Sean B. Carroll

Presents an introduction to evolutionary developmental biology which studies genes and their role in biological diversity and evolution.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo

How does life work? How does nature produce the right numbers of zebras and lions on the African savanna, or fish in the ocean? How do our bodies produce the right numbers of cells in our organs and bloodstream? In The Serengeti Rules, award-winning biologist and author Sean Carroll tells the stories of the pioneering scientists who sought the answers to such simple yet profoundly important questions, and shows how their discoveries matter for our health and the health of the planet we depend upon. One of the most important revelations about the natural world is that everything is regulated—there are rules that regulate the amount of every molecule in our bodies and rules that govern the numbers of every animal and plant in the wild. And the most surprising revelation about the rules that regulate life at such different scales is that they are remarkably similar—there is a common underlying logic of life. Carroll recounts how our deep knowledge of the rules and logic of the human body has spurred the advent of revolutionary life-saving medicines, and makes the compelling case that it is now time to use the Serengeti Rules to heal our ailing planet. A bold and inspiring synthesis by one of our most accomplished biologists and gifted storytellers, The Serengeti Rules is the first book to illuminate how life works at vastly different scales. Read it and you will never look at the world the same way again.

The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters

The Serengeti Rules

A geneticist and author of Endless Forms Most Beautiful discusses the role of DNA in the evolution of life on Earth, explaining how an analysis of DNA reveals a complete record of the events that have shaped each species and how it provides evidence of the validity of the theory of evolution.

DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution

The Making of the Fittest

Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species

Remarkable Creatures

Traces the friendship and collaborative achievements of 20th-century intellectuals Albert Camus and Jacques Monod, discussing their contributions to the French Resistance, Nobel Prize-winning work and passionate advocacy of human rights.

A Scientist, a Philosopher, and Their Daring Adventures from the French Resistance to the Nobel Prize

Brave Genius

"Fascinating and exhilarating—Sean B. Carroll at his very best."—Bill Bryson, author of The Body: A Guide for Occupants From acclaimed writer and biologist Sean B. Carroll, a rollicking, awe-inspiring story of the surprising power of chance in our lives and the world Why is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but startling scientific discoveries over the past half century are revealing that we live in a world driven by chance. A Series of Fortunate Events tells the story of the awesome power of chance and how it is the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world. Like every other species, we humans are here by accident. But it is shocking just how many things—any of which might never have occurred—had to happen in certain ways for any of us to exist. From an extremely improbable asteroid impact, to the wild gyrations of the Ice Age, to invisible accidents in our parents' gonads, we are all here through an astonishing series of fortunate events. And chance continues to reign every day over the razor-thin line between our life and death. This is a relatively small book about a really big idea. It is also a spirited tale. Drawing inspiration from Monty Python, Kurt Vonnegut, and other great thinkers, and crafted by one of today's most accomplished science storytellers, A Series of Fortunate Events is an irresistibly entertaining and thought-provoking account of one of the most important but least appreciated facts of life.

Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and You

A Series of Fortunate Events

"Invites students to step into the lives of naturalists who followed their dreams, and often risked their lives, to explore the unknown. Each of the nine stories in this brief reader chronicles the dramatic adventures of an influential zoologist, geologist, paleontologist, or geneticist on their path to some of the most important discoveries that have shaped our understanding of how life has evolved. Cultivates an understanding of the physical hardships the featured explorers endured and the obstacles they had to overcome in challenging societal belief systems and initiating paradigm shifts in the scientific community" - from publisher.

Great Adventures in the Search for Evolution

Into the Jungle

Serengeti Rules

Richard C. Lewontin

Anthony J.F. Griffiths

Susan R. Wessler

The author team welcomes a new coauthor, Sean B. Carroll, a recognized leader in the field of evolutionary development, to this new edition of Introduction to Genetic Analysis (IGA). The authors’ ambitious new plans for this edition focus on showing how genetics is practiced today. In particular, the new edition renews its emphasis on how genetic analysis can be a powerful tool for answering biological questions of all types. Special Preview available.

