Biology

  (out of 5 stars)

Matt Ridley presents his arguments for the development of sexual reproduction through a variety of insights in The Red Queen. Much like the world in which Alice met the character referred to in the title, Ridley's approach is jumbled, disjointed, and too raggedly-paced to enjoy fully.

Ridley bases his thoughts on strong evolutionary arguments, such as those for sexual selection, arms races, and symbiogenesis. For the purely biological discussion, this works quite fine. However, as Ridley moves into human sociological and cultural points, which take up most of the book, he loses the narrative and often slips in assumptions which are either unproven or have (since publication in 1994) turned out to be wrong. This, combined with a ragged flow of thoughts and chapters which only marginally relate to each other, leaves the reader with a less-than-enthusiastic support for Ridley's thesis.

Still, there is much to glean in Red Queen, and Ridley certainly gets his facts in order when discussing biological aspects. Readers new to the subject should pick up some interesting tidbits, but should also update their knowledge with more recent works by Richard Dawkins and others. Ridley's later book Genome is much better written and presented, and is recommended to anyone who enjoys this book or wants to delve into genetics and disease. Three and one-half stars.

  (out of 5 stars)

Molecular biologist Sean Carroll presents an outstanding, deeply scientifically satisfying look at the forensic evidence for evolution in The Making of the Fittest. By focusing his argument on the very smallest bits of evidence, Carroll provides an amazing look into the world of the cell and DNA which leaves the reader with little doubt that evolution and natural selection are clearly capable of developing the entities and processes we find in nature today.

Starting off with a look at bloodless cold-water fish, Carroll jumps into the nature of adaptive mutations. Moving on, he shows that, given time and large numbers, the "miracles" of evolution are practically inevitable, even if not specifically predictable in every detail. Carroll demonstrates that some genes are nearly "immortal", lasting nearly unchanged for millions of years. Further, he explores how old genes and their proteins are frequently repurposed into new uses.

From there, the book moves into fossil genes which allow researchers to trace changes in lineages, as well as the fact that evolution tends to favor the production of similar results even if the affected genomes are not related. Carroll wraps up by showing that humans and other complex entities can be produced by the power of DNA, natural selection, mutation, and drift.

A great follow up to Carroll's previous work on evolutionary development, Fittest is a fascinating glimpse into the world of microbiological detectives. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in biology and evolution. Four and one-half stars.

  (out of 5 stars)

Behavioral psychologist Hank Davis reveals his thoughts on why stone age thinking is so pervasive in the 21st Century in his book Caveman Logic. While there is little groundbreaking work here, the book provides a nice exploration of the phenomenon and offers a bit of insight into our mental and behavioral tendencies.

When Davis describes "primitive thinking", he is specifically addressing the widespread beliefs in religious and supernatural events and beings, especially where such beliefs rely on things deemed meaningful despite being coincidental. Coincidence is carefully explored, and Davis explains why humans are so likely to see agency and causal relationships despite possessing only the flimsiest evidence. This behavior dates back to our primitive ancestors who were much more likely to survive if they registered false positives when ascribing events to intentional agents than those who did not (such as seeing "faces", the ancestor who believed a face was staring tended to also run from real predators, whereas the one who did not see the face almost certainly failed to run as often from real threats).

A nice introduction to these concepts which have provided a great deal of support for the theories put forth Richard Dawkins and others, Caveman Logic is an excellent starting point for anyone wishing to consider the reasons for why beliefs in supernatural beings and unreasonable events are so widely and strongly held. Likewise, if someone you know tends to interpret coincidences as something more concrete, this book is a good jumping off point. Four stars.

  (out of 5 stars)

Having found that I'm hopelessly addicted to popular science books, especially those dealing with evolution, natural selection, and other wonders of biology, I promised myself that I'd pick up this foundational classic at some point. So much of what I had known previously about Origin was from reading the works of Dawkins, Quammen, and others, and I felt it was vitally important to take up Darwin's masterpiece and see for myself what he had to say. It is quite safe to say it was an excellent decision, and Origin stands up just as well in 2009 as it did when it was published 150 years ago.

