Where do we come from? : the molecular evidence for human descent
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Bibliographic Information
Where do we come from? : the molecular evidence for human descent
Springer, c2002
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Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
From the moment we first began to contemplate the world, three questions have occupied our minds: Where do we come from?, What are we?, and Where are we going? Artists, religious thinkers, philosophers, and most recently scientists have all searched for answers. Here, the authors describe how scientists decipher human origin from the record encrypted in the DNA and protein molecules. After explaining the nature of descent and the methods available for studying genealogical relationships, they summarize the information revealed by the molecular archives. In doing so, they draw conclusions about our identity, our place in the living world, and our future.
Table of Contents
1 A Tahitian Prelude Art, Myth, and Science.- 2 Bridging the Generation Gap The Physical Basis of Ancestor-Descendant Relationship.- 3 Crane's Foot Biological Meaning of Descent.- 4 Klados and Phyle The Molecular Nature of Evolution.- 5 The Painted Tree Methods of Phylogenetic Reconstruction.- 6 The Tree of Life From the Root to the Crown.- 7 The Rise of the Metazoan Tribes The New Phylogeny of the Animal Kingdom.- 8 Our Place in Nature The Closest Living Relative.- 9 Of Time and the Tree The Time Scale of Evolution.- 10 The Narrow Road to the Deep North Hominids and the Origin of Homo sapiens.- 11 Through the Neck of a Bottle The Genesis and the Genetic Nature of Homo sapiens.- 12 Who Are We? Where are We Going? The Present Condition and the Future of Our Species.- Appendix One.- Appendix Two.- Appendix Three.- Appendix Four.- Appendix Five.- Sources and Further Reading.- Illustration and Quotation Credits.
by "Nielsen BookData"