Book Description
Genetics: From Genes to Genomes is a cutting-edge, introductory genetics text authored by an unparalleled author team, including Nobel Prize winner, Leland Hartwell. The Third Edition continues to build upon the integration of Mendelian and molecular principles, providing students with the links between early genetics understanding and the new molecular discoveries that have changed the way the field of genetics is viewed.
Customer Reviews:
Not for the uninitiated.......2007-07-07
This is a good book if you already have a foundation in genetics. Oddly, the book is marketed as your basic undergrad genetics text. Yet instead of just explaining the concepts, it leads you on the path of discovery of how researchers figured all this stuff out. If you are still learning the subject, you may do better with Klug/Cummings/Spencer. If you are going into higher levels of biology and want to learn some research methods, this is a good book.
Genetics: From Genes to Genomes.......2007-03-09
The book came in very quickly and I am very happy with the purchase.
Book Description
Genetics: From Genes to Genomes is a cutting-edge, introductory genetics text authored by an unparalleled author team, including Nobel Prize winner, Leland Hartwell. The Second Edition continues to build upon the integration of Mendelian and molecular principles, providing students with the links between early genetics understanding and the new molecular discoveries that have changed the way the field of genetics is viewed.
Customer Reviews:
Genetics: From Genes to Genomes.......2006-02-23
Great figures to go with the text. Not a quick read, but it is a great genetics resource.
Genetics: From Genes to Genomes.......2005-02-07
I found this book extremely verbose and unorganized. It would serve as a great reference book for a lab researcher or grad student. But it's way too technical and dense for an introductory genetics class. The authors do a poor job presenting the material in a comprehensible way to an undergraduate genetics student. Not recommended.
Great general Genetics textbook.......2004-12-12
I think this is a great text book for General Genetics class! In fact, this is the text we have been using at UC Berkeley.
The authors are not only clear & concise in delivering their topics, but also able to formulate challenging questions to test students' undestanding.
Genetics concepts well understood.......2003-09-14
Excellent book that goes in depth to the science of genetics.
Book Description
Genetics: Analysis of Genes and Genomes, Sixth Edition by Hartl and Jones presents the modern world of genetics; treating classical, molecular, and population genetics as unified subdisciplines in a field that, even in our post-genomic era, still goes by the name "genetics." This approach to teaching genetics is a logical progression in a time when the various subdisciplines of genetics are so closely interwoven.
Written by two renowned authorities in the field, Genetics, Sixth Edition provides the most current, clear, comprehensive, and balanced introduction to genetics and genomics at the college level. It treats transmission genetics, molecular genetics, and evolutionary genetics as fully integrated subjects, and provides students with an unprecedented understanding of the basic processes of gene transmission, mutation, expression, and regulation. The text also explores the connections between modern and historical experimental methods used by geneticists, and offers valuable insight into the important historical and social context of genetics and genomics.
Customer Reviews:
Horrible Book.......2006-05-24
Absolutely horrible book. Chapters are written very poorly. They don't follow a pattern, but if I had to say there were one it would be tell you the big picture first so you have no idea what they're talking about then go into detail about each of the units and then after you've read the whole chapter you find it useful to reread the beginning again because you now know what the authors are talking about. Inconsistent use of vocabulary as well, they talk in colloquial terms and then all of the sudden use the word 'nascent' for instance, then you never see the word again. Nothing wrong with such things but the lack of consistency in the book makes it extremely poor in my opinion. Very poorly written, the information is there but organization is pathetic
BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION ABOUT GENES AND GENOMES ! SUPERB.......2004-10-23
GOOD PICTURE REPRESENTATION WITH EXCELLENT NOTES AND LOTS OF EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT GENE AND GENOMES . PROBLEMS HAVE SOME ERRORS ITS LITTLE CONFUSING BUT OVERALL A FABALOUS TEXT BOOK OF GENETICS. GOOD FOR STANDARD EXAM PREPARATIONS AND ALSO FOR UNDERGRAD/GRAD STUDENTS . ALL THE BEST CHECK FOR FOR MINNOR ERRORS IN THE TEXT .... TAKE THE BEST OUT OF IT .....
Book Description
Gene regulatory networks are the most complex, extensive control systems found in nature. The interaction between biology and evolution has been the subject of great interest in recent years. The author, Eric Davidson, has been instrumental in elucidating this relationship. He is a world renowned scientist and a major contributor to the field of developmental biology.
The Regulatory Genome beautifully explains the control of animal development in terms of structure/function relations of inherited regulatory DNA sequence, and the emergent properties of the gene regulatory networks composed of these sequences. New insights into the mechanisms of body plan evolution are derived from considerations of the consequences of change in developmental gene regulatory networks. Examples of crucial evidence underscore each major concept. The clear writing style explains regulatory causality without requiring a sophisticated background in descriptive developmental biology. This unique text supersedes anything currently available in the market.
* The only book in the market that is solely devoted to the genomic regulatory code for animal development
* Written at a conceptual level, including many novel synthetic concepts that ultimately simplify understanding
* Presents a comprehensive treatment of molecular control elements that determine the function of genes
* Provides a comparative treatment of development, based on principles rather than description of developmental processes
* Considers the evolutionary processes in terms of the structural properties of gene regulatory networks
* Includes 42 full-color descriptive figures and diagrams
Customer Reviews:
A real theory of biology and evolution.......2007-03-23
This book will be a revelation to any biologist who has not been reading the literature on development and embryology attentively. Davidson eloquently articulates a real theory of the mechanism by which the genome computes the embryologic development of bilaterian animals. The argument is carefully developed from simple principles to more complex implications. The figures are a major part of the book's exposition, and repay very careful reading of the legends along with the associated text. The references are as current as 2006, so the book is quite cutting edge in its outlook. I heartily recommend it to any biologically sophisticated reader. It does presume elementary knowledge about biochemistry and molecular biology at about the freshman/sophomore college level. Enjoy!