Darwin's enthusiasm for the natural world comes through strongly on every page. I can easily imagine him sitting in his workshop, encouraging me, the reader, to see what he sees, to notice the details he explains with such passion. And he does not skip the scientific data. Darwin's arguments are strongly based on observation, experimentation, and an amazing convergence of multiple disciplines. Throughout the book, the reader feels he might be sitting in a room while Darwin leads a fascinating exhibition with the help of eminent biologists, zoologists, geologists, anthropologists, naturalists, and others.

I especially loved reading Darwin's original words dealing with biogeography and the migration of life. It is stunning just how prescient he was in so many things which he admits freely are greatly educated guesses. Sure, there are places where his thoughts were later shown incomplete or erroneous, but the vast bulk of his thoughts showed keen insight that often took many decades of research to prove correct. Darwin was quite literally one of the very few fundamental thinkers to ever risk putting his thoughts into writing, and his work is even more impressive given how little was known about genetics at the time by anyone but the largely-unknown Gregor Mendel.

While the book is quite dense at times, it is well worth the reader's effort to push through and experience this book's amazing insights. Darwin's enthusiasm is infective, and I think any reader of science who is interested in reading the classics should take the time to read and enjoy this groundbreaking and fascinating work. Five big stars.

  (out of 5 stars)

Planetary scientist David Grinspoon presents a robust presentation centered on alien life in the universe. An interesting and popular subject, this book was somewhat underwhelming overall, though it had some interesting and enjoyable passages.

While the book presumes to be a "natural philosophy" of the subject, the actual philosophy in the book is largely contained in a few sections of a few chapters. Most of the book describes historical or scientific fundamentals necessary for understanding the alien discussion, including histories of planetary science, alien philosophy, and biology. Except for the history of alien philosophy, which was the best part of the book for me, the history and science sections were good but not great. And while it is necessary to understand these basics, Grinspoon takes several hundred pages to get to his "philosophy". By that time, the decent narrative felt overly-drawn out.

Still, the book is a decent read for anyone with an interest in this sort of subject matter. But don't expect too much if you are an experienced reader, Grinspoon doesn't cover a great deal of original ground here, and except for the history of alien theories, I've read much better treatments of the history and science matters. Additionally, SETI dominates much of the discussion in a way which I found a bit off-putting, though I honestly can't say why. I like Grinspoon and love his enthusiasm, but I came away from Lonely Planets with a sense that it needed to be condensed and reorganized significantly. Three stars.

  (out of 5 stars)

The bacteria E. coli is among the most important living things in modern science, and as Carl Zimmer shows in this outstanding treatment, many huge discoveries owe a great deal to this very tiny "bug".

Zimmer packs a ton of information into these pages, highlighting a natural history of E. coli as well as discussing its physiology and evolutionary aspects. While I knew beforehand that this bacteria was very useful, I was still surprised and delighted to find out so much about something so little.

The best parts of the book for me were those which discussed key research utilizing the bacteria, including that of Richard Lenski's long-term evolutionary study, which was included in Richard Dawkins's book The Greatest Show on Earth. Zimmer brings the science to life and while this reads like a popular science book, it is densely packed with wonderful and enlightening science. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in biology, microbiology, evolution, or just a great love of current science. Four and one-half stars.

  (out of 5 stars)

Microbiologist Lynn Margulis presents an argument on behalf of symbiogenesis and Gaia Hypothesis in her book Symbiotic Planet. I had high expectations given Margulis's role in the establishment of the origins of mitochondria in cells. I was profoundly disappointed by the muddled, moody, and downright terrible treatment of her field of work found here.

Margulis starts the book with discussion of the nature of symbiosis and her own personal involvement in microbiological research. A few chapters in, it is difficult to determine if Margulis was trying to present a popular science book or an opinionated memoir. Neither was successfully presented.

