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.
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
