Download or read book Evolutionary Perspectives on Pregnancy written by John C. Avise and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-01-15 with total page 522 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering both the internal and external incubation of offspring, this book provides a biology-rich survey of the natural history, ecology, genetics, and evolution of pregnancy-like phenomena. From mammals and other live-bearing organisms to viviparous reptiles, male-pregnant fishes, larval-brooding worms, crabs, sea cucumbers, and corals, the world's various species display pregnancy and other forms of parental devotion in surprisingly multifaceted ways. An adult female (or male) can incubate its offspring in a womb, stomach, mouth, vocal sac, gill chamber, epithelial pouch, backpack, leg pocket, nest, or an encasing of embryos, and by studying these diverse examples from a comparative vantage point, the ecological and evolutionary-genetic outcomes of different reproductive models become fascinatingly clear. John C. Avise discusses each mode of pregnancy and the decipherable genetic signatures it has left on the reproductive structures, physiologies, and innate sexual behaviors of extant species. By considering the many biological aspects of gestation from different evolutionary angles, Avise offers captivating new insights into the significance of "heavy" parental investment in progeny.
Download or read book Evolutionary Perspectives on Pregnancy written by John Avise and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-01-15 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering both the internal and external incubation of offspring, this book provides a biology-rich survey of the natural history, ecology, genetics, and evolution of pregnancy-like phenomena. From mammals and other live-bearing organisms to viviparous reptiles, male-pregnant fishes, larval-brooding worms, crabs, sea cucumbers, and corals, the world’s various species display pregnancy and other forms of parental devotion in surprisingly multifaceted ways. An adult female (or male) can incubate its offspring in a womb, stomach, mouth, vocal sac, gill chamber, epithelial pouch, backpack, leg pocket, nest, or an encasing of embryos, and by studying these diverse examples from a comparative vantage point, the ecological and evolutionary-genetic outcomes of different reproductive models become fascinatingly clear. John C. Avise discusses each mode of pregnancy and the decipherable genetic signatures it has left on the reproductive structures, physiologies, and innate sexual behaviors of extant species. By considering the many biological aspects of gestation from different evolutionary angles, Avise offers captivating new insights into the significance of “heavy” parental investment in progeny.
Download or read book Human Birth written by Wenda R. Trevathan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of human evolution has been told hundreds of times, each time with a focus that seems most informative of the teller. No matter how it is told the primary characters are rarely mothers and infants. Darwin argued survival, but today we know that reproduction is what evolution is all about. Centering on this, Trevathan focuses on birth, which gives the study of human evolution a crucial new dimension.Unique among mammals, humans are bipedal. The evolution of bipedalism required fundamental changes in the pelvis and resulted in a narrow birth canal. Humans are also large-brained animals, which means that birth is much more challenging for our species than for most other animals. The result of this mismatch of large head and narrow pelvis is that women are highly dependent on assistance at birth and their babies are born in an unusually undeveloped state when the brain is still small. Human Birth discusses how the birth process has evolved and ways in which human birth differs from birth in all other mammals.Human Birth is also concerned with mother-infant interaction immediately after birth. While working as a midwife trainee, Trevathan carefully documented the births of more than one hundred women and recorded maternal and infant behaviors during the first hour after birth. She suggests ways in which the interactions served not only to enhance mother-infant bonding, but also to ensure survival in the evolutionary past. With clarity and compelling logic Trevathan argues that modern birth practices often fail to meet evolved needs of women and infants and suggests changes that could lead to better birth experiences. This paperback edition includes a new introduction by the author.
Download or read book Integrating Evolutionary Biology Into Medical Education written by Jay Schulkin and published by . This book was released on 2019-12-12 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book builds a compelling case for integrating evolutionary biology into undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, as well as its intrinsic value to medicine. It achieves this within the broader context of medicine but through the focused lens of maternal and child health.
Download or read book Making Babies written by David Bainbridge and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on past speculation and present knowledge, a reproductive biologist conducts readers through the 40 weeks of human pregnancy, explaining the complex biology behind human gestation in a clear and entertaining manner. 16 halftones.
Download or read book Pragmatic Evolution written by Aldo Poiani and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-11-10 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of what use is evolutionary science to society? Can evolutionary thinking provide us with the tools to better understand and even make positive changes to the world? Addressing key questions about the development of evolutionary thinking, this book explores the interaction between evolutionary theory and its practical applications. Featuring contributions from leading specialists, Pragmatic Evolution highlights the diverse and interdisciplinary applications of evolutionary thinking: their potential and limitations. The fields covered range from palaeontology, genetics, ecology, agriculture, fisheries, medicine, neurobiology, psychology and animal behaviour; to information technology, education, anthropology and philosophy. Detailed examples of useful and current evolutionary applications are provided throughout. An ideal source of information to promote a better understanding of contemporary evolutionary science and its applications, this book also encourages the continued development of new opportunities for constructive evolutionary applications across a range of fields.