Throughout the book, the author makes assertions about the nature of biology and symbiosis which are often described with 'my view' or 'in my opinion'. I'm not asking her to claim such hypothesis are indeed proven fact (although, at times, she does make such assertions), but the presentation, which only rarely includes descriptions of how such theories were validated through research, left me questioning whether Margulis had enough coffee on the morning she wrote the passage. Sometimes she just seems to lose interest in her current subject and changes course in mid-paragraph.

One telling moment in the book is when she is discussing Mendel's work. One sentence sums up the lack of professional presentation and effort that seems to have ruled her production of this book:

According to a brilliant unpublished manuscript by an amateur historian of science whose name I can't remember from Nassau Island in the Bahamas, Mendel saw no evidence at all that species change and evolve (20).

Seriously?!? Margulis is a widely-respected professional biologist who has contributed enormously to cutting-edge science, and she's quoting an unnamed amateur unpublished source to support her point? This appeared on page 20, at which point I was already questioning Margulis' ability to argue and present evidence. The rest of the book was not much better.

Highly disappointing treatment of a highly interesting subject by a well-respected key participant in 20th Century biology. I am really very suprised that this book was this bad. Maybe I just caught this read on a bad day (not likely), but I cannot recommend this book to anyone except the rare reader who has a personal interest in Margulis's theories and mindset. Two very generous stars.

  (out of 5 stars)

Adaptation is a highly-technical presentation by researchers Culver, Thomas Kane, and Daniel Fong on the study of a specific cave-dweller, the crustacean Gammarus minus. The first few chapters of the book, along with the last couple, are highly readable and interesting, but for the casual reader the rest of the book is not approachable as the authors present dozens of pages of data collected during their studies.

While I don't recommend this book to anyone who wants to sit and enjoy a read, there is an amazing amount of value and detail here for a reader needing highly-specific data in the field of evolutionary biology. As a pleasurable read, this book is not appropriate, but as a reference resource, it offers a fantastic presentation. Three stars.

  (out of 5 stars)

In Design for a Life, Bateson and Martin look at how the interaction of nature and nurture affect human behavior. While the book does sample many bits of interesting research covering the subjects, it feels light on details and cursory in its explorations.

Design skips around quickly from subject to subject as the authors explore various points in the debate and research into how nature (genetics) and nurture (parenting and environment) determine human behavior. They look at numerous studies involved in isolating influences and discuss whether this points toward genetic or epigenetic sourcing.

While the book does stay on message and maintains a decent narrative, the manner in which the research and details were interjected felt muddled and off-the-mark. Often, the authors jump from one study to another to another without a solid narrative bridge to keep the reader interested. At times, the authors simply describe the basic results of a study without much analysis or integration into the larger argument. I feel a more streamlined and judicious selection of included research would have left more room for a proper presentation of the data without leaving the discussion feeling underwhelming on substance and detail.

Still, Design has many good points and provides a nice overview of the landscape of the nature / nurture argument as it stood at the time of publication in 2001. While not the best book I've read on the subject, it still holds value for the interested reader of biology, genetics, psychology, and behavior. Three stars.

  (out of 5 stars)

Matt Ridley's Genome is an exploration of human chromosomes heavy in biological and physiological science. Ridley, a journalist and science writer, looks at each chromosome per chapter, using a gene or two found on each to discuss a different aspect of physiology or behavior as affected by the gene, its alleles, or its mutated variations. A strong effort for any reader interested in biology and genetics, Genome is a treat from the very beginning.

Ridley manages to pack a lot of details into the book despite concentrating each chapter on one or two specific genes on the featured chromosome. He themes each chapter on concepts such as Love, Instinct, Conflict, and Free Will, using research on a gene to show how these concepts are affected by genetics.

This book is comprehensive and contains a lot of cutting-edge science from the time of publication (1999), but it remains approachable to the popular science reader. The examples Ridley chooses are fantastic and offer the reader information about research into