Exploring the Borderlands


Book Description

This study reproduces one "Report of Meetings" & six "Bulletins" from the Committee on Common Problems of Genetics, Paleontology, & Systematics. This Committee operated as an administrative unit of the National Research Council, part of the U.S. Nat. Acad. of Science. It was launched in 1943, blossomed for two years, then served as a cornerstone for other cooperative projects. The Committee provided a crucial foothold for those seeking a synthetics view of evolution in 1940s America. These forgotten documents show the Committee at work: building coalitions, defining priorities, & negotiating a common vision. They also show factions within the Committee competing for the leadership of this emerging community. Photo.




Tempo and Mode in Evolution


Book Description

Since George Gaylord Simpson published Tempo and Mode in Evolution in 1944, discoveries in paleontology and genetics have abounded. This volume brings together the findings and insights of today's leading experts in the study of evolution, including Ayala, W. Ford Doolittle, and Stephen Jay Gould. The volume examines early cellular evolution, explores changes in the tempo of evolution between the Precambrian and Phanerozoic periods, and reconstructs the Cambrian evolutionary burst. Long-neglected despite Darwin's interest in it, species extinction is discussed in detail. Although the absence of data kept Simpson from exploring human evolution in his book, the current volume covers morphological and genetic changes in human populations, contradicting the popular claim that all modern humans descend from a single woman. This book discusses the role of molecular clocks, the results of evolution in 12 populations of Escherichia coli propagated for 10,000 generations, a physical map of Drosophila chromosomes, and evidence for "hitchhiking" by mutations.




Genetics of Natural Populations


Book Description

A discussion of the life and wok of Theodosius Dobzhansky and an assessment of the current research that has the origins in his findings and contributions.




Classical Genetic Research and Its Legacy


Book Description

Governments and researchers from industrial countries have been measuring science and technology for more than seventy years. This book provides an historical examination of official science and technology statistics and indicators in Western countries and addresses the following questions: What were the main historical moments that led to the development of statistics on science and technology? What were the main socio-political stakes behind the activities of science measurement? What were the philosophical and ideological conceptions that drove measurement? What statistics and indicators were developed and how were they constructed? The first part of the book concentrates on the construction and development of science and technology statistics from 1930 to the present, the principles at work, and the vested interests and forces behind that construction. The second part analyzes to what uses statistics were put, and with how much confidence actors used statistics to document their case or to promote their political agenda.







Evolution of Insect Migration and Diapause


Book Description

This volume is an outgrowth of a Symposium entitled "Evolution of Escape in Space and Time" held at the XV International Congress of Entomology in Washington, D. C., USA in August, 1976. The choice of topic was prompted by recent advances in evolutionary ecology and the apparent suitability of insect migration and dia pause as appropriate material for evolutionary studies. In the event, that choice seems amply justified as I hope a perusal of these papers will show. These Sympos ium papers hardly cover the topic of the evolution of escape mechanisms exhaustively, and I am sure everyone will have his favorite lacuna. Some of the more obvious ones are indicated by Professor Southwood in his Concluding Remarks at the end of the book. The purpose of the Symposium, however, was not complete coverage, but rather to indicate the potential inherent in insect migration and diapause for the study of evolutionary problems. In that I think we have succeeded reasonably well. These papers are expanded and in some cases somewhat altered versions of the papers delivered in Washington. This has allowed greater coverage of the topics in question. I suggested a format of a general overview of a topic emphasizing the author's own research con tributions. In general the papers follow this outline although emphases vary. Two of the authors, Dr. Rainey and Dr. Lumme, were unable to attend the Symposium. Dr. Rainey's paper was read by Mr. Frank Walsh, but Dr.




The Advent of PhyloCode


Book Description

Biological nomenclature is an essential tool for storing and retrieving biological information. Yet traditional nomenclature poorly reflects evolutionary theory. Current biological nomenclature is one of the few fields promoting deliberately vague usage of technical terms. A new code based on evolutionary studies and phylogenetic results (the PhyloCode) will be a major milestone in biological nomenclature. Unfortunately, The PhyloCode and the companion volume are highly technical publications intended for practicing systematists. This book will reach a broader readership of those using nomenclature but who remain unaware of its theoretical foundations. Key Features Responds to the biodiversity crisis and the recent implementation of the PhyloCode Summarizes the spectacular progress of phylogenetics which makes it both increasingly easy and crucially important to define precisely taxon names Provides a 300-year historical perspective featuring high-profile characters, such as Linnaeus and Darwin Summarizes for a broad readership a widely scattered, highly technical and underappreciated scientific literature Documents the activities of the International Society for Phylogenetic Nomenclature, a scholarly society in which the author has played a prominent role