The Patchwork Human: Two Billion Years of Evolution

Life began about four billion years ago on our planet. Like an old patchwork quilt, evolution stitched the human being together from parts of ancient species now long extinct. Like any species, humans have hundreds or even thousands of traits that have been passed down through time. The evolutionary age of our different traits can be told from how widely distributed they are among today's living creatures. The book aims to explain some human traits and how we--as social, sexual, language-obsessed technological apes--evolved into our own modern species. Combining hard science with philosophical thought, this work aims to explain where humans have come from, and where we are going. Free of complicated jargon, it breaks down the concept of evolution starting with the human body's most basic component--our cells. Building from there, chapters explore which traits became inherited over evolutionary time, ultimately projecting what could be next for our species.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface Introduction: The Patchwork Human, Old and New Parts 1. The Human Machine What Do People Think? People versus Machines Mind, Spirit, Soul Matter 2. Cells, Genes, and Other Small Parts Cells Molecules Small and Large Chromosomes, Genes, and Proteins 3. The Embryo: Construction and Continuity Early Development Continuity 4. Evolution: The Process The Process of Evolution Evolutionary Mechanisms Adaptation and the Randomness and Purposelessness of Evolution “For the good of the species” Are We Still Evolving? 5. Evolution: The Pattern Darwin’s Tree Evolutionary Genetics Fossils The Genus Homo and Its Ancestors Sea Urchin Interview  6. Bigger Is Sometimes Better  7. Bilateral Symmetry  8. The Sexy Beast, Part I The Biological Basics of Sex Sperm and Egg Logic The Mating Dance: The Logic of Fidelity and Promiscuity  9. Up the Mammalian Path Origins Mammary Glands and Milk The Placenta 10. Fur Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow 11. A ­Warm-Blooded Animal Mechanisms Evolution 12. Upright Living Forelimbs and Hind Limbs Fossil Evidence 13. The Brain Brain Development and Structure Some Comparisons Aspects of Brain Evolution Brain Function 14. The Sexy Beast, Part II The Penis and the Vagina External Testes How Human Brain Size Influences the Mating System Conspicuous Mammary Glands Sex and Pleasure Ovulation Now? Monogamous or Polygamous? Menopause 15. On Being Social Basic Elements of Being Social Teaching and Learning Cooperation Altruism ­Mind-Reading, or ­Perspective-Taking Evolutionary Origins of Sociality 16. The Truly Musical Animal When? How? The Muses Weigh In As Part of Our Biology, Why Music? 17. The Talkative Ape The Anatomy of Speech and Language Features of Human Language Precursors of Language in Animal Communications? An Evolutionary Pathway for Language 18. Human Races, Real and Imagined The Concept of Race The Evolution of Human Races Racial Prejudice In Summary 19. The Future of the Only Remaining Human Species Homo sapiens Forever A New Species of Homo? Extinction Once and For All Slow Extinction by Climate Change Appendix I: Tissues, Systems, Organs, and Cell Types Appendix II: Some Musical Preferences Background and Further Reading Index

About the Author :
Peter Luykx, professor emeritus in the biology department at the University of Miami, Florida, has published research in genetics, cell biology, and evolution, and has taught and written for the non-scientist in those areas. He lives in Miami.

Review :
“A must read for all interested in learning something about evolutionary traits in humans but who have had no previous training in biology. I am amazed that the author has managed to bring together so many superficially unrelated aspects of human biology… The reader is profiting from the almost 60 years of teaching experience that Luykx has under his belt. His treatment of the literature is so sovereign that it reminds one of David Attenborough’s publications! I particularly enjoyed the writing style of the author: it is simple and straight-forward, the sentences are well-connected making for a smooth flow of thought. Unlike some biology textbooks, this is a book that you can read in bed, on a plane. It’s a gem!”—David Robinson, professor emeritus, Centre for Organismal Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany “What a wonderful book! I loved it. It is entertaining, informative, and often humorous. Genetics professor emeritus Peter Luykx gives us a grand tour of evolution in all its glory—with a focus on how we ‘patchwork humans’ came to be. He tells us what scientists know and what remains a mystery. The writing is excellent, reader-friendly, and crystal-clear. Luykx has a gift for clear and lucid explanations. He makes the science easy to understand through analogies and real-life stories. The book is filled with insight after insight. The interview with a sea urchin is a riot....Once I started [the book], I couldn’t put it down.”—Ira Mark Egdall, physicist, retired aerospace program manager, author of Einstein Relatively Simple “As a retired meteorologist with no background in the biological sciences, I found The Patchwork Human by Peter Luykx very illuminating about our biology and evolution as Homo sapiens. The patches of this book are well-stitched together to provide the non-biologist with a clear path through human evolution from the basic biology of all living things to the process and pattern of our own evolution as a species. Surprisingly, and perhaps even humbling, I found the author’s interview with a sea urchin quite revealing. For successful evolution, organisms must adapt to their changing environments and reproduce. Modern Homo sapiens is making rapid, large scale environmental changes that are affecting evolution on this planet. The sea urchin will probably survive these changes, but Homo sapiens may not.”—James M. Gross, Ph.D., retired meteorologist, National Hurricane Center, Miami, Florida “a fresh, beautifully written, reader-friendly exploration of the slow, subtle evolutionary processes that resulted in human beings as we know them today. …Surprising and sometimes hilarious comparisons are used to deepen our understanding of the human condition. …An extraordinary read and highly recommended.—Christine A. Nalepa, Ph.D., research specialist for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (retired), adjunct associate professor, North Carolina State University “The Patchwork Human is such an extraordinary accomplishment. So well researched, so thoughtful, and so insightful. I can’t praise it enough. It is far better than any book I have read covering similar topics.”—Steven Brooke, author and photographer; fellow, American Academy in Rome; adjunct professor, University of Miami School of Architecture. “This book is an elegant and approachable introduction to the realities of human evolution for the non-scientist. The author explains, among other things, the oddities of the human body, both what they were originally used for, and where they came from. Our present appearance seems to be the result of haphazard mutations which offered valuable benefits to our ancestors, rather than an original masterplan. Our bodies seem to be still evolving to meet the challenge of an ever-changing earth. The author brings us closer to the animal world by revealing the remarkable similarities between humans and the other mammals with which we share our planet. Simple yet clever analogies are used to explain complex genetic concepts. You will never see life on earth in quite the same way again.”—Jeffrey Dorn, former chairman of the Community Advisory Council of Florida International University and a previous vice president of the South Florida Writer’s Association