Download or read book Infanticide written by Glenn Hausfater and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on 2008-06-01 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent field studies of a variety of mammalian species reveal a surprisingly high frequency of infanticide--the killing of unweaned or otherwise maternally dependent offspring. Similarly, studies of birds, fish, amphibians, and invertebrates demonstrate egg and larval mortality in these species, a phenomenon directly analogous to infanticide in mammals. In this collection, Hausfater and Hrdy draw together work on animal and human infanticide and place these studies in a broad evolutionary and comparative perspective. Infanticide presents the theoretical background and taxonomic distribution of infanticide, infanticide in nonhuman primates, infanticide in rodents, and infanticide in humans. It examines closely sex allocation and sex ratio theory, surveys the phylogeny of mammalian interbirth intervals, and reviews data on sources of egg and larval mortality in a variety of invertebrate and lower vertebrate species. Dealing with infanticide in nonhuman primates, two chapters critically examine data on infanticide in langurs and its broader theoretical implications. By reviewing sources of infant mortality in populations of small mammals and new laboratory analyses of the causes and consequences of infanticide, this work explores such issues as the ontogeny of infanticide, proximate cues of infants and females which elicit infanticidal behavior in males, the genetical basis of infanticide, and the hormonal determinants. Hausfater and Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, through their selection of materials for this book, evaluate the frequency, causes, and function of infanticide. Historical, ethnographic, and recent data on infanticide are surveyed. Infanticide summarizes current research on the evolutionary origins and proximate causation of infanticide in animals and man. As such it will be indispensable reading for anthropologists and behavioral biologists as well as ecologists, psychologists, demographers, and epidemiologists. Glenn Hausfater was professor at the division of biological sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the author of Guidebook for the Long-Term Monitoring of Amboseli Baboons and their Habitat; Dominance and reproduction in Baboons; and Early Vegetation of the Illinois Valley. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy is professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of California, Davis. She is the author of The Woman that Never Evolved; The Langurs of Abu; and The Black-Man of Zinacantan.
Download or read book Vibrant and Healthy Kids written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-12-27 with total page 621 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children are the foundation of the United States, and supporting them is a key component of building a successful future. However, millions of children face health inequities that compromise their development, well-being, and long-term outcomes, despite substantial scientific evidence about how those adversities contribute to poor health. Advancements in neurobiological and socio-behavioral science show that critical biological systems develop in the prenatal through early childhood periods, and neurobiological development is extremely responsive to environmental influences during these stages. Consequently, social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors significantly affect a child's health ecosystem and ability to thrive throughout adulthood. Vibrant and Healthy Kids: Aligning Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Health Equity builds upon and updates research from Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity (2017) and From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (2000). This report provides a brief overview of stressors that affect childhood development and health, a framework for applying current brain and development science to the real world, a roadmap for implementing tailored interventions, and recommendations about improving systems to better align with our understanding of the significant impact of health equity.
Download or read book Childbirth Across Cultures written by Helaine Selin and published by Springer. This book was released on 2009-12-01 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book will explore the childbirth process through globally diverse perspectives in order to offer a broader context with which to think about birth. We will address multiple rituals and management models surrounding the labor and birth process from communities across the globe. Labor and birth are biocultural events that are managed in countless ways. We are particularly interested in the notion of power. Who controls the pregnancy and the birth? Is it the hospital, the doctor, or the in-laws, and in which cultures does the mother have the control? These decisions, regarding place of birth, position, who receives the baby and even how the mother may or may not behave during the actual delivery, are all part of the different ways that birth is conducted. One chapter of the book will be devoted to midwives and other birth attendants. There will also be chapters on the Evolution of Birth, on Women’s Birth Narratives, and on Child Spacing and Breastfeeding. This book will bring together global research conducted by professional anthropologists, midwives and doctors who work closely with the individuals from the cultures they are writing about, offering a unique perspective direct from the cultural group.
Download or read book Fertility and Pregnancy written by Allen J. Wilcox and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-02-26 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fertility and Pregnancy: An Epidemiologic Perspective, is a lively overview of human reproduction: how it works, and what causes it to go wrong. Weaving together history, biology, obstetrics, pediatrics, demography, infectious diseases, molecular genetics, and evolutionary biology, Allen Wilcox brings a fresh coherence to the epidemiologic study of reproduction and pregnancy. Along the way, he provides entertaining anecdotes, superb graphs, odd tidbits and occasional humor that bring the topic to life.The book is divided into two sections. The first lays the foundations - the basic principles of reproductive physiology, demography, infectious diseases, and genetics as they apply to human reproduction. The second part deals with the endpoints of reproductive epidemiology - a spectrum ranging from infertility and fetal loss to birth defects and the delayed effects of fetal exposures. The book closes with a discussion of unsolved problems, suggesting possible research projects for a new generation of epidemiologists. An extensive glossary makes this a valuable reference as well as an enjoyable read.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Close Relationships written by Jeffry A. Simpson and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013-05-02 with total page 866 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an in-depth and comprehensive summary of the psychology of close relationships, and showcases classic and contemporary theories, models, and empirical research that have been conducted in the field.
