Cabej (biology, U. of Tirana, Albania) explains the epigenetic principles of evolution (as opposed to the theory of evolution as determined by changes in genes) and reconstructs the developmental mechanisms of evolutionary changes in metazoans, based on empirical evidence. He focuses on the mechanisms of the generation of the evolutionary innovations from the influence of environment on heredity rather than the role of natural selection. He discusses control systems and determination of phenotypic traits in metazoans, neural manipulation of gene expression, epigenetic control of reproduction and early development, neural control of postphylotypic development, and the epigenetic system of inheritance. He follows with description of neural-developmental premises of evolutionary adaptation, including evolution and stress responses and behavioral adaptation to changes in environment, ontogeny, and intragenerational developmental plasticity; epigenetics of circumevolutionary phenomena and the mechanism of evolutionary change, including transgenerational developmental plasticity and the evolution of metazoans and their control system; and the origins of evolutionary novelty, evolution by loss or by reverting to ancestral characters, neural crest-determined evolutionary novelties, evolutionary convergences, species and allopatric speciation, and sympatric speciation. He presents the available evidence for his theory, rather than illustrating an established theory, and includes a comparative presentation of the neo-Darwinian view to his epigenetic explanation. There is no index. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Epigenetic Principles of Evolution, Second Edition, fully examines the causal basis of evolution from an epigenetic point-of-view. By revealing the epigenetic uses of the genetic toolkit, this work demonstrates the primacy of epigenetic mechanisms and epigenetic information in generating evolutionary novelties. The author convincingly supports his theoretical perspective with examples from varied fields of biology, emphasizing changes in developmental pathways as the basic source of evolutionary change in metazoans. Users will find a broader view of the epigenetic mechanisms of evolution, moving beyond conventional changes in epigenetic structures, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and patterns of miRNA, sRNA, and mRNA expression. This second edition is thoroughly updated to reflect new evidence and developing theories in the field of evolutionary epigenetics. New and revised chapters speak to the epigenetic basis of heredity, epigenetic regulation of animal structure and homeostasis, neural manipulation of gene expression, central control of gametogenesis, epigenetic control of early development, the origin of epigenetic information, evolutionary changes in response to environmental stressors, epigenetics of sympatric evolution, and the epigenetics of the Cambrian explosion, among other topics. - Adopts an integrative approach to examine the causal basis of evolution from an epigenetic point-of-view - Features new and revised chapters which reflect novel experimental and observational evidence in the field of evolutionary epigenetics, as well as alternative theoretical approaches - Offers a broad view of epigenetic mechanisms of evolution, moving beyond conventional changes in epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and patterns of miRNA, sRNA and mRNA expression

The Inductive Brain in Development and Evolution provides readers with a substantial biological education on animal nervous systems and their role in the development, adaptation, homeostasis, and evolution of species. The book begins by delving into the embryonic development of the brain and then discusses epigenetic information and neural activity post-birth. It then analyzes the inductive brain's neural and brain control of such factors like myogenesis, bone development, sensory organs, metamorphosis in vertebrates and invertebrates, and wing development in insects. The book closes with an examination of phenotypic evolution in neural control, mechanisms, and drivers of animal brains. The Inductive Brain in Development and Evolution will offer evolutionary biologists, specifically those researching development, adaptation, and evolution of animals, a comprehensive text that covers a variety of valuable topics. - Presents the first book devoted to the inductive role of the brain in development, in adaptation, and in the evolution processes in animals - Examines the central nervous system (CNS) from embryonic to adult life stages - Provides detailed evidence to investigate the role of the CNS in molding animal morphology and life histories

Epigenetic Mechanisms of the Cambrian Explosion provides readers with a basic biological knowledge and epigenetic explanation of the biological puzzle of the Cambrian explosion, the unprecedented rapid diversification of animals that began 542 million years ago. During an evolutionarily instant of ~10 million years, which represents only 0.3% of the time of existence of life on Earth, or less than 2% of the time of existence of metazoans, all of the 30 extant body plans, major animal groups (phyla) and several extinct groups appeared. The work helps address this phenomena and tries to answer remaining questions for evolutionary biology, epigenetics, and scientific researchers. The book recognizes and presents objective representations of alternative theories for epigenetic evolution in this period, with the author drawing on his epigenetic theory of evolution to explain the causal basis of the Cambrian explosion. Both empirical evidence and theoretical arguments are presented in support of this thought-provoking epigenetic theory. - Explains the Cambrian explosion from an entirely epigenetic view - Takes a causal rather than descriptive approach to the phenomenon - Allows for a broad readership, including those with only a basic biological knowledge, while maintaining scientific rigor

