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Title details for The Making of the Fittest by Sean B. Carroll - Available

The Making of the Fittest

DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution

by Sean B. Carroll
Patrick Lawlor
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
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 and 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 this highly accessible narrative, Sean Carroll guides the general listener on a tour of the massive DNA record of three billion years of evolution to see how the fittest are made. And what an eye-opening tour it is—one that features 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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 15, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400123155
      • File size: 231236 KB
      • Duration: 08:01:44

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      In a modern coda to Darwin's laws, Sean Carroll examines the evolutionary concept of the "fittest." Although not intended for casual readers, the audiobook discusses in satisfying scientific detail the current knowledge of evolution on a molecular basis and labels it "genomics." Narrator Patrick Lawlor picks just the right pace for such a weighty tome, leaving enough time for listeners to absorb great detail but not be narcotized. He never misses with the complex vocabulary and finds an agreeable tone to keep listener interest high. Those who know Lawlor's other readings will again be amazed at his proficiency with the requirements of so many kinds of literature. An open mind will find the audiobook challenging and rewarding. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 7, 2006
      Picking up where scientists like Richard Dawkins have left off, Carroll, a professor of genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo-Devo
      ), has written a fast-paced look at how DNA demonstrates the evolutionary process. Natural selection eliminates harmful changes and embraces beneficial ones, and each change leaves its signature on a species' DNA codes. For example, the Antarctic ice fish today has no red blood cells; yet a fossilized gene for hemoglobin remains in its DNA, showing that the fish has adapted over 55 million years by losing the red blood cells that thicken blood and make it harder to pump in extreme cold. The fish has developed other features that allow it to absorb and circulate blood without hemoglobin. . Carroll points out that by examining the DNA of these ice fish species, it's possible to map its origins as well as the history of the South Atlantic's geology. He also uses dolphins, colobus monkeys and microbes to demonstrate how deeply evolution is etched in DNA. While searches for the genetic basis for evolution are hardly new, Carroll offers some provocative and convincing evidence. 7 pages of color illus.; 50 b&w illus.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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