It is easy to think of evolution as something that happened long ago, or that occurs only in "nature," or that is so slow that its ongoing impact is virtually nonexistent when viewed from the perspective of a single human lifetime. But we now know that when natural selection is strong, evolutionary change can be very rapid. In this book, some of the world's leading scientists explore the implications of this reality for human life and society. With some twenty-three essays, this volume provides authoritative yet accessible explorations of why understanding evolution is crucial to human life--from dealing with climate change and ensuring our food supply, health, and economic survival to developing a richer and more accurate comprehension of society, culture, and even what it means to be human itself. Combining new essays with essays revised and updated from the acclaimed Princeton Guide to Evolution, this collection addresses the role of evolution in aging, cognition, cooperation, religion, the media, engineering, computer science, and many other areas. The result is a compelling and important book about how evolution matters to humans today. The contributors are Dan I.Andersson, Francisco J. Ayala, Amy Cavanaugh, Cameron R. Currie, Dieter Ebert, Andrew D. Ellington, Elizabeth Hannon, John Hawks, Paul Keim, Richard E. Lenski, Tim Lewens, Jonathan B. Losos, Virpi Lummaa, Jacob A. Moorad, Craig Moritz, Martha M. Munoz, Mark Pagel, Talima Pearson, Robert T. Pennock, Daniel E. L. Promislow, Erik M. Quandt, David C. Queller, Robert C. Richardson, Eugenie C. Scott, H. Bradley Shaffer, Joan E. Strassmann, Alan R. Templeton, Paul E. Turner, and Carl Zimmer.
Table of Contents:
Preface vii Contributors ix Chapter 1 How Evolution Shapes Our Lives 1 Richard E. Lenski PART I BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS Chapter 2 What Is Evolution? 15 Jonathan B. Losos Chapter 3 Human Evolution 31 John Hawks Chapter 4 Human Cooperation and Conflict 46 Joan E. Strassmann and David C. Queller Chapter 5 Human Behavioral Ecology 61 Virpi Lummaa Chapter 6 Evolutionary Psychology 77 Robert C. Richardson PART II EVOLUTION IN HEALTH AND DISEASE Chapter 7 Evolutionary Medicine 93 Paul E. Turner Chapter 8 Aging and Menopause 114 Jacob A. Moorad and Daniel E. L. Promislow Chapter 9 Evolution of Parasite Virulence 134 Dieter Ebert Chapter 10 Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance 147 Dan I. Andersson Chapter 11 Evolution and Microbial Forensics 163 Paul Keim and Talima Pearson PART III RESHAPING OUR WORLD Chapter 12 Domestication and the Evolution of Agriculture 179 Amy Cavanaugh and Cameron R. Currie Chapter 13 Directed Evolution 191 Erik M. Quandt and Andrew D. Ellington Chapter 14 Evolution and Computing 206 Robert T. Pennock Chapter 15 Evolution and Conservation 220 H. Bradley Shaffer Chapter 16 Adaptation to a Changing World: Evolutionary Resilience and Climate Change 238 Martha M. Munoz and Craig Moritz PART I V EVOLUTION IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE Chapter 17 Evolution and Religion: Conflict and Dialogue 255 Francisco J. Ayala Chapter 18 Creationism and Intelligent Design 284 Eugenie C. Scott Chapter 19 Evolution and the Media 300 Carl Zimmer PART V NATURE AND NURTURE Chapter 20 Linguistics and the Evolution of Human Language 313 Mark Pagel Chapter 21 Cultural Evolution 331 Elizabeth Hannon and Tim Lewens Chapter 22 Evolution and Notions of Human Race 346 Alan R. Templeton Chapter 23 The Future of Human Evolution 362 Alan R. Templeton Index 381
About the Author :
Jonathan B. Losos is the Monique and Philip Lehner Professor for the Study of Latin America and Curator of Herpetology at Harvard University. Richard E. Lenski is the John Hannah Distinguished Professor of Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University.
Review :
"A compelling and important book about how evolution matters to humans today."--Biotechnology, Agronomy, Society, and Environment
