Download or read book The Origins of Evolutionary Innovations written by Andreas Wagner and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2011-07-14 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of life is a nearly four billion year old story of transformative change. This change ranges from dramatic macroscopic innovations such as the evolution of wings or eyes, to a myriad of molecular changes that form the basis of macroscopic innovations. We are familiar with many examples of innovations (qualitatively new phenotypes that provide a critical benefit) but have no systematic understanding of the principles that allow organisms to innovate. This book proposes several such principles as the basis of a theory of innovation, integrating recent knowledge about complex molecular phenotypes with more traditional Darwinian thinking. Central to the book are genotype networks: vast sets of connected genotypes that exist in metabolism and regulatory circuitry, as well as in protein and RNA molecules. The theory can successfully unify innovations that occur at different levels of organization. It captures known features of biological innovation, including the fact that many innovations occur multiple times independently, and that they combine existing parts of a system to new purposes. It also argues that environmental change is important to create biological systems that are both complex and robust, and shows how such robustness can facilitate innovation. Beyond that, the theory can reconcile neutralism and selectionism, as well as explain the role of phenotypic plasticity, gene duplication, recombination, and cryptic variation in innovation. Finally, its principles can be applied to technological innovation, and thus open to human engineering endeavours the powerful principles that have allowed life's spectacular success.
Download or read book Evolutionary Innovations written by Matthew H. Nitecki and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1990-07-14 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evolutionary innovations—the bony skeleton of vertebrates, avian flight, or the insect pollination system of angiosperms, for example—have in recent years become the focus of much fertile new research in evolutionary biology. Innovations may hold the keys to understanding why whole new groups of organisms evolve or, conversely, why groups of organisms become extinct. This volume brings together contributors from the fields of morphology, genetics, embryology, physiology, and paleontology to present research on evolutionary innovations and to suggest directions for further work. The topics covered include the plurality of evolutionary innovations, patterns and processes at different hierarchical levels, evolutionary genetics of adaptations, heterochrony and other mechanisms of radical evolutionary change in early development, developmental mechanisms at the origin of morphological novelty, the evolution of morphological variation patterns, functional design and its punctuated products, plausibility and testability in assessing the consequences of evolutionary innovations, paradigms and pitfalls of studying physiological evolution, polyphyletic constructional breakthroughs in fossil and extant species, ecology of evolutionary innovations in the fossil record.
Download or read book Technological Transitions and System Innovations written by Frank W. Geels and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This important book addresses how long term and large scale shifts from one socio-technical system to another come about, using insights from evolutionary economics, sociology of technology and innovation studies. These major changes involve not just technological changes, but also changes in markets, regulation, culture, industrial networks and infrastructure. The book develops a multi-level perspective, arguing that transitions take place through the alignment of multiple processes at three levels: niche, regime and landscape. This perspective is illustrated by detailed historical case studies: the transition from sailing ships to steamships, the transition from horse-and-carriage to automobiles and the transition from propeller-piston engine aircraft to turbojets. This book will be of great interest to researchers in innovation studies, evolutionary economics, sociology of technology and environmental studies. It will also be useful for policy makers involved in long-term sustainability and systems transitions issues.
Download or read book Evolutionary Innovations written by Maureen D. McKelvey and published by Turtleback. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a study of the commercial development of biotechnology that compares the initiatives, activities and organization of two firms--Genentech in the United States and Kabi in Sweden--as they brought knowledge to the market in the form of insulin and the human growth hormone. Writing from abroad evolutionary perspective, Maureen McKelvey's important study of one of the most modern science-based technologies will be of interest to all concerned with understanding the processes of innovation.
Download or read book Technological Innovation as an Evolutionary Process written by John Ziman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2000-03-28 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ground-breaking yet non-technical analysis of the analogy that technological artefacts 'evolve' like biological organisms.
Download or read book History and Evolution written by Matthew H. Nitecki and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1992-07-01 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The studies of evolutionary biology and of human history face the same kinds of problems and deal with the same processes. Both disciplines deal with similar questions in similar ways, but do the methods used produce comparable knowledge, and are the differences and similarities between these disciplines real? This book examines the philosophy of historical and evolutionary studies; the objectivity and meanings of human and evolutionary histories; the evolutionary approaches to and the anlysis of history, historical approaches, and utilization of evolution; the logic of historical and evolutionary thinking and explanations; the identification of similarities, differences, and common problems of evolutionary biology and history; and what constitutes the major historical and evolutionary events.
Download or read book Evolutionary Innovations from Gene and Genome Duplications written by Yue Hao and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Evolutionary Biology Concepts Molecular and Morphological Evolution written by Pierre Pontarotti and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-08-24 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The Evolving World written by David P. Mindell and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 150 years since Darwin, evolutionary biology has proven as essential as it is controversial, a critical concept for answering questions about everything from the genetic code and the structure of cells to the reproduction, development, and migration of animal and plant life. But today, as David P. Mindell makes undeniably clear in The Evolving World, evolutionary biology is much more than an explanatory concept. It is indispensable to the world we live in. This book provides the first truly accessible and balanced account of how evolution has become a tool with applications that are thoroughly integrated, and deeply useful, in our everyday lives and our societies, often in ways that we do not realize. When we domesticate wild species for agriculture or companionship; when we manage our exposure to pathogens and prevent or control epidemics; when we foster the diversity of species and safeguard the functioning of ecosystems: in each of these cases, Mindell shows us, evolutionary biology applies. It is at work when we recognize that humans represent a single evolutionary family with variant cultures but shared biological capabilities and motivations. And last but not least, we see here how evolutionary biology comes into play when we use knowledge of evolution to pursue justice within the legal system and to promote further scientific discovery through education and academic research. More than revealing evolution's everyday uses and value, The Evolving World demonstrates the excitement inherent in its applications--and convinces us as never before that evolutionary biology has become absolutely necessary for human existence.