Amazon.com
Science writer Matt Ridley has found a way to tell someone else's story without being accused of plagiarism. Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters delves deep within your body (and, to be fair, Ridley's too) looking for dirt dug up by the Human Genome Project. Each chapter pries one gene out of its chromosome and focuses on its role in our development and adult life, but also goes further, exploring the implications of genetic research and our quickly changing social attitudes toward this information. Genome shies away from the "tedious biochemical middle managers" that only a nerd could love and instead goes for the A-material: genes associated with cancer, intelligence, sex (of course), and more.
Readers unfamiliar with the jargon of genetic research needn't fear; Ridley provides a quick, clear guide to the few words and concepts he must use to translate hard science into English. His writing is informal, relaxed, and playful, guiding the reader so effortlessly through our 23 chromosomes that by the end we wish we had more. He believes that the Human Genome Project will be as world-changing as the splitting of the atom; if so, he is helping us prepare for exciting times--the hope of a cure for cancer contrasts starkly with the horrors of newly empowered eugenicists. Anyone interested in the future of the body should get a head start with the clever, engrossing Genome. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
The genome's been mapped.
But what does it mean?
Arguably the most significant scientific discovery of the new century, the mapping of the twenty-three pairs of chromosomes that make up the human genome raises almost as many questions as it answers. Questions that will profoundly impact the way we think about disease, about longevity, and about free will. Questions that will affect the rest of your life.
Genome offers extraordinary insight into the ramifications of this incredible breakthrough. By picking one newly discovered gene from each pair of chromosomes and telling its story, Matt Ridley recounts the history of our species and its ancestors from the dawn of life to the brink of future medicine. From Huntington's disease to cancer, from the applications of gene therapy to the horrors of eugenics, Matt Ridley probes the scientific, philosophical, and moral issues arising as a result of the mapping of the genome. It will help you understand what this scientific milestone means for you, for your children, and for humankind.
Customer Reviews:
Understanding what makes us, US.......2007-07-12
This is a great primer for anyone wanting to understand what genes are - and they are not there to cause diseases!!!. The writing style is informative without being weighty and the book is an easy read for the non-scientific.
Compelling.......2007-06-27
I love this book. I only gave it 4 stars because I haven't finished it yet. It's one of those books that you can read over and over and learn new material each time. Matt Ridley's writing style is very easy to follow and he makes the discoveries of science compelling. It's a well organized piece that will most likely intrigue your friends and family as it makes for great conversation. I'm planning on checking out his other published works as well. Great gift too!
review of genome .......2007-05-29
I only read one chapter but i thought it was well written and easy to read despite the complex subject matter.
Genome.......2007-02-07
This is one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time. I am in the field of music and business. This book broke it down so that I could understand most of the major concepts. It is a very good overview of what the Genome Project is and begins to discuss some of the implications that it may have for the future.
Remarkable.......2006-12-31
Fascinating revelations about the workings of genes by a talented writer who makes a complex subject entertaining, insightful, and informative without overloading the non-scientist with arcane scientific and technical jargon. Perhaps even puts a thumb on the scale when a person weighs the contibutions of nature verses nurture in determining who we are and who we will become.
Book Description
Smart genomes--an enthralling account of revolutionary discoveries at the cutting edge of genomics research
Written by a molecular biologist at the forefront of genomics research, Darwin in the Genome is an exciting account of one of the hottest new theories in biology today: evolution by natural selection inevitably leads to strategic mutations. In the struggle for survival, from pathogens to flowers, birds to orangutans, baker's yeast to people, the fittest genomes are those that evolve effective molecular strategies that respond to, and in fact anticipate, challenges and opportunities in their environments.
Writing in a clear, accessible style, Lynn Caporale describes the emergence of genomic mutation strategies, which researchers are just beginning to uncover. She also spells out some of the more profound implications of these findings, including the importance of biodiversity, indeed human diversity, for survival, the possibility of bold new directions for medical research, and the inherent dangers of attempting to fix perceived "errors" in a human genome.
Download Description
Written by a molecular biologist at the forefront of genomics research, Darwin in the Genome is an exciting account of one of the hottest new theories in biology today: evolution by natural selection inevitably leads to strategic mutations. In the struggle for survival, from pathogens to flowers, birds to orangutans, baker's yeast to people, the fittest genomes are those that evolve effective molecular strategies that respond to, and in fact anticipate, challenges and opportunities in their environments.
Customer Reviews:
Being good at evolution.......2006-07-19
Back in 1996 Stuart Kauffman, in "At Home in the Universe: the Search for Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity", postulated convincingly on theoretical grounds that evolution would favor organisms which were good at evolution, i.e. they were more likely to generate favorable changes in their genome. Sex is theorized by many to have arisen as a means of responding to the evolution of disease causing agents, as well as to promote evolutionary adaptation in general. I myself, as I am sure many others, always questioned that organisms would have all this junk DNA, costly (in terms of energy) to maintain, without any use. Caporale's book attempts to gather all the evidence currently available that Kauffman was correct, and finds that junk DNA plays a role in facilitating evolution. Caporale also does a lot of speculating, because the body of experimental evidence is still in its infancy. Incidentally, Caporale gives the impression that the postulate I have ascribed to Kauffman (and which undoubtedly had earlier antecedents), is a new idea.
