The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution

by Sean B. Carroll

Overview

DNA evidence not only solves crimes—in Sean Carroll's hands it will now end the Evolution Wars.

DNA, the genetic blueprint of all creatures, is a stunningly rich and detailed record of evolution. Every change or new trait, from the gaudy colors of tropical birds to our color vision with which we admire them, is due to changes in DNA that leave a record and can be traced. Just as importantly, the DNA evidence has revealed several profound surprises about how evolution actually works.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393330519
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	09/17/2007
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Sean B. Carroll is professor of genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His first book, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, was a finalist for the 2005 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Carroll’s seminal scientific work has been featured in Time and The New Yorker. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Preface: Beyond Any Reasonable Doubt     13
Introduction: The Bloodless Fish of Bouvet Island     19
The Everyday Math of Evolution: Chance, Selection, and Time     41
Immortal Genes: Running in Place for Eons     69
Making the New from the Old     91
Fossil Genes: Broken Pieces of Yesterday's Life     117
Deja Vu: How and Why Evolution Repeats Itself     139
Our Flesh and Blood: Arms Races, the Human Race, and Natural Selection     153
The Making and Evolution of Complexity     189
Seeing and Believing     215
The Palm Trees of Wyoming     249
Sources and Further Reading     269
Acknowledgments     285
Index     287

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Those who know Lawlor's other readings will again be amazed at his proficiency.... Challenging and rewarding." —-AudioFile

Editorial Reviews

"With fervor and clarity, Carroll amasses a glut of facts to refute the twisted logic of the anti-Darwinist camp."

Discover - Josie Glausiusz

"The rare scientist with an easygoing writing style."

USA Today - Dan Vergano

"The best refutation of intelligent design."

SEED

"I recommend [The Making of the Fittest] to everybody who wants to understand more [about evolution], because it is written in such simple yet detailed language.... Quite a pleasure to read."

NPR "Science Friday" - Ira Flatow

"An adept and wide-ranging writer."

Steve Olson

DNA, the genetic material that defines us all, is a microscopic history book waiting to be read. University of Wisconsin genetics professor Sean B. Carroll and many of his colleagues are confident that this vibrant chronicle can reveal the incremental unfolding of life on our planet over the past 3 billion years. His DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution leads readers on a worldwide tour of the genes that we have left behind. A compelling scientific narrative; a fascinating addition to the debates over evolution.

Picking up where scientists like Richard Dawkins have left off, Carroll, a professor of genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo-Devo), has written a fast-paced look at how DNA demonstrates the evolutionary process. Natural selection eliminates harmful changes and embraces beneficial ones, and each change leaves its signature on a species' DNA codes. For example, the Antarctic ice fish today has no red blood cells; yet a fossilized gene for hemoglobin remains in its DNA, showing that the fish has adapted over 55 million years by losing the red blood cells that thicken blood and make it harder to pump in extreme cold. The fish has developed other features that allow it to absorb and circulate blood without hemoglobin. . Carroll points out that by examining the DNA of these ice fish species, it's possible to map its origins as well as the history of the South Atlantic's geology. He also uses dolphins, colobus monkeys and microbes to demonstrate how deeply evolution is etched in DNA. While searches for the genetic basis for evolution are hardly new, Carroll offers some provocative and convincing evidence. 7 pages of color illus.; 50 b&w illus. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Leading geneticist Carroll (genetics, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison; Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo-Devo), an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, presents new discoveries gathered from DNA evidence that confirm Charles Darwin's theory of evolution "beyond any reasonable doubt." Over the last two decades, biologists have mined the DNA record for insights into how species have evolved on the planet. These biologists have proved that every evolutionary change in each individual species involves specific changes in the DNA record that enable species to adapt to diverse habitats and "evolve new lifestyles." Readers will gain insight into the evolutionary process and expand their knowledge of how the "fittest" species were made, from fish that live in subfreezing water to birds that communicate via ultraviolet colors. According to Carroll, these new discoveries demolish the major arguments against biological evolution as promulgated by antievolutionists. Students and teachers of biology will particularly benefit from his readable treatment of the evolutionary process. An essential addition to every school, public, and academic library. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/06.] Victoria Shelton, George Mason Univ. Libs., Manassas, VA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

"Those who know Lawlor's other readings will again be amazed at his proficiency.... Challenging and rewarding." ---AudioFile

From the Publisher

In a modern coda to Darwin's laws, Sean Carroll examines the evolutionary concept of the "fittest." Although not intended for casual readers, the audiobook discusses in satisfying scientific detail the current knowledge of evolution on a molecular basis and labels it “genomics.” Narrator Patrick Lawlor picks just the right pace for such a weighty tome, leaving enough time for listeners to absorb great detail but not be narcotized. He never misses with the complex vocabulary and finds an agreeable tone to keep listener interest high. Those who know Lawlor's other readings will again be amazed at his proficiency with the requirements of so many kinds of literature. An open mind will find the audiobook challenging and rewarding. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

DEC 07/JAN 08 - AudioFile