Epigenetics is currently one of the fastest-growing fields in the sciences. Epigenetic information not only controls DNA expression but links genetic factors with the environmental experiences that influence the traits and characteristics of an individual. What we eat, where we work, and how we live affects not only the activity of our genes but that of our offspring as well. This discovery has imposed a revolutionary theoretical shift on modern biology, especially on evolutionary theory. It has helped to uncover the developmental processes leading to cancer, obesity, schizophrenia, alcoholism, and aging, and to facilitate associated medial applications such as stem cell therapy and cloning. Above the Gene, Beyond Biology explores how biologists in this booming field investigate and explain living systems. Jan Baedke offers the first comprehensive philosophical discussion of epigenetic concepts, explanations, and methodologies so that we can better understand this “epigenetic turn” in the life sciences from a philosophical perspective.

Although books exist on the evolution of aging, this is the first book written from the perspective of again as an adaptive program. It offers an insight into the implications of research on aging genetics, The author proposes the Demographic Theory of Senescence, whereby aging has been affirmatively selected because it levels the death rate over time helping stabilize population dynamics and prevent extinctions.

A riveting explanation of epigenetics, offering startling insights into our inheritable traits. In 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 propensity for molecules to attach in the same places in the next generation. Epigenetics 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. Lamarck's Revenge is an eye-opening and provocative exploration of how traits are inherited, and how outside influences drive what we pass along to our progeny.

"The evolutionary vision" is a term coined by economist Kenneth E. Boulding to describe a unified view of evolution that encompasses all levels of reality, from the cosmic or physical through the biological, ecological, and sociobiological to the sociocultural. It focuses less on systems or any particular entity than on the processes through which they evolve. In this volume various approaches to the self-organization of matter and information are outlined by authors who are among the chief developers of this new paradigm. They focus on the general laws governing evolutionary dynamics across all levels of evolution, including the evolution of humans and human systems.

Where does consciousness fit into biology? How did life evolve? What makes us human? These are just a few of the deep and universal questions that the new science and philosophy of epigenetics may be able to answer. Epigenetics ("above and beyond genetics") is an exciting new field, but it remains relatively unknown, even as genetics has been saturating scientific news since the early 1990s. Whether it was through the Human Genome Project, the heritability of a disease, or DNA ancestry testing, most people have likely heard of genetics. But, despite its popularity, very few truly understand the scope of genetics or what in fact constitutes a gene. Genetics is often thought of as the study of inheritance, or how biological traits are passed from parent to child. Some scientists consider genes to be the only vehicles by which information travels from generation to generation. In this view, we are defined by our genetic blueprints, our paths determined by our lineage. But the growing field of epigenetics is poised to revolutionize this paradigm. Epigenetics suggests that our genetics is not the foundation of inheritance and life. In this book, Ben Callif walks us through the history of evolution and modern biology, the basics of genetics and genes, and the complexities of cells and inheritance, and proposes that epigenetics can provide a new perspective on identity, consciousness, and the origins of life itself. In "Organumics," living things are not discrete, isolated units (organisms). Instead, life is an inseparable and interconnected fractal that emerges through the cooperation of self-directed and self-contained individuals-organa. As organum, we each play a vital role in the direction of evolutionary progress through our thoughts, feelings, and intentions. What we do changes who we are, and who we are influences what our descendants might one day become.

By focusing on the cellular mechanisms that underlie ontogeny, phylogeny and regeneration of complex physiologic traits, Evolution, the Logic of Biology demonstrates the use of homeostasis, the fundamental principle of physiology and medicine, as the unifying mechanism for evolution as all of biology. The homeostasis principle can be used to understand how environmental stressors have affected physiologic mechanisms to generate condition-specific novelty through cellular mechanisms. Evolution, the Logic of Biology allows the reader to understand the vertebrate life-cycle as an intergenerational continuum in support of effective, on-going environmental adaptation. By understanding the principles of physiology from their fundamental unicellular origins, culminating in modern-day metazoans, the reader as student, researcher or practitioner will be encouraged to think in terms of the prevention of disease, rather than in the treatment of disease as the eradication of symptoms. By tracing the ontogeny and phylogeny of this and other phenotypic homologies, one can perceive and understand how complex physiologic traits have mechanistically evolved from their simpler ancestral and developmental origins as cellular structures and functions, providing a logic of biology for the first time. Evolution, the Logic of Biology will be an invaluable resource for graduate students and researchers studying evolutionary development, medicine and biology, anthropology, comparative and developmental biology, genetics and genomics, and physiology.