Introduction to Genetic Analysis

The Story of Life: Great Discoveries in Biology (First Edition)

Jennifer K. Grenier

Scott D. Weatherbee

From DNA to Diversity represents the definitive synthesis of the new material on developmental genetics and evolutionary biology. Written by the most respected, author team, this text will be the monumental work for shaping the field. Focus on those genes, developmental processes and taxa best known and that best illustrate general principles - Keeps the book simple and useable in class. Two parts: developmental genetics and regulatory mechanisms and second, delineates possible genetic mechanisms of evol. change and examines evolution at different genetic and morphological levels - Builds understanding logically. Case study approach of best understood examples - Provides in depth focus on concepts. Four colour illustrations and photographs - Abstract theoretical becomes realistic. Chapter summaries and references - Provides textbook style help for students. Glossary - Helps both students and professionals unfamiliar with common terms in genetics, developmental biology and evolutionary biology. Premier authorship: Dr. Carroll is the pioneer in the field and the newly elected president of Society for Developmental Biology.

Molecular Genetics and the Evolution of Animal Design

From DNA to Diversity

The New Science of Evo Devo and the Making of the Animal Kingdom

Endless Forms Most Beautiful

We not only share nearly 99% of our genes with chimps, we also have some 35% in common with daffodils. Throughout much of the animal and even plant kingdoms, almost the same ancient genes code for almost the same proteins. And further, to everyone's astonishment, the genes involved in making the complex eyes of fruitflies are close matches to those involved in making the very different eyes of octopuses and people. So what leads to the nature's 'endless forms most beautiful'? The key to this mystery is being unravelled by 'Evo Devo' or the new science of evolutionary development biology. By looking at how a single-celled egg gives rise to a complex, multi-billion celled animal, Evo Devo is illuminating exactly how new species - butterflies and zebras, trilobites and dinosaurs, apes and humans - are made and evolved. The key, it turns out, is all about location and timing... For anyone who has ever pondered 'where did I come from', Endless Forms Most Beautiful explores our history, both the journey we have all made from egg to adult, and the long trek from the origin of life to the very recent origin of our species.

The New Science of Evo Devo : and the Making of the Animal Kingdom

Biology's great discoveries and the people who make them

Great Discoveries in Biology

The Story of Life

DNA evidence not only solves crimes—in Sean Carroll's hands it will now end the Evolution Wars. DNA, the genetic blueprint of all creatures, is a stunningly rich and detailed record of evolution. Every change or new trait, from the gaudy colors of tropical birds to our color vision with which we admire them, is due to changes in DNA that leave a record and can be traced. Just as importantly, the DNA evidence has revealed several profound surprises about how evolution actually works.

The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution

In this landmark work, the author team led by Dr. Sean Carroll presents the general principles of the genetic basis of morphological change through a synthesis of evolutionary biology with genetics and embryology. In this extensively revised second edition, the authors delve into the latest discoveries, incorporating new coverage of comparative genomics, molecular evolution of regulatory proteins and elements, and microevolution of animal development. An accessible text, focusing on the most well-known genes, developmental processes and taxa. Builds logically from developmental genetics and regulatory mechanisms to evolution at different genetic morphological levels. Adds major insights from recent genome studies, new evo-devo biology research findings, and a new chapter on models of variation and divergence among closely related species. Provides in-depth focus on key concepts through well-developed case studies. Features clear, 4-color illustrations and photographs, chapter summaries, references and a glossary. Presents the research of Dr. Carroll, a pioneer in the field and the past president of the Society for Developmental Biology.

Examines the contributions of pioneering scientists to the modern understanding of how Earth and the planet's life evolved, recounting such important events as Darwin's trip around the world, Charles Walcott's discovery of pre-Cambrian life, and the Leakeys' probe into humankind's remote past.

National Book Award Finalist: A biologist’s “thoroughly enjoyable” account of the expeditions that unearthed the history of life on our planet (Publishers Weekly). Not so long ago, most of our world was an unexplored wilderness. Our sense of its age was vague and vastly off the mark, and much of the knowledge of our own species’ history was a set of fantastic myths and fairy tales. But scientists were about to embark on an amazing new era of understanding. From the New York Times–bestselling author of The Big Picture, this book leads us on a rousing voyage that recounts the most important discoveries in two centuries of natural history: from Darwin’s trip around the world to Charles Walcott’s discovery of pre-Cambrian life in the Grand Canyon; from Louis and Mary Leakey’s investigation of our deepest past in East Africa to the trailblazers in modern laboratories who have located a time clock in our DNA. Filled with the same sense of adventure that spurred on these extraordinary men and women, Remarkable Creatures is a “stirring introduction to the wonder of evolutionary biology” (Kirkus Reviews). “Charming and enlightening.” —San Francisco Chronicle “As fast-paced as a detective story.” —Nature

Sean B. Carroll

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