John Tyler Bonner, a major participant in the development of biology as an experimental science, is the author not only of important monographs but also of a wonderfully readable book, "Life Cycles", which is both a personal memoir and a profound commentary on the central themes of biology. This volume of essays presents new material that extends the concepts from "Life Cycles" and his other writings. Its originality lies in comparing key basic biological processes at different levels, from molecular interactions through multicellular development to behaviour and social interactions. The first chapter in the book discusses self-organisation and natural selection; the second, competition and natural selection; and the third, gene accumulation and gene silencing. The fourth chapter examines the division of labour in organisms at all levels: within the organelles of a cell, within groups of cells in the guise of differentiation, within groups of individuals in an animal society, and within our culturally determined human societies. The work closes with a charming personal history of sixty years of changes in the field of biology, including the transformation in the ways that research work is funded.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
This is an absolute jewel of a little book. . . . It contains Bonner's thoughts on, well, biology, mostly developmental, but covering the whole field, as he attempts to answer the questions, often considered by theologians, of 'how and why we got here and why are we the way we are.' -- Review
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
