Evolutionary Biology: Exobiology and Evolutionary Mechanisms PDF Download

Author: Pierre Pontarotti
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642382126
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295

View

Book Description
This book presents 19 selected contributions to the 16th Evolutionary Biology Meeting, which took place in September 2012 in Marseilles. The aims of these annual meetings, which gather together leading evolutionary biologists and other scientists, are to promote the exchange of ideas and to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations. The first chapter deals with the history of a great discovery: The first experiments on ascidian and sea urchin egg fertilization. The remaining contributions are grouped under the following categories: · Evolutionary biology concepts · Exobiology and the origin of life · Evolutionary mechanisms Offering an up-to-date overview of recent findings in the field of evolutionary biology, this book is an invaluable source of information for scientists, teachers and advanced students.

Author: David Zeigler
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 9780128003480
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 206

View

Book Description
Evolution: Components and Mechanisms introduces the many recent discoveries and insights that have added to the discipline of organic evolution, and combines them with the key topics needed to gain a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of evolution. Each chapter covers an important topic or factor pertinent to a modern understanding of evolutionary theory, allowing easy access to particular topics for either study or review. Many chapters are cross-referenced. Modern evolutionary theory has expanded significantly within only the past two to three decades. In recent times the definition of a gene has evolved, the definition of organic evolution itself is in need of some modification, the number of known mechanisms of evolutionary change has increased dramatically, and the emphasis placed on opportunity and contingency has increased. This book synthesizes these changes and presents many of the novel topics in evolutionary theory in an accessible and thorough format. This book is an ideal, up-to-date resource for biologists, geneticists, evolutionary biologists, developmental biologists, and researchers in, as well as students and academics in these areas and professional scientists in many subfields of biology. Discusses many of the mechanisms responsible for evolutionary change Includes an appendix that provides a brief synopsis of these mechanisms with most discussed in greater detail in respective chapters Aids readers in their organization and understanding of the material by addressing the basic concepts and topics surrounding organic evolution Covers some topics not typically addressed, such as opportunity, contingency, symbiosis, and progress

Author: Pierre Pontarotti
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540789936
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 220

View

Book Description
Every biological system is the outcome of its evolution; therefore, the deciphering of its evolutionary history is of tremendous importance to understand the biology of a system. Since 1997 scientists of different disciplines have held an annual "Evolutionary Biology Meeting" at Marseille (France) in order to discuss their research developments, exchange ideas and start collaborations. Consisting of the most representative talks of the 11th meeting, this book provides an up-to-date overview of evolutionary concepts and how these concepts can be applied to a better understanding of various biological aspects. It is divided into the following four parts: Modelization of Evolution - Concepts in Evolutionary Biology - Knowledge - Applied Evolutionary Biology. This book is an invaluable source of information not only for evolutionary biologists, but also for biologists in general.

Author: Julian Chela-Flores
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401150567
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 377

View

Book Description
Leading researchers in the area of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe contributed to Exobiology: Matter, Energy, and Information in the Origin and Evolution of Life in the Universe. This volume provides a review of this interdisciplinary field. In 50 chapters many aspects that contribute to exobiology are reviewed by 90 authors. These include: historical perspective of biological evolution; cultural aspects of exobiology, cosmic, chemical and biological evolution, molecular biology, geochronology, biogeochemistry, biogeology, and planetology. Some of the current missions are discussed. Other subjects in the frontier of exobiology are reviewed, such as the search for planets outside the solar system, and the possible manifestation of intelligence in those new potential environments. The SETI research effort is well represented in this general overview of exobiology. This book is the proceedings of the Fifth Trieste Conference on Chemical Evolution that took place in September 1997. The volume is dedicated to the memory of Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam who suggested the initiation of the Trieste conferences on chemical evolution and the origin of life. Audience: Graduate students and researchers in the many areas of basic, earth, and life sciences that contribute to the study of chemical evolution and the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe.

Author: Pierre Pontarotti
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642123406
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 367

View

Book Description
The annual Evolutionary Biology Meetings in Marseille aim to bring together leading scientists, promoting an exchange of state-of-the-art knowledge and the formation of inter-group collaborations. This book presents the most representative contributions to the 13th meeting, which was held in September 2009. It comprises 21 chapters, which are organized into the following three categories: • Evolutionary Biology Concepts • Genome/Molecular Evolution • Morphological Evolution/Speciation This book offers an up-to-date overview of evolutionary biology concepts and their use in the biology of the 21st century.

Author: Douglas J. Futuyma
Publisher: Sinauer Associates, Incorporated
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 630

View

Book Description
Covers the genetic, developmental, and ecological mechanisms of evolutionary change, the major features of evolutionary history as revealed by phylogenetic and paleontological studies, and material on adaptation, molecular evolution, co-evolution, and human evolution.

