"This unrivaled illustrated guide to human evolution brings you face-to-face with your ancient ancestors. Traveling back in time almost eight million years, the book charts the development of our species, Homo sapiens, from tree-dwelling primates to modern humans. Evolution investigates each of our ancestors in detail and in context, from the anatomy of their bones to the environment they lived in. Key fossil finds are showcased on double-page feature...

"For evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein, the cause of many modern woes is clear: the world is out of sync with humans' ancient brains and bodies. The authors cut through the disputes surrounding issues like sex, gender, diet, parenting, sleep, education, and more to outline a science-based worldview that will empower the reader to live a better, wiser life. They distill more than twenty years of research and first-hand accounts...

"Survival of the Beautiful is a revolutionary new examination of the role that art and culture play in nature and the evolutionary process. Taking his inspiration from Charles Darwin's observation that birds have a natural aesthetic sense, Rothenberg dives into the mysteries of why we create art, and why animals, humans included, have innate appreciation for beauty.Sexual selection may explain why animals desire, but it says very little about what...

After several million years of jostling for ecological space, only one survivor from a host of hominid species remains standing: us. Human beings are extraordinary creatures, and it is the unprecedented human brain that makes them so. In this book the authors present a step-by-step account of the evolution of the brain and nervous system. Tapping the very latest findings in evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and molecular biology, the authors explain...

Not since the atomic bomb has a technology so alarmed its inventors that they warned the world about its use. Not, that is, until 2015, when biologist Jennifer Doudna called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the gene-editing tool CRISPR - a revolutionary new technology that she helped create - to make heritable changes in human embryos. The cheapest, simplest, most effective way of manipulating DNA ever known, CRISPR may well give us the cure...

Over the last forty years the philosophy of biology has emerged as an important sub-discipline of the philosophy of science. Covering some of science's most divisive topics, such as philosophical issues in genetics, it also encompasses areas where modern biology has increasingly impinged on traditional philosophical questions, such as free will, essentialism, and nature vs nurture. In this Very Short Introduction Samir Okasha outlines the core issues...

"From professor of psychology at U. C. Berkeley and one of the foremost experts on the science of emotions comes a groundbreaking and essential exploration into the history, science, and understanding of awe, and a guide for how we might all cultivate a deeper sense of awe and transform our lives and our world Awe, one of the most elusive emotions, is hard to pin down. How do we begin to measure the goosebumps we feel when we first see the Grand Canyon,...

"Biology of Sex is an interesting, timely, and intellectually challenging introduction to the biology of sex. Mills analyses the biological basis of sex by introducing genetic, evolutionary, and ethological principles. Focussed primarily on the biological aspects of human sex, the text employs select comparisons with the many variations in sexual systems among non-human organisms. Intended primarily for general education courses, Biology of Sex supports...