{"product_id":"9781632866158","title":"Lamarck's Revenge : How Epigenetics Is Revolutionizing Our Understanding of Evolution's Past and Present","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eLamarck's Revenge\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Peter Ward\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEpigenetics upends natural selection and genetic mutation as the sole engines of evolution, and offers startling insights into our future heritable traits. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eIn the 1700s, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck first described epigenetics to explain the inheritance of acquired characteristics; however, his theory was supplanted in the 1800s by Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection through heritable genetic mutations. But natural selection could not adequately explain how rapidly species re-diversified and repopulated after mass extinctions. Now advances in the study of DNA and RNA have resurrected epigenetics, which can create radical physical and physiological changes in subsequent generations by the simple addition of a single small molecule, thus passing along a \u003ci\u003epropensity\u003c\/i\u003e for molecules to attach in the same places in the next generation. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEpigenetics is a complex process, but paleontologist and astrobiologist Peter Ward breaks it down for general readers, using the epigenetic paradigm to reexamine how the history of our species—from deep time to the outbreak of the Black Plague and into the present—has left its mark on our physiology, behavior, and intelligence. Most alarming are chapters about epigenetic changes we are undergoing now triggered by toxins, environmental pollutants, famine, poor nutrition, and overexposure to violence. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLamarck’s Revenge\u003c\/i\u003e is an eye-opening and provocative exploration of how traits are inherited, and how outside influences drive what we pass along to our progeny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A fascinating journey into the relatively new field of epigenetics . . . Skilled in both science and writing, Ward walks readers through its history, mechanisms, and the current fierce debate over its role. The best introduction so far to one of the most controversial elements of 21st-century evolutionary science.\" - \u003ci\u003eKirkus Starred Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"\u003c\/i\u003eFascinating … [Ward] makes a powerful case for more study.\" - \u003ci\u003eCoast Weekend\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A NEW HISTORY OF LIFE deserves kudos for infectious élan, impressive scholarship and a plausible accounting of life’s herky-jerky, hurry-up-and-wait tribulations.\" - \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal (A NEW HISTORY OF LIFE)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you want to open your mind to the depths of modern thinking, then A NEW HISTORY OF LIFE is for you. Read it!\" - \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Book Review (A NEW HISTORY OF LIFE)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A NEW HISTORY OF LIFE makes for an exciting and comprehensive read, enthralling to science nerds and lay readers who are curious about the rich natural history of planet Earth.\" - \u003ci\u003eNature World News (A NEW HISTORY OF LIFE)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The authors, both scientists, propose several different ways of looking at the history of life on earth, including the role that catastrophes played in shaping the development of living things.\" - \u003ci\u003eSeattle Times (A NEW HISTORY OF LIFE)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781632866158\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40660313964750,"sku":"9781632866158","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_b29dafa0-5de7-4da7-b18d-42a9ef918fec.jpg?v=1639537422","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781632866158","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}