Author: Mary Jane West-Eberhard
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198028563
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 815

View

Book Description
The first comprehensive synthesis on development and evolution: it applies to all aspects of development, at all levels of organization and in all organisms, taking advantage of modern findings on behavior, genetics, endocrinology, molecular biology, evolutionary theory and phylogenetics to show the connections between developmental mechanisms and evolutionary change. This book solves key problems that have impeded a definitive synthesis in the past. It uses new concepts and specific examples to show how to relate environmentally sensitive development to the genetic theory of adaptive evolution and to explain major patterns of change. In this book development includes not only embryology and the ontogeny of morphology, sometimes portrayed inadequately as governed by "regulatory genes," but also behavioral development and physiological adaptation, where plasticity is mediated by genetically complex mechanisms like hormones and learning. The book shows how the universal qualities of phenotypes--modular organization and plasticity--facilitate both integration and change. Here you will learn why it is wrong to describe organisms as genetically programmed; why environmental induction is likely to be more important in evolution than random mutation; and why it is crucial to consider both selection and developmental mechanism in explanations of adaptive evolution. This book satisfies the need for a truly general book on development, plasticity and evolution that applies to living organisms in all of their life stages and environments. Using an immense compendium of examples on many kinds of organisms, from viruses and bacteria to higher plants and animals, it shows how the phenotype is reorganized during evolution to produce novelties, and how alternative phenotypes occupy a pivotal role as a phase of evolution that fosters diversification and speeds change. The arguments of this book call for a new view of the major themes of evolutionary biology, as shown in chapters on gradualism, homology, environmental induction, speciation, radiation, macroevolution, punctuation, and the maintenance of sex. No other treatment of development and evolution since Darwin's offers such a comprehensive and critical discussion of the relevant issues. Developmental Plasticity and Evolution is designed for biologists interested in the development and evolution of behavior, life-history patterns, ecology, physiology, morphology and speciation. It will also appeal to evolutionary paleontologists, anthropologists, psychologists, and teachers of general biology.

Author: Simon Hegedűs
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781607412908
Category : Evolution (Biology)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

View

Book Description
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This book offers an analysis undertaken from the perspective of science education, to discuss the nature of the particular challenges faced by those seeking to facilitate public education in the field of astrobiology. The authors also address the question of the formation of a protocell and its function at the system level. It will further deal with the environmental pressures likely present on the early Earth, as they would have influenced the lifetime of unstable or reactive components needed for the start of life. In addition, the method of the transition from prebiotic organic microsystems to the primordial communities of prokaryotes is explored. The authors also explain some aspects related to aqueous interfacial processes in the context of prebiotic chemistry under the point of view of our current experimental results. Moreover, there is considerable interest in astrobiology in investigating icy worlds and the microbial forms that thrive in extreme environments, especially under those cold conditions that can provide a model for some extraterrestrial environments. This book reviews the general trends concerning the biodiversity and ecology of psychrophilic microorganisms and their molecular mechanisms of adaptation and evolution, as well as summarise the latest results on this topic in samples from icy environments. Other chapters summarise the morphological signatures of flowing water, the astrobiological potential of the dunes, and the theoretical modelling background of the presence of liquid water on Mars today.

Author: Noah Rodriguez
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781641163026
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 227

View

Book Description
The sub-field of biology concerned with the in-depth study of evolutionary processes is known as evolutionary biology. These processes are responsible for the diversity of life on this planet. Speciation, natural selection and common descent are some common evolutionary processes. Diverse topics and ideas are incorporated in the current research in evolutionary biology such as computer science and molecular genetics. The research has further widened to cover the genetic architecture of adaptation, molecular evolution, and the different forces that contribute to evolution such as biogeography, sexual selection and genetic drift. This book brings forth some of the most innovative concepts and elucidates the unexplored aspects of evolutionary biology. It is a valuable compilation of topics, ranging from the basic to the most complex advancements in the field of evolutionary biology. This book is appropriate for students seeking detailed information in this area as well as for experts.

Author: John Torday
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783030381349
Category : Biochemistry
Languages : en
Pages : 214

View

Book Description
There has been no mechanistic explanation for evolutionary change consistent with phylogeny in the 150 years since the publication of 'Origins'. As a result, progress in the field of evolutionary biology has stagnated, relying on descriptive observations and genetic associations rather testable scientific measures. This book illuminates the need for a larger evolutionary-based platform for biology. Like physics and chemistry, biology needs a central theory in order to frame the questions that arise, the way hypotheses are tested, and how to interpret the data in the context of a continuum. The reduction of biology to its self-referential, self-organized properties provides the opportunity to recognize the continuum from the Singularity/Big Bang to Consciousness based on cell-cell communication for homeostasis.