Front cover image for The making of the fittest : DNA and the ultimate forensic record of evolution

The making of the fittest : DNA and the ultimate forensic record of evolution

DNA evidence not only solves crimes--in Sean Carroll's hands it will now end the Evolution Wars. DNA is the genetic material that defines us as individuals. Over the last two decades, it has emerged as a powerful tool for solving crimes and determining guilt & innocence. But, very recently, an important new aspect of DNA has been revealed--it contains a detailed record of evolution. That is, DNA is a living chronicle of how the marvelous creatures that inhabit our planet have adapted to its many environments, from the freezing waters of the Antarctic to the lush canopy of the rain forest. In the pages of this highly readable narrative, Sean Carroll guides the general reader on a tour of the massive DNA record of three billion years of evolution to see how the fittest are made. And what a eye-opening tour it is - one featuring immortal genes, fossil genes, and genes that bear the scars of past battles with horrible diseases. This book clinches the case for evolution, beyond any reasonable doubt
Print Book, English, ©2006
W.W. Norton & Co., New York, N.Y., ©2006
301 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 25 cm
9780393061635, 9780393330519, 9781847244765, 9781847245267, 0393061639, 0393330516, 1847244769, 1847245269
69593994
Preface - Beyond Any Reasonable DoubtIntroduction: The Bloodless Fish of Bouvet IslandThe Everyday Math of Evolution: Chance, Selection, and TimeImmortal Genes: Running in Place for EonsMaking the New from the OldFossil Genes: Broken Pieces of Yesterday's LifeDeja Vu: How and Why Evolution Repeats ItselfOur Flesh and Blood: Arms Races, the Human Race, and Natural SelectionThe Making and Evolution of ComplexitySeeing and BelievingThe Palm Trees of WyomingSources and Further ReadingAcknowledgementsIndex