At times Caporale's book is almost painfully detailed in describing biological processes, albeit always without invoking organic chemistry. Her motivation is good: having gone through some concrete detail, for example about "slippery" DNA, the reader should be better able to appreciate the more general arguments. Caporale loves sustained metaphors; often the metaphors help, sometimes they get in the way. In general, I found the book uneven. The critical chapter on jumping genes left me with too many questions that I attribute to the writing. The final chapter, instead of being a much needed summary, presents material that anyone sophisticated enough to get that far, already knows. On the other hand, the chapter on the immune response was clearer than other accounts I have read, and the general topic of processes favoring successful evolution is fascinating. So my advice is: if you are already conversant with evolution, and willing to deal with some challenging material, perhaps sometimes unnecessarily challenging, read this book. In case you do not, I must point out that I was delighted to learn that there is now evidence that the intron RNA is not immediately destroyed after protein synthesis, and likely has some function to perform.
How Our Genomes Generate Variation to Promote Evolution.......2006-04-12
Darwin postulated that evolution resulted from the accumulation of small variations from generation to generation. Once Watson and Crick described the structure of DNA, many people thought that variation arose mostly from point mutations: changes, insertions, and deletions of single "letters" of the DNA code. Since then, it has become obvious that larger changes are more important. For example, whole segments of DNA, including genes and gene families, are duplicated; the copies are then available to be modified for new purposes while the originals still do their old jobs. A number of other books look at how such large changes promote evolution; this book focuses on molecular mechanisms behind these changes, i.e. where the variation comes from.
For example, there are molecular mechanisms that cut sequences of DNA from a chromosome, and other mechanisms that patch those sequences back into the DNA in other places. Such changes can affect the interactions of genes and so influence evolution. Other mechanisms will copy instead of cutting and will therefore provide the material for creating new genes. This book pays more attention to the molecular processes that make changes happen than to the evolutionary consequences of genetic changes and thus it complements a number of other books on the market.
Caporale, a medical researcher, gives special attention to bacteria and cancer on one side, and our bodies' defenses on the other. This gives examples that are relevant to readers' lives and also gives readers some insight into important medical issues. And, again, it means her book contains a lot of material that some other books don't have.
I see two minor weak points in the book. First, on page 130, she gives the impression that the material is a bit speculative, using such phrases as "I am convinced" and "the idea that I have proposed". In fact, as she says later in the book, specific gene mechanisms that make some mutations more likely than others are well known. Second, she uses "random" to mean that not all events are equally likely, even though there is nothing deterministic involved. I.e. there is no guiding power which says, e.g., "This DNA segment should be duplicated now." I mention these points because the text can easily be cited by creationists to cast doubt on the existence of evolution. But these don't detract from a very good book.
I found this book to be a very easy read and I feel certain that almost anyone who is thinking about buying this book will have no difficulty either. The main thing you need is a modest knowledge about genes. At least that is my judgment and, although my knowledge of evolution is rather extensive for a non-scientist, I think I have a good feel for what others can read. For more about this, click on my name, above, and read the "In My Own Words" section.
You might also be interested in other books about ways in which nature promotes evolution. I have listed several of these, along with some background information, in my Listmania list "Natural Processes That Promote Evolution", a link to which can be found by clicking on my name. These are books which I have reviewed and which I recommend.
[Added 31 Jan 2007] The first time through, I didn't pay close attention to the chapter on cancer. I read it again after I had developed a personal interest in cancer and had read a book entirely on the biology of cancer. Now I see this as an excellent chapter. Because cancer lives in a relatively simple ecosystem (e.g. my insides) and since it goes through a relatively small number of evolutionary steps, it is a good model to start with.
The Dancer and the Dance.......2006-03-13
Imagine you're sitting in the audience at a play, one with a large cast and a complex plot, Les Miserables, say, or Nicholas Nickleby. Only this play isn't presented in the usual way. Sometimes you see the actors but you can't hear them speak. Other times the curtain hides the stage, but you can hear the actors clearly. And sometimes you can both see the actors and hear them deliver their lines. After sitting through this odd drama, you're required to provide a detailed critique of the play to someone who hasn't seen it.
Some of what happened you'd know for certain, some of it you'd try to infer by piecing together partial information, and some of your explanation would be sheer guesswork. This seems to approximate current scientific writing about the human genome: some knowledge, some inference, some guesswork. We've learned a considerable amount about the overall structure of our genome during the past two decades. But there's a lot about the mechanics of how genes duplicate, edit and regulate themselves that remains hidden from us. Molecular biologist Lynn Helena Caporale uses her considerable knowledge of genomic functioning to update us on the current state of play and to buttress some speculative thinking about how genomes mutate. Her conclusions are controversial among evolutionary theorists, but they do provide a possible answer to a particularly bedeviling question: given the trillions of potential pathways and cul de sacs down which random mutation could have taken our genes, how did homo sapiens actually evolve to this level of functioning in the relatively short time we've been on the planet?
Dr. Caporale's thesis is that mutation might not be completely random. Instead, she speculates that genes may have evolved strategies for allowing high levels of variation in targeted areas for targeted purposes - fighting off bacterial infections, for example - in ways that don't disturb the essential functioning of the organism. As she states in the prologue, "a genome evolves a `worldview' of which types of changes, under what types of circumstances, may yield a new function and are less likely to destroy something essential."
Such genomes would have an evolutionary advantage because they could generate diverse offspring or adapt to new circumstances without having to rebuild what already works from scratch. She also demonstrates that our DNA can cut and paste blocks of genetic information, which means that we can take successful subroutines and recombine them to create new functions, similar to the way object oriented programming works in computer software. (We may have acquired some useful code from interactions with our good friends, bacteria, or our close cousins, the mouse and the fruit fly.) If genes work this way, then our evolution may have been more strategic and targeted than purely random mutation would account for, and natural selection would naturally favor the genomes with the most workable strategy for surviving and successfully replicating themselves.
