Improbable destinies : how predictable is evolution? / Jonathan B. Losos ; illustrated by Marlin Peterson.
Material type:
TextPublisher: London : Penguin Random House, 2017Description: xv, 368 pages : illustrations ; 20 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780141981192 (paperback)
- 23 576.8 LOS 012803
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Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bangalore | 576.8 LOS 012803 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 012803 |
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| 576.8 DAW 016513 The greatest show on earth : the evidence for evolution / | 576.8 EVA 014821 Introducing evolution : | 576.8 LLO 018140 What on Earth evolved? : 100 species that changed the world / | 576.8 LOS 012803 Improbable destinies : | 576.82 BRI 014581 Darwin's tree of life / | 576.82 DAR 004066 On the origin of species / | 576.82 DAR 017655 The origin of species : by means of natural selection; or, The preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life / |
Includes index.
pt. ONE NATURE'S DOPPELGANGERS
ch. On Evolutionary Deja Vu
ch. Two Replicated Reptiles
ch. Three Evolutionary Idiosyncrasy
pt. TWO EXPERIMENTS IN THE WILD
ch. Four The Not-So-Glacial Pace of Evolutionary Change
ch. Five Colorful Trinidad
ch. Six Lizard Castaways
ch. Seven From Manure to Modern Science
ch. Eight Evolution in Swimming Pools and Sandboxes
pt. THREE EVOLUTION UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
ch. Nine Replaying the Tape
ch. Ten Breakthrough in a Bottle
ch. Eleven Jots, Tittles, and Drunken Fruit Flies
ch. Twelve The Human Environment.
A dazzling tour of evolution in action that sheds light on one of the greatest debates in scienceThe natural world is full of fascinating instances of convergence: phenomena like eyes and wings and tree-climbing lizards that have evolved independently, multiple times. Convergence suggests that evolution is predictable, and if we could replay the tape of life, we would get the same outcome. But there are also many examples of contingency, cases where the tiniest change - a random mutation or an ancient butterfly sneeze - caused evolution to take a completely different course. So are we humans, and all the plants and animals in the world today, inevitabilities or evolutionary freaks? What role does chance play in evolution? And what could it tell us about life on other planets? In Improbable Destinies, renowned researcher Jonathan Losos reveals what the latest breakthroughs in evolutionary biology tell us about one of the greatest ongoing debates in science. Evolution can occur far more rapidly than Darwin expected, which has opened the door to something that was previously thought impossible: experimental studies of evolution in nature. Drawing on his own work with anole lizards on the Caribbean islands, as well as studies of guppies, foxes, field mice and others being conducted around the world, Losos reveals just how rapid and predictable evolution can be. By charting the discoveries of the scientists who are rewriting our understanding of evolutionary biology, Improbable Destinies will change the way we think and talk about evolution.
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