Biology's First Law

2010-07-15 Science

Author : Daniel W. McShea
Release : 2010-07-15
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 271/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Biology's First Law by : Daniel W. McShea

Download or read book Biology's First Law written by Daniel W. McShea. This book was released on 2010-07-15. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life on earth is characterized by three striking phenomena that demand explanation: adaptation—the marvelous fit between organism and environment; diversity—the great variety of organisms; and complexity—the enormous intricacy of their internal structure. Natural selection explains adaptation. But what explains diversity and complexity? Daniel W. McShea and Robert N. Brandon argue that there exists in evolution a spontaneous tendency toward increased diversity and complexity, one that acts whether natural selection is present or not. They call this tendency a biological law—the Zero-Force Evolutionary Law, or ZFEL. This law unifies the principles and data of biology under a single framework and invites a reconceptualization of the field of the same sort that Newton’s First Law brought to physics. Biology’s First Law shows how the ZFEL can be applied to the study of diversity and complexity and examines its wider implications for biology. Intended for evolutionary biologists, paleontologists, and other scientists studying complex systems, and written in a concise and engaging format that speaks to students and interdisciplinary practitioners alike, this book will also find an appreciative audience in the philosophy of science.

Concepts of Biology

2017-12-30

Author : Samantha Fowler
Release : 2017-12-30
Genre :
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 021/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Concepts of Biology by : Samantha Fowler

Download or read book Concepts of Biology written by Samantha Fowler. This book was released on 2017-12-30. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concepts of Biology is designed for the introductory biology course for nonmajors taught at most two- and four-year colleges. The scope, sequence, and level of the program are designed to match typical course syllabi in the market. Concepts of Biology includes interesting applications, features a rich art program, and conveys the major themes of biology. The images in this textbook are grayscale.

Cells: Molecules and Mechanisms

2009 Biology

Author : Eric Wong
Release : 2009
Genre : Biology
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 110/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis Cells: Molecules and Mechanisms by : Eric Wong

Download or read book Cells: Molecules and Mechanisms written by Eric Wong. This book was released on 2009. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Yet another cell and molecular biology book? At the very least, you would think that if I was going to write a textbook, I should write one in an area that really needs one instead of a subject that already has multiple excellent and definitive books. So, why write this book, then? First, it's a course that I have enjoyed teaching for many years, so I am very familiar with what a student really needs to take away from this class within the time constraints of a semester. Second, because it is a course that many students take, there is a greater opportunity to make an impact on more students' pocketbooks than if I were to start off writing a book for a highly specialized upper- level course. And finally, it was fun to research and write, and can be revised easily for inclusion as part of our next textbook, High School Biology."--Open Textbook Library.

EVOLUTION

2009-01-01 Science

Author : Michael Ruse
Release : 2009-01-01
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 213/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis EVOLUTION by : Michael Ruse

Download or read book EVOLUTION written by Michael Ruse. This book was released on 2009-01-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spanning evolutionary science from its inception to its latest findings, from discoveries and data to philosophy and history, this book is the most complete, authoritative, and inviting one-volume introduction to evolutionary biology available. Clear, informative, and comprehensive in scope, Evolution opens with a series of major essays dealing with the history and philosophy of evolutionary biology, with major empirical and theoretical questions in the science, from speciation to adaptation, from paleontology to evolutionary development (evo devo), and concluding with essays on the social and political significance of evolutionary biology today. A second encyclopedic section travels the spectrum of topics in evolution with concise, informative, and accessible entries on individuals from Aristotle and Linneaus to Louis Leakey and Jean Lamarck; from T. H. Huxley and E. O. Wilson to Joseph Felsenstein and Motoo Kimura; and on subjects from altruism and amphibians to evolutionary psychology and Piltdown Man to the Scopes trial and social Darwinism. Readers will find the latest word on the history and philosophy of evolution, the nuances of the science itself, and the intricate interplay among evolutionary study, religion, philosophy, and society. Appearing at the beginning of the Darwin Year of 2009Ñthe 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of SpeciesÑthis volume is a fitting tribute to the science Darwin set in motion.

The Missing Two-Thirds of Evolutionary Theory

2020-01-31 Science

Author : Robert Brandon
Release : 2020-01-31
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 680/5 ( reviews)

GET EBOOK

Book Synopsis The Missing Two-Thirds of Evolutionary Theory by : Robert Brandon

Download or read book The Missing Two-Thirds of Evolutionary Theory written by Robert Brandon. This book was released on 2020-01-31. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this Element, we extend our earlier treatment of biology's first law. The law says that in any evolutionary system in which there is variation and heredity, there is a tendency for diversity and complexity to increase. The law plays the same role in biology that Newton's first law plays in physics, explaining what biological systems are expected to do when no forces act, in other words, what happens when nothing happens. Here we offer a deeper explanation of certain features of the law, develop a quantitative version of it, and explore its consequences for our understanding of diversity and complexity.

Popular eBooks

Biology's First Law

Concepts of Biology

Cells: Molecules and Mechanisms

EVOLUTION

The Missing Two-Thirds of Evolutionary Theory

You may also like...