Download or read book Biological Innovations that Built the World written by Roberto Ligrone and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-05-29 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is a detailed account of major biological events that contributed to create the present world and our species, with emphasis on cause-effect interrelationships and environmental impact. Its main goal is to guide the reader toward an understanding of the continuity of life across diversity, and of its large-scale interactions with the planet. Combining scientific soundness with a constant effort for clarity, the book begins with a cloud of dust in a corner of the Galaxy and, covering an immense lapse of time, terminates with an organism that ponders about the texture of the Universe. Comprehensive, updated references added to each chapter will help the reader wishing to expand any of the topics. A glossary explains less common technical terms.
Download or read book Evolutionary Innovations written by Maureen D. McKelvey and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a study of the commercial development of biotechnology which compares the initiatives, activities and organization of two firms--Genetech in the United States and Kabi in Sweden--as they brought knowledge to the market in the form of insulin and the human growth hormone. Writing from a broad evolutionary perspective, Maureen McKelvey's important study of one of the most modern science-based technologies will be of interest to all concerned with understanding the processes of innovation.
Download or read book The Theory of Evolution written by Samuel M. Scheiner and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-04-03 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Darwin’s nineteenth-century writings laid the foundations for modern studies of evolution, and theoretical developments in the mid-twentieth century fostered the Modern Synthesis. Since that time, a great deal of new biological knowledge has been generated, including details of the genetic code, lateral gene transfer, and developmental constraints. Our improved understanding of these and many other phenomena have been working their way into evolutionary theory, changing it and improving its correspondence with evolution in nature. And while the study of evolution is thriving both as a basic science to understand the world and in its applications in agriculture, medicine, and public health, the broad scope of evolution—operating across genes, whole organisms, clades, and ecosystems—presents a significant challenge for researchers seeking to integrate abundant new data and content into a general theory of evolution. This book gives us that framework and synthesis for the twenty-first century. The Theory of Evolution presents a series of chapters by experts seeking this integration by addressing the current state of affairs across numerous fields within evolutionary biology, ranging from biogeography to multilevel selection, speciation, and macroevolutionary theory. By presenting current syntheses of evolution’s theoretical foundations and their growth in light of new datasets and analyses, this collection will enhance future research and understanding.
Download or read book The Evolution of Complexity written by Larry Bull and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gathers together much of the author’s work – both old and new - to explore a number of the key increases in complexity seen in the natural world, seeking to explain each of them purely in terms of the features of fitness landscapes. In a very straightforward manner, the book introduces basic concepts to help readers follow the main ideas. By using variations of the NK model and including the concept of the Baldwin effect, the author presents new abstract models that are able to explain why sources of evolutionary innovation (genomes, symbiosis, sex, chromosomes, multicellularity) have been selected for and hence how complexity has increased over time in some lineages.
Download or read book Rethinking Evolution The Revolution That s Hiding In Plain Sight written by Gene Levinson and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2019-10-17 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rethinking Evolution links Darwin's early insights to the molecular realm inside living cells. This updated evolutionary synthesis provides an accessible explanation for biological complexity that cuts through the confusion surrounding evolutionary theory in a practical way.In addition to a wide-ranging survey of proposed updates to the modern synthesis, this title provides extraordinary new insights including emergent evolutionary potential and the generative phenotype. Drawing on well-characterized empirical facts, Rethinking Evolution transcends classical Darwinian natural selection while retaining those core principles that have stood the test of time.The updated synthesis brings a broad spectrum of specialized research together to provide a more plausible naturalistic explanation for biological evolution than ever before. Perspectives ranging from the role of energy in the origin of life to the networks of protein-DNA interactions that govern multicellular development are woven together in a robust conceptual fabric consistent with 21st century cutting-edge research.Inspired in part by the surprising ways that DNA sequences change — such as his early discovery of a fundamental mispairing mechanism by which DNA sequences expand — and drawing on a career's worth of experience both as a research scientist as well as a biology and chemistry tutor — the author provides an engaging account that is essential reading — both for the public awareness and understanding of the science of evolution and for students and professionals in the biomedical sciences.Related Link(s)
Download or read book The Evolutionary Complexity of Endogenous Innovation written by Cristiano Antonelli and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2018 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The notion of endogenous innovation as the outcome of the creative response of firms to out-of-equilibrium conditions is the cornerstone of the new evolutionary complexity. This book elaborates and applies the theoretical framework established in the author’s previous work Endogenous Innovation: The Economics of an Emergent System Property. This volume carefully explores the role of the reactivity of firms to out-of-equilibrium conditions. It also examines the quality of knowledge governance mechanisms in assessing the levels of externalities that define the likelihood of creative responses, as an alternative to adaptive responses.
Download or read book Post experimental Phenomena written by Guido Caniglia and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Human Evolution Beyond Biology and Culture written by Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-10-18 with total page 575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A complete account of evolutionary thought in the social, environmental and policy sciences, creating bridges with biology.