Among the many fascinating glimpses into our functioning that this book provides are the strategies our cells employ to recognize, capture and neutralize viruses. There's an epic conflict going on in your gut at this very moment that makes the climactic battle scenes in Lord of the Rings look tepid and unimaginative. It's also fascinating to realize that our genes enact on the cellular level one of our most profound human dilemmas: how do you decide what should remain stable and what should change in order to secure the best future for yourself? Is the human dilemma just the basic genomic dilemma writ large? As the Irish poet William Butler Yeats put it so memorably, how can you tell the dancer from the dance?
There's a lot of detail in this book, and the non-biologist may struggle to absorb the nomenclature of molecular biology, and to track the splits, slips, swaps, loops, cuts, conversions, transmissions and transpositions that the 3 billion letters of your genome engage in. Dr. Caporale employs some elegant metaphors to make the play more intelligible. The reward for paying close attention is a awe-inspiring glimpse into what we are, along with some well-reasoned ideas about why we turned out this particular way.
Secrets of the genome.......2006-01-21
Most accounts of Darwinism are conventional repetitions of tired phrases, and don't let on there is something new afoot in the specialized work of students of molecular evolution. This engaging work describes the processes of non-random mutation that are being discovered at work in the genome, and the result is an eye-opener.
As the author notes:
"The work described in this book has led me to the conclusion that natural selection must work not just on each individual mutation, but also on the very mechanisms that generate genetic variation-as it does on all bio- logical functions. The research discussed in this book leads to the conclusion that mutations are not all accidents and that mutations are not always random. Our genomes, and those of other life forms, have evolved mechanisms that create different kinds of mutations in their DNA, and they reuse and adapt useful pieces of DNA, even to the point that there are genomic 'interchangeable parts.'
Biochemical mechanisms can arise that tend to focus genetic variation, resulting in "hot spots" of genetic change at certain places in the genome."
Good balance, current developments.......2004-06-24
I am not a trained biologist, but I enjoy reading in this area, and I enjoyed this book a good deal.
Basically, her thesis (which appears most clearly on page 130) is that genetic mutations are not random and are to some degree controlled by a meta-program of the DNA regulators that is subject to selection pressures. She posits an evolutionary theory, but spends most of her time gently explaining the actualities and details. She shows that her theory happens in the immune system and then makes reasonable suppositions that it probably happens on a broader scale. There are a lot of perhaps's and probably's in the book. She acknowledges that parts of her theory are controversial.
She is much clearer and less freighted with philosophical rhetoric than Lenny Moss's "What genes can't do," and she describes the complex genetic interaction with other cellular structures and exterior signals with almost as much subtlety. I liked her description of bacteria using quorum-sensors to decide whether to break apart as plasmids or whether to hunker down in a spore. She also seems to have an eye on the issues raised by IDist Michael Behe and makes a point of discussing the immune system and blood clotting as very much reducible and evolved mechanisms, though she doesn't attack creationism directly.
I give the book a four star because her prose is not as inspired as that of Stephen Jay Gould or Steven Pinker, and her metaphors don't always fly. Her grand gesture at the end did not leave me overwhelmed. There is still a lot of technical vocabulary, so not quite a light read, but much lighter than many. It will allow even smart high schoolers to learn the latest theories on that Mother of All Rube Goldberg Machines: Life.
Book Description
Dr. John Sanford, a retired Cornell Professor, shows in Genetic Entropy and the Mystery of the Genome that the "Primary Axiom" is false. The Primary Axiom is the foundational evolutionary premise - that life is merely the result of mutations and natural selection. In addition to showing compelling theoretical evidence that whole genomes can not evolve upward, Dr. Sanford presents strong evidence that higher genomes must in fact degenerate over time. This book strongly refutes the Darwinian concept that man is just the result of a random and pointless natural process.
Customer Reviews:
A tragic misrepresentation of reality - read at your peril.......2007-09-21
Here's an example of how easy it is to dispose of the arguments Sandford presents in his book:
Sandford says that the problem is not survival of the fittest but arrival of the fittest, since information theory proves noise (mutation) can only degrade, not improve a signal. Sounds fair enough?
However, 'degrade' and 'improve' in information theory only refer to the accuracy with which a transmitted message is received. Of course, noise cannot make a signal a MORE accurate version of what was sent. But information theory says nothing at all about the value of the modified message to the recipient.
Easy to follow example: say a bank transfer for £100 is accidentally corrupted, and becomes a transfer of £1000. Good, or bad? Depends on whether you're paying or being paid! Same goes for if it is corrupted to £10 - its value to you depends upon context. Either change represents a degradation of the original signal - it's not what it SHOULD have been - but that's irrelevant when considering whether or not the modified signal is of greater or lesser value to the recipient.
Now, if you think an author who can miss something as obvious as that is worth listening to on a subject as complex as evolution, by all means buy his book.
Extremely Important Study of Latest Genome Research.......2007-09-04
Sanford proves definitively that natural selection has never been up to the job of weeding out the overwhelming number of slightly harmful mutations and therefore the human genome and other animal and plant genomes have been deteriorating for a long time. Also he shows that natural selection has never been able to detect and accumulate any slightly favorable mutations. Evolution desperately needs a new paradigm. The present paradigm of mutation - selection has been a big joke ever since it was introduced 70 years ago.
