses a string of "switches" to fine tune the body's appearance and operations. The switches are the key to many aspects of the body. Failure to work or turning something "on" or "off" at the wrong time or place results in loss or mutation. It is a process that has been under way for millions of years, adding or removing features under environmental pressures.

The author selects a small variety of examples to illustrate how the mechanism works. A favoured example is butterflies, which come in a rich variety of wing shape and decoration. Some even change with shifts in climate as the wrong colouration renders them vulnerable to predators. Another example is zebras, who were reviled by President Theodore Roosevelt who found the idea of "protective colouration" sadly lacking. Roosevelt, of course, hunted during the day while the natural predators of zebras seek them at dawn or dusk, when they are nearly invisible. How did zebras achieve their camouflage? Millions of years of switches guiding hair patterns. Even the tall, lanky giraffe, Carroll notes, can blend in with the background with subtle ease.

The study of organic forms, "morphology", focusses on "snapshots" of current or past observation of evidence. An offshoot of morphology, known as "cladistics" is more flexible, but still relies on fixed images. Carroll demonstrates that this approach must be replaced by a more dynamic one. His focus on embryos as the starting point has led him to grant the name Evolutionary Development, or "EvoDevo" to what is an exciting new science. "EvoDevo" in Carroll's hands is more than an explanation of why we see what we do in today's animal species. It's also a new form for examining life in the ancient past and tracing how change likely took place. Knowing that natural selection builds on what's available, Carroll's analytical techniques show how animals shifted from a radial structure to a bilateral one. That's why you have two arms and legs instead of five arms like a starfish. Bilateralism proved more efficient and came to dominate animal structures.

Carroll's prose lapses into a "cracker-barrel" style frequently in his effort to reach a wide audience. However, he enhances his fine text with many illustrations and photographs. Evolutionary "trees", limb structure and how the switches operate are all well depicted. Some stunning views of butterfly wing markings are provided to illustrate the variations. Carroll's bibliography is liimited, but the nascent level of the science justifies that. What is puzzling about this book is Carroll's treatment of leading figures in evolutionary biology. His iconoclasm reflects the influence of Stephen J. Gould on Carroll's writing. He cites Gould as a distant mentor, which seems anomalous in view of the material. Gould vilified "reductionism" but Carroll's explanation of tool box and switches is the most reductionist view of life around. It may not be limited to "one gene - one protein", but the depiction shows how life relies on a highly limited set of conditions in order to succeed. Gould's stance against the adaptationist programme is rendered untenable given how Carroll's switches must be suitable for particular environments. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Intersting but not well written.
i cannot add much to the earlier reviews regarding the content of the book, which is very interesting. I would like to give it 5 stars but I can only give it 4 because I feel that Mr. Carroll does not write as clearly as Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Steve Jones or Jared Diamond, to name a few. For example, he writes about a species of butterfly which has prominent spots in one season but minute spots in another season, but he never actually spells out why this strategy is a good idea. Also, I don't think he ever actually defines what he means by the term "toolkit gene", for example - a glossary of terms would be helpful in this regard.

New Dimensions in Genetics
Evo-devo (evolutionary development) is an important new branch of biology. In the last 25 years genetics has made enormous strides in understanding how organisms develop in the embryonic stages, and this has important implications for evolutionary theories. Carroll uses his literary skills to guide the reader through the new discoveries, especially the role of control genes and how the same genes produce different structures in different organisms. In some cases the same genes produce the same structures in different groups of organisms (eyes for example). Through a series of well developed chapters he deals with limbs, colouration in butterfly wings,and most importantly, how the Cambrian explosion can now be better understood.There is a short chapter on humans to complete the science. Refreshigly he is able to point out the current limits of knowledge in the context of some organisms, and this honesty is to be much applauded. The philosophical implications are much less well dealt with. Carroll niavely believes that these new discoveries can be accommodated within the neo-Darwinian framework of evolution; in reality they show just how redundant those 19th century ideas are. However the discerning reader will be introduced to the importance of body plans, the burden of form and other non-Darwinian ideas, but will have to read more widely for their correct context. Goodwin "How The Leopard Changed its Spots" is an excellent antidote to that problem.