Download or read book The Gardener and the Carpenter written by Alison Gopnik and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Alison Gopnik, a ... developmental psychologist, [examines] the paradoxes of parenthood from a scientific perspective"--
Download or read book Evolutionary Perspectives on Infancy written by Sybil L. Hart and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-01-01 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique volume is one of the first of its kind to examine infancy through an evolutionary lens, identifying infancy as a discrete stage during which particular types of adaptations arose as a consequence of certain environmental pressures. Infancy is a crucial time period in psychological development, and evolutionary psychologists are increasingly recognizing that natural selection has operated on all stages of development, not just adulthood. The volume addresses this crucial change in perspective by highlighting research across diverse disciplines including developmental psychology, evolutionary developmental psychology, anthropology, sociology, nutrition, and primatology. Chapters are grouped into four sections: Theoretical Underpinnings Brain and Cognitive Development Social/Emotional Development Life and Death Evolutionary Perspectives on Infancy sheds new light on our understanding of the human brain and the environments responsible for shaping the brain during early stages of development. This book will be of interest to evolutionary psychologists and developmental psychologists, biologists, and anthropologists, as well as scholars more broadly interested in infancy.
Download or read book The Origin Then and Now written by David N. Reznick and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-17 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An accessible modern guide to Darwin's masterwork Charles Darwin's Origin of Species is one of the most widely cited books in modern science. Yet tackling this classic can be daunting for students and general readers alike because of Darwin's Victorian prose and the complexity and scope of his ideas. The "Origin" Then and Now is a unique guide to Darwin's masterwork, making it accessible to a much wider audience by deconstructing and reorganizing the Origin in a way that allows for a clear explanation of its key concepts. The Origin is examined within the historical context in which it was written, and modern examples are used to reveal how this work remains a relevant and living document for today. In this eye-opening and accessible guide, David Reznick shows how many peculiarities of the Origin can be explained by the state of science in 1859, helping readers to grasp the true scope of Darwin's departure from the mainstream thinking of his day. He reconciles Darwin's concept of species with our current concept, which has advanced in important ways since Darwin first wrote the Origin, and he demonstrates why Darwin's theory unifies the biological sciences under a single conceptual framework much as Newton did for physics. Drawing liberally from the facsimile of the first edition of the Origin, Reznick enables readers to follow along as Darwin develops his ideas. The "Origin" Then and Now is an indispensable primer for anyone seeking to understand Darwin's Origin of Species and the ways it has shaped the modern study of evolution.
Download or read book Hermaphroditism written by John C. Avise and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2011-03-18 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While it is true that members of most sexually reproducing species can be defined as either male or female, those who belong to the rest of the biological world are not so simply understood. Hermaphroditic creatures reproduce both as male and as female individuals, providing a fascinating glimpse into alternative sexual practices in nature and their ecological and evolutionary successes and failures. Eloquently written by an award-winning biologist and pioneer in molecular ecology, this primer on hermaphroditism traces the phenomenon throughout Earth's myriad species, accounting for the adaptive significance of alternative sexual systems. Accessible and richly illustrated, the text maps the evolutionary origins of hermaphroditism, as well as its historical instances and fictional representations, underscoring the relevance of dual sexuality to our biological, intellectual, and cultural making. John C. Avise describes the genetics, ecology, phylogeny, and natural history of hermaphroditic plants, fish, and invertebrate animals and details organisms that either reproduce simultaneously as male and female or switch routinely between one sex and the other. Filled with surprising creatures and compelling revelations, this textbook stands alone in its clear yet comprehensive treatment of hermaphroditism and its unique challenge to the supremacy of separate sexes.
Download or read book Western Diseases written by Tessa M. Pollard and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-04-10 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a group, western diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, allergies and mental health problems constitute one of the major problems facing humans at the beginning of the 21st century, particularly as they extend into poorer countries. An evolutionary perspective has much to offer standard biomedical understandings of western diseases. At the heart of this approach is the notion that human evolution occurred in circumstances very different from the modern affluent western environment and that, as a consequence, human biology is not adapted to the contemporary western environment. Written with an anthropological perspective and aimed at advanced undergraduates and graduates taking courses in the ecology and evolution of disease, Tessa Pollard applies and extends this evolutionary perspective by analysing trends in rates of western diseases and providing a new synthesis of current understandings of evolutionary processes, and of the biology and epidemiology of disease.
Download or read book Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2001-07-02 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's obvious why only men develop prostate cancer and why only women get ovarian cancer. But it is not obvious why women are more likely to recover language ability after a stroke than men or why women are more apt to develop autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Sex differences in health throughout the lifespan have been documented. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health begins to snap the pieces of the puzzle into place so that this knowledge can be used to improve health for both sexes. From behavior and cognition to metabolism and response to chemicals and infectious organisms, this book explores the health impact of sex (being male or female, according to reproductive organs and chromosomes) and gender (one's sense of self as male or female in society). Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health discusses basic biochemical differences in the cells of males and females and health variability between the sexes from conception throughout life. The book identifies key research needs and opportunities and addresses barriers to research. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health will be important to health policy makers, basic, applied, and clinical researchers, educators, providers, and journalists-while being very accessible to interested lay readers.