Prof. Sanford's population genetics points.......2007-06-12
Prof. John Sanford's population genetics points are also directly relevant to prebiotic molecular evolution models. Although written for laymen, the book contains solid academic content. The unavoidable conclusions will have far-reaching impact, and are of great significance to macroevolutionary thought. This book is a must read for academics and lay readers alike.
A few quibbles on presentation, but fascinating read.......2007-01-18
The Darwinists are going to have to address the actual allegations in this book. Dr. Sanford makes a convincing case that the genome is, and must, deteriorate. Simply put, he explains what is known about how DNA works and shows that any possible improvements must of necessity be accompanied by many more deleterious mutations.
I thought the book could have been a bit better organized, and some of the language was imprecise. I did not notice that he ever provided a working definition of "fitness." Aside from these quibbles, the overall message is quite convincing.
Note to Libb Thims: your review would be more effective if you addressed the substance of the book and forbore ad hominems.
Note to L Batik: See Appendix 4 beginning on page 189.
A Great Critique of the Neo-Darwinian Synthesis.......2006-12-23
This is a great popular-level work that analyzes the merits of the neo-Darwinian synthesis (i.e. the theory that random mutation + natural selection working through long periods of time created...oops, I used the `C' word...ahem!...resulted in...the existence of higher forms of life) and shows it to be an illusory solution to the existence of life. Rather than discussing whether or not a completely naturalistic form of evolution happened using such things as the fossil record or experimental laboratory results, Sanford analyzes the merits of the combination of chance and necessity acting on the genome of biological organisms in abstract (i.e. using statistical mathematics). Now, before you jump ship and assume that he is arguing that "the chances of such and such evolving into such and such is one chance in ten to the blah, blah, blah (really big number) power", like a few creationists have, you're wrong. Rather, he looks at the basic assumptions of neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory (NDET from now on) and compares them to what actually happens in nature. In other words, he contrasts how the ND assumption and the actual workings of nature differ greatly in their results. I will elucidate in my description of some of the chapters below.
Before I get to the review of the chapters, I would like to comment on something. It has been noted that Sanford is a young-earth creationist, and for some reason, that is like the plague to certain people. However, any honest reader of this book will also note that anyone (i.e. Christian and non-Christian) could have written the first nine (out of ten) chapters. Only in the tenth chapter does he make an argument for the historicity of Scripture. Even if it wasn't that way, Dr. Sanford, who possesses a doctorate in genetics and the inventor of the gene-gun, deserves to be heard. Now, to the chapters:
Chapter 1
Here, he discusses the basics of genetics (i.e. genes, nucleotides, genotype, phenotype, etc.) and explains what the neo-Darwinian synthesis is. He then goes through and refutes the famous computer algorithm argument used by Dawkins in The Blind Watchmaker.
Chapter 2
Here is where we start getting into the analysis of NDET. Sanford discusses the statistical distribution of mutational effects (i.e. the magnitude of good and bad mutations affecting fitness) and their frequency. Sanford points out a number of differences between NDET and reality:
A. NDET posits that most mutations are neutral. However, Sanford argues that there is no such thing as a truly "neutral" mutation. Rather, most mutations are "near-neutral" (whether increasing fitness or decreasing fitness). Even a single point-nucleotide mutation in a minor area of the genome disrupts the genetic code to some degree (no matter how small). This is key for the rest of his book.
B. The naïve view of mutational distribution is a bell curve (though many Darwinists recognize that the actual distribution found in nature is nothing like it). The real distribution is a Kimura curve (named after the *Darwinist* population geneticist who created it) where the *vast* majority of the curve is near-neutral. Sanford notes that if the normal distribution (i.e. "bell curve") was true, then an increase in complexity would be inevitable. However, with the Kimura curve, it is hard to see any substantial increase in fitness "getting off the ground" so-to-speak.
C. NDET acknowledges that most mutations are harmful, but doesn't suggest that the ratio is so small as to never allow an increase in fitness that would affect a population. Contrary to that assumption, the actual ratio, as noted by the population geneticists (most of whom are Darwinists!) whom Sanford cites, is so small that population geneticists don't even place the beneficiary curve on the distribution graph! The ratio that Sanford cites (again, from the population geneticists) is between 10,000 to 1,000,000 harmful mutations for every one beneficial (though probably closer to the former figure rather than the latter). Sanford chooses to be conservative, and for the rest of the book, he assumes the 10k ratio. Keep this in mind when the next point is cited.
D. NDET assumes that natural selection will take out all of the bad mutations and leave only the good (notice that that was a near quote of Darwin himself). However, citing the population geneticist, Kimura, for support, Sanford notes that there is a "zone of near-neutrality" on both the beneficial and harmful sides of the curve in which natural selection doesn't select for or against. This is due to the fact that most mutations are point-nucleotide mutations. These only cause an ever-so-slight decrease in fitness that natural selection can't "see" them 99% of the time. It would be like a single pixel on your television screen going out. Would you really be able to tell a difference? Furthermore, since the beneficiary mutations curve is so small (see point C. above), the "zone of near-neutrality" (a.k.a. the "no-selection box") covers 99% of the beneficiary mutation side of the distribution! This ensures that natural selection will never see 99% of the good mutations while allowing the bad (which are vastly greater in number) to accumulate. Thus, the genome will suffer from "genetic entropy" (and hence the title of the book).
Now, a typical reply (which is, in fact, found below in one of the negative reviews) is that biologists have witnessed and documented such beneficiary mutations that have given great benefit to organisms in their environment. However, many biologists are becoming aware that the vast majority of these changes in phenotype are due to "pre-programmed" changes in the genome, not random ones as NDET demands. Secondly, as Sanford points out in Appendix 4, many of these "beneficial" mutations actually end up giving the organism a net decrease in fitness (as in the case of homeostasis in cold-climate creatures to warm climates or drug-resistant bacteria) making them deleterious in reality!
