Evolution (Oxford Readers)

Description:
Evolution is unlike any other theory in science in the generality of its interest and the excellence of the authors who write about it. This anthology contains extracts from over 60 scientific papers, by authors such as Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, Francis Crick and Jacques Monod. It starts with Charles Darwin, but concentrates on modern research, including genomics - evolution's latest gusher of scientic insights. The extracts are organized in sections, enabling the reader to sample a range of views on each topic, such as how new species arise, or the significance of adaptive design in living things. The extracts have been chosen for their readability as well as their scientific importance, making this book an enjoyable way to meet some of the greatest minds of our time, writing on the greatest idea of all time.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION; A. FROM DARWIN TO THE MODERN SYNTHESIS; SECTION INTRODUCTION; 1. Darwin, C. (1858) Extract from an unpublished work on species; 2. Darwin, C. (1858) Abstract of a letter from C. Darwin, Esq., to Prof. Asa Gray, Boston, U.S.A; 3. Maynard Smith, J. (1987) Weismann and modern biology; 4. Fisher, R. A. (1930) The nature of inheritance; 5. Wright, S. (1932) The roles of mutation, inbreeding, crossbreeding, and selection in evolution; 6. Haldane, J. B. S. (1949) Disease and evolution; B. NATURAL SELECTION AND RANDOM DRIFT IN POPULATIONS; SECTION INTRODUCTION; 7. Kettlewell, H. B. D. (1958) A resume of investigations of the evolution of melanism in the Lepidoptera; 8. Cook, L. M; Dennis, R. L. H; & G. S. Mani (1999). Melanic morph frequency in the peppered moth in the Manchester area; 9. Karn, M. N. & Penrose, L. S. (1951) Birth weight and gestation time in relation to infant survival; 10. Ulizzi, L. & Terrenato, L. (1992) Natural selection associated with birth weight. VI. Towards the end of the stabilizing component; 11. Gibbs, H. L & Grant, P. R. (1987) Oscillating selection on Darwin's finches; 12. Lewontin, R. C. The paradox of variation; 13. Kimura, M. Recent developments of the neutral theory; C. ADAPTATION; SECTION INTRODUCTION; 14. Fisher, R. A. (1930). The nature of adaptation; 15. Williams, G. C. (1966). Adaptation and natural selection; 16. Grafen, A. (1986). Adaptation versus selection in progress; 17. Reeve, H. K. & Sherman, P. W. (1991). An operational, nonhistorical definition of adaptation; 18. Orr, H. A. & Coyne, J. The genetics of adaptation: a reassessment; 19. Cain, A. J. (1964). The perfection of animals; 20. Gould, S. J. & Lewontin, R. C. (1979). The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: a critique of the adaptationist programme; D. SPECIATION AND BIODIVERSITY; SECTION INTRODUCTION; 22. Mayr, E. Typological v population thinking; 23. Mayr, E. Species concepts and their application; 24. Darwin, C. (1859) The sterility of hybrids; 25. Dobzhansky, T. (1970). Reproductive isolation as a product of genetic divergence and natural selection; 26. Rice, W. R. & Hostert, E. E. Laboratory experiments on speciation: what have we learned in 40 years?; 27. Coyne, J. H. & Orr, H. A. (2000). The evolutionary genetics of speciation; 28. Schluter, D. (2000) Ecological basis of postmating isolation; 29. Grant, V. Hybrid speciation; E. MACROEVOLUTION; SECTION INTRODUCTION; 30. Erwin, D. H. & Anstey, R. L. (1995) Speciation in the fossil record; 31. De Beer, G. R. (1971). Homology: an unsolved problem; 32. Dawkins, R. (1996). The ey gene; 33. Dickinson, W. J. (1995) Molecules and morphology: where's the homology?; 34. Haeckel, E. (1905) The fundamental law of organic evolution; 35. Garstang, W. (1951) Three poems; F. EVOLUTIONARY GENOMICS; SECTION INTRODUCTION; 36. Ochman, H; Lawrence, J. G; & Groisman, E. A. (2000). Lateral gene transfer and the nature of bacterial innovation; 37. Vision, T. J; Brown, D. G; & Tanksley, S. D. (2000). The origins of genomic duplications in Arabidopsis; 38. Humans, M. Ridley; 39. Raff, R. A. (1996). Co-option of eye structures and genes; 40. Benner, S. A; Caraco, M. D; Thomson, J. M; & Gaucher, E. A. (2002). Planetary biology - paleontological, geological, and molecular histories of life; G. THE HISTORY OF LIFE; SECTION INTRODUCTION; 42. Schopf, J. W. (1994). Disparate rates, differing fates: tempo and mode of evolution changed from the Precambrian to the Phanerozoic; 43. Cooper, A. & Fortey, R. (1998). Evolutionary explosions and the phylogenetic fuse; 44. Dilcher, D. (2000). Major evolutionary trends in the angiosperm fossil record; H. CASE STUDIES; SECTION INTRODUCTION; 45. Medawar, P. B. (1951) An unsolved problem in biology; 46. Crick , F. H. C. (1968). The origin of the genetic code; 47. Maynard Smith, J. (1971) The origin and maintenance of sex; 48. Janzen, D. H. (1983) A caricature of seed dispersal by animal guts; 49. Nilsson, D-E. & Pelger, S. (1994). A pessimistic estimate of the time required for an eye to evolve; 50. Sniegowski, P. D; Gerrish, P. J; Johnson, T.. & Shaver, A. (2000). The evolution of mutation rates; J. HUMAN EVOLUTION; SECTION INTRODUCTION; 51. Sarich, V. & Wilson, A. C. (1967) Immunological time scale for hominid evolution; 52. King, M-C. & Wilson, A. C. (1975). Evolution at two levels in humans and chimpanzees; 53. Britton, R. J. (2002). Divergence between samples of chimpanzee and human DNA sequences is 5%, counting indels; 54. Muller, H. J. (1950). Our load of mutations; 55. Livingstone. F. B. (1962). On the non-existence of human races; 56. Krogman, W. M. (1951). The scars of human evolution; 57. Pinker, S. (1994). The big bang; K. EVOLUTION AND HUMAN AFFAIRS; SECTION INTRODUCTION; 58. Antolin, M. F. & Herbers, J. M. (2001). Evolution's struggle for existence in America's public schools; 59. Dobzhansky, T. (1973). Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution; 60. Hume, D. The argument from design; 61. Monod, J. (1974). On the molecular theory of evolution; 62. Huxley, T. H. (1893). Evolution and ethics; 63. Palumbi, S. (2001) Humans as the world's greatest evolutionary force; BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES; SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; INDEX