Coming to Life: How Genes Drive Development
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, winner of The Nobel Prize in Medicine, gives a concise and illustrative overview of genetics, evolution, and cellular processes as well as a discussing of current ethical issues in human biology.\ \ Coming to Life is a remarkable journey through developmental biology that reveals miraculous processes in the microscopic world of cells. Through an accounting of groundbreaking discoveries, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard tells us many answers to historical and...
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Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, winner of The Nobel Prize in Medicine, gives a concise and illustrative overview of genetics, evolution, and cellular processes as well as a discussing of current ethical issues in human biology.Coming to Life is a remarkable journey through developmental biology that reveals miraculous processes in the microscopic world of cells. Through an accounting of groundbreaking discoveries, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard tells us many answers to historical and contemporary questions in science. For example, she brings us the newest knowledge about embryonic forms, explains the genetic mechanisms that influence adult development of all animals, and shares insights into the ethical standards society moist uphold in the face of new scientific discoveries.As the author leads us from laboratory research to its applications in human beings, we also come to understand why children look like their parents, how an embryonic cell knows to become an eye rather than an eyelash, and other incredible influences hat result in variety in life. Complete with her own hand-drawn illustrations, Coming to Life gives a rare opportunity to understand a Nobel Prize-winner's passion for science in concise, understandable language. 55 b/w illustrations.
Preface xiOrigin and HeredityThe Natural System: Carl Linnaeus 2The Theory of Evolution: Charles Darwin 3The Laws of Heredity: Gregor Mendel 6Cells and ChromosomesCells and Cell Division 12Fertilization 14Chromosomes and Genes 16Germ Line and Clones 18The Influences of the Cytoplasm and the Environment 21Genes and ProteinsThe Genetics of Drosophila 26Mutation 29The Molecular Nature of Genes 31Protein Synthesis and the Genetic Code 33DNA Replication 35Gene Technology 36Genes of Multicellular Organisms 38Development and GeneticsModel Organisms 45The Development of Drosophila 45The Search for Genes that Control Development 49The Logic of Genes 52Molecular PrepatternsGradients 58Combinations 62Induction and Signal Transduction 68Form and Form ChangesCells and Tissues 75Form Building Movements 79Cell Division, Growth, and Death 81VertebratesFrogs, Fish, and Birds 88Mammals: The Mouse 95Gradients, Prepatterns and Induction in Vertebrates 101HumansThe Development of Germ Cells 108The Development of the Egg 110The Development in the Uterus 111Genes and Disease 115Evolution, Body Plans, and GenomesEvolutionary History of Organisms 120The Cambrian Explosion 122New Construction Principles 124Genomes 126The Evolution of Humans 129Current TopicsUtopias 135Cloning 136Human In Vitro Embryos 138Designer Babies 140Gene Therapy 141Human Embryonic Stem Cells 142The Moral Status of the Embryo 144Appendix 147Time Table 149Glossary 153Index 159