Chapter 3
Here, he starts to go into human population genetics. He cites several twentieth century population geneticists who believed that if there were as many as 0.5 deleterious mutations per person per generation, then the human race would be doomed to extinction. He then cites the actual number of 100 deleterious mutations per person per generation! This is a topic that he comes back to in other chapters of his book. However, from now on, I will concentrate on the implications for NDET. Next, he debunks the junk-DNA and pseudo-gene myth (i.e. those genes really do have a function as scientists are now finding out).
Chapter 4
In this chapter, he discusses the actual power of natural selection as found in nature compared to that which is presupposed by NDET. He notes that most biologists see natural selection as a "magic wand" that eliminates any decrease in complexity while preserving all those changes and variations which give an increase in fitness. Here, he points out a few more problems with NDET when it is contrasted with reality:
E. NDET presupposes that each individual nucleotide is selected for or against. This is a necessary presupposition for all (or even most) deleterious mutations to be selected out (since most mutations are point-nucleotide mutations). In reality, however, it is an entire gene that is selected for or against. In combination with the 10,000 bad to good mutation ratio, this will ensure that for every (random) beneficial mutation that occurs on a gene, there will be (on average) 10,000 bad ones of the same magnitude (as that of the good). This is what Sanford calls "Muller's Ratchet" (named after another population geneticist). Even if a gene with a beneficial mutation is selected for, it will carry many, many more deleterious ones with it. This inevitably causes genetic entropy, not a complexity increase.
F. While he noted, in chapter 2, that natural selection doesn't see most of the mutations that occur in the genome (i.e. the "near-neutral" ones which comprise 70-80% of all the bad and 99% of all good), the problem is actually worse due to environmental "noise". Environmental "noise" is simply the fact that random environmental factors affect who survives to a much greater degree than general fitness. For example, a tree may have greater fitness than that of another tree. However, if the seed of the one with greater fitness lands in a deep valley with little sunlight, and the other lands on a hill that receives proper sunlight, then the one with lesser fitness will survive. In fact, the population geneticist, Kimura (remember: a Darwinist himself), estimates that heritability due to phenotypic superiority (i.e. fitness) is as low as 0.4%! Thus, the "no-selection" box is increased *several* fold, ensuring that the vast majority of all bad mutations will go unnoticed by natural selection, and 99.99% of all beneficial mutations will also go unnoticed. So, while NDET assumes that all (or almost all) selection is due to general fitness, reality says that only about 1/250 of all selection is due to general fitness.
G. While not stated explicitly, NDET presupposes an infinite selection "bank" from which it can assume that all members of a population without a superior genotype can be killed off, leaving only those with superior fitness. [Otherwise, the beneficial mutation would be diluted when it is mingled with the rest of the population.] In reality, however, the selection cost to make a single beneficial mutation (no matter how small) dominant in a population is near extinction! [Sanford cites Kimura who, after doing the math, estimated that each parent in a population must leave about 3.27 million offspring in order to keep up with the selection pressure!] Thus, even if you kill off almost all of a population to keep one beneficial mutation, you will never be able to stop the deterioration of the genome due to the ratio of bad to good mutations and the resultant in-breeding among such a small population. Again, genetic entropy, not increasing complexity, is inevitable.
Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8
Here, he goes through and refutes various attempts to save NDET from all the problems with it (as mentioned above). Also discussed is the deterioration of the human genome.
Chapter 9
In this chapter, Sanford discusses more of what was discussed in chapters 5-8, but he also throws in several more problems with NDET:
H. NDET assumes that the billions of years (a.k.a. "deep time") that the earth has been in existence is plenty of time for random mutation and natural selection to give rise to the diversity of life found today. [In my personal experience, I have found that even the mention of "deep time" is enough to dispel any doubts a Darwinist has in his heart about NDET!] However, even assuming that the above problems (A.-G.) don't exist, the time needed to make only one beneficial nucleotide mutation dominant in a population is *far* too long for even the "deep time" provided. Sanford cites J.B.S. Haldane, another Darwinian geneticist, who calculated that (again, ignoring problems A.-G. above) it would take 300 generations to make a genetic trait fixed in a population. [Note: 300 generations is a conservative number. The average number found in nature is larger than 300.] So, for example, it would take several billion years for a chimp-like ancestor to evolve into a human (again, assuming only beneficial mutations). This famous problem for neo-Darwinism has historically been known as "Haldane's Dilemma".
I. NDET assumes that DNA is a linear code, and that one change in a sequence won't affect other functions in the phenotype. However, recent discoveries have shown that most DNA sequences are "poly-constrained". That is, DNA sequences can have meanings on several different levels. For example, imagine a coded message that has a valid meaning when read forward, another valid meaning when read backwards, another every 5 letters, and yet another when placed on top of another few messages (making it 3D). This is how most DNA functions, just more complex! Any change in the code could cause an incoherent message, and thus, one good mutation one way might also cause several bad mutations in other ways.
J. Irreducible Complexity. [There has been much debate on this topic, but I agree with Sanford (and Behe for that matter) that direct *and indirect* Darwinian pathways are extremely unlikely (and might as well be impossible). See Behe's Afterword in the 10th anniversary edition of Darwin's Black Box.]
Chapter 10
Sanford concludes that the degeneration of the genome is unstoppable and Darwinism could never have gotten off the ground. Contrary to one reviewer's beliefs about this book, Sanford only spends a few paragraphs on the declining life-spans of the generations of men after Noah. He shows that the life-spans of post-flood man, as recorded in the Bible, follow a curve that is eerily similar to a declining fitness curve found in earlier chapters of this book. In fact, Sanford believes that these recorded life-spans could only have been fabricated if the writer of the Pentateuch (i.e. the 5 books of Moses) used "sophisticated mathematical modeling". Of course, while this makes Christians (like myself) smile with joy, it probably won't convince any non-believers.
Everyone who follows this debate should own this book. Even if you are hostile to anyone that even questions NDET, you should read it since college I.D. clubs are handing this book out to their members and, undoubtedly, biology students. My personal opinion is that Sanford gives a devastating critique of neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory. These are insurmountable problems for NDET, and the math and logic prove it. Instead of climbing up Mount Improbable (using Dawkins' analogy), the genome is tumbling down Mt. Impossible!
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The Human Genome Project: Cracking the Genetic Code of Life
Thomas F. Lee
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Book Description
From one of the great iconoclasts of modern biology, Lynn Margulis, a groundbreaking new theory of the origins of species.
How do new species evolve? Although Darwin identified inherited variation as the creative force in evolution, he never formally speculated where it comes from. His successors thought that new species arise from the gradual accumulation of random mutations of DNA. But despite its acceptance in every major textbook, there is no documented instance of it.
Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan take a radically new approach to this question. They show that speciation events are not, in fact, rare or hard to observe. Genomes are acquired by infection, by feeding, and by other ecological associations, and then inherited. Acquiring Genomes is the first work to integrate and analyze the overwhelming mass of evidence for the role of bacterial and other symbioses in the creation of plant and animal diversity. It provides the most powerful explanation of speciation yet given.
Customer Reviews:
Not all it could be.......2007-09-24
As someone deeply suspicious of Richard Dawkin's 'Selfish Gene' theory of evolution, which is often put forward as THE theory of evolution which one must believe if one is not a creationist idiot, I was really looking forward to this book. Furthermore, I greatly enjoyed Margulis' earlier work Microcosmos. Nevertheless, I was somewhat disappointed by Acquiring Genomes. A number of the theoretical assertions--that evolution happens through symbiosis and the acquisition of genomes, rather than random mutation, that evolution is in line with the second law of thermodynamics because it reduces gradients, I found extremely provocative. But the book shifts gears too quickly between provocative theoretical postures and daunting technical language. As a reader of popular scientific journalism with no higher education training in biology, I found considerable chunks of the book incomprehensible. I think it would have been more effective if the authors had more slowly walked through several of the examples that support their theory. Perhaps I am not the ideal reader, but I would note that the publisher is named 'Basic Books', presumably to invite general readers.
A complement, not a critique of Darwinism.......2007-09-09
My review will take the form of a critique of an earlier review and then I will provide a couple comments thereafter.
An earlier reviewer erroneously states, "Lynn Margulis has joined the pack, attempting a direct refutation of Darwin's idea of evolution by natural selection. In her view, natural selection plays only a minimal role in the story of life."
She neither dismisses Darwinism nor Natural Selection. She actually questions Neo-Darwinism and her view strongly supports natural selection.
The authors question the Neo-Darwinist's over-reliance and exaggeration of gradual accumulation by random mutations (which they don't altogether dismiss). She raises the fact that most mutations are deleterious and neutral and do not provide evidential support for MOST/ALL speciation. She does provide abundant evidence that supports her idea of symbiogenesis as the driver of evolutionary novelty.
An earlier reviewer also points out,"Instead, like Gould, she demolishes not only "Origin," but all those scientists adhering to its tenets, as well."
Again she intends to complement Darwin and demonstrate the shortcomings of the Neo-Darwinian synthesis. Your critique clearly conflates the two.
I do agree with another reviewer that the book at times feel strangely disjointed at times (and why I gave it a 4). Even so the work provides some revolutionary concepts that are worth further investigation.
I also agree that the book at times feel polemical, but I think given the over dominant, current point of view that a few extremities might be useful in calling attention to the current view's shortcomings and the sublimity of their theory of symbiogenesis. I really don't care how polemical a work is as long as it supports itself with evidence and I think the authors do a fantastic job of doing so. Even if they turn out to be wrong about the tertiary role of mutations in speciation, their theory adds another layer of provable facts, namely speciation through symbiosis, to the overall Theory of Evolution.
Lastly, no Creationist can successfully hijack this book for their own agenda. To do so is an intellectual act of dishonesty and ignorance.
One-size-fits-all speciation.......2007-01-05
If you primarily present your theory by insultingly tearing down simplified misrepresentations of others' theories, as Margulis & Sagan constantly do in 'Acquiring Genomes', your theory is almost certainly suspect.
It's not clear why the authors find it necessary or even desirable to claim that speciation ALWAYS stems from symbiogenesis, especially when they've gone to great lengths to demonstrate the promiscuous opportunistic nature of Life. Why shoot down one less-than-fully-satisfactory engine of speciation -- random mutations naturally selected -- merely to erect another one-size-fits-all speciation engine?
A sampling of free insults: Neo-darwinists & evolutionary biologists are "entirely wrongheaded", "self-proclaimed", "confused and baffled", "ignorant of bacteria, fungi and...protists", understanding only "people, pets, and our zoo and food animals". Theirs is "an idiosyncratic belief system" [this from the people who helped bring you 'GAIA'!!!]. I could go on & on, but you get the point.
Far from being a brave & lonely Cassandra whose Voice of Truth is ignored by the persecuting multitudes of evolutionist sheeple as she depicts herself, Lynn Margulis is in fact a distinguished scientist highly honored by her peers, if not highly admired or liked for reasons of her own idiosyncracies, as made completely understandable by 'AG'. Many if not most of the ideas Margulis promotes are widely -- & in the case of mitochondria and chloroplasts, universally -- accepted by those she so freely castigates.
Are there evolutionists who believe that mutations are the sole driving force of evolution?--possibly a few. But hardly the 99.9% that Margulis & Sagan pretend. But accepting the evidence marshalled by Margulis' (& hundreds of other scientists) of symbiogenesis does not, & should not, perforce lead to believing that symbiogenesis is the sole mechanism of speciation, no matter how critical it may be as a means of forming eukaryotic cells where none existed before, or starting whole new kingdoms & phyla of plants, fungi & animals.
Is it sensible to invoke symbiogenesis, because it has given Life these vital giant leaps forward, as the only possible tool for differentiating, for example, the various species of finches on the various Galapagos islands? Do we really wish to claim that Darwin's finches hooked up with different bacteria on different islands in order to alter their beak sizes?
Margulis & Sagan would have us gloss over this question entirely by claiming that: 1) we can't observe Galapagos finches quite managing to speciate right now (though they come remarkably close some very wet or very dry years); 2) empty niches like the Galapagos aren't common or important on the global scale, & 3) we fixate too much on birds & mammals anyway, when we should all be focussing on bacteria.
But over geologic time, rarities become inevitabilities. Few niches may be empty now, but wait a few million years: things will change. When sealevel rises or falls, when temperature & rainfall patterns alter, the biosphere will be put into dynamic motion, with old niches closing & new niches opening up. And as this happens, it makes a good deal more sense to invoke geographic isolation as a mechanism of generating new species based on the beak size of finches or the number of pairs of compound eyes of trilobites, rather than calling for a new set of bacterial symbionts.
The essential insight of the theory of punctuated equilibria is that ecosystems -- & the species that compose them -- mirror the sedimentary systems that many of their fossils are encased in, with longterm stabilities (formations) separated by short-term drastic fluctuations. Which is something that geologists (of whom I am one) should have realized & argued for considerably before Stephen Jay Gould & Niles Eldridge did. And the typical macrofaunal speciation events -- which are of greater interest to us, bacteria or no -- in the rock record fit best into models of geographic isolation, as Eldridge has recently been arguing (without finding it necessary to insult his peers).
None of which should be construed as meaning that Margulis' ideas are not highly stimulating or worth reading, merely that it's unnecessary & unwise to stretch her big idea into a Complete Explanation of All Life, a la GAIA.
They almost had me fooled ..........2004-11-29
I was almost ready to seriously consider Margulis' and Sagan's revolutionary theory until I read Sagan's update, in which he writes "Because chromosome arrangements differ slightly in closely related mammal species (e.g., dogs and wolves) that no longer breed with each other ..."
Everybody knows that wolves and domestic dogs CAN breed. You can buy wolf/dog hybrids from breeders such as http://www.dogpage.us/wolfdogs.htm.
If one of the authors is this removed from common sense, I wonder about the rest of the theory. And I wonder if his mother knows what he's up to.
Skip the first 8 chapters!.......2004-11-10
In an earlier work Margulis, who is a distinguished scientist, recounted her struggles in getting a theory accepted which is now part of the orthodoxy: that the mitochondria and chloroplast organelles originated as separate organisms. Chapters 9-13 of Acquiring Genomes discuss more recent findings by her and others which point to the importance of saltatory (sudden) changes as contrasted to gradual evolution. In particular, there is evidence that radically different marine species, from different phyla, can very occasionally successfully mate, and that this may be the basis for the larval stages in so many animals. There is even more evidence that in one event, all the chromosomes in an animal can break in half without destroying the viability of the animal or its ability to mate with "normal" members of the species - although it is not discussed how exactly this leads to change. There is additional insight into how the nucleated cell was first formed. Unfortunately, Margulis did not have a collaborator who had the patience to expand on these chapters, providing more background, and making them more accessible to the layman. Chapters 1-8 of Acquiring Genomes should be SKIPPED, which means that if the reader does not have some comfort with Margulis' original ideas, the whole book should be skipped. These first chapters are bombastic, argumentative, repetitive, inaccurate, and have relatively little information of value. One idea I did get from these chapters (which I skimmed, not being a masochist) is that, in a sense, all bacteria are members of one species, since they all can interchange genes. Also, some bacterial symbionts are actually inherited, in that they are present in the egg or sperm, while not yet in the nucleus.
Book Description
Based on the New Hall of Human Origins in the American Museum of Natural History which opens in November 2006, Bones, Brains and DNA takes the young reader to the cutting edge of science, exploring and examining the tools by which we study our origins. Covering the milestones in evolution, global migration and how we became human through the invention of language, music, art and technology.
Customer Reviews:
Bringing the rating up.......2007-09-28
This was a very good book for my seven year old who is interested in DNA and evolution. It obviously isn't written for a sixteen year old or an adult but that doesn't mean it deserves a negative rating. It is perfectly suited for the audience it is written for and should be judge accordingly!
Evolution.......2007-07-19
I ordered this book too quickly, I understand ...
When I got it, I found it is a children's book. (My fault, of course. And it IS cheap.)
Bones, Brains and DNA.......2007-03-21
I have found the book rather disappointing. I have given it an advance reading, before giving it as a present to my 16 years old grand daughter Giulia, but I don't believe she'll like it. Particularly the introduction of the two mice, Darwin and Wallace, does not contribute to a better understanding of the text - just the contrary.
Mario Baldassarrini, an 86 year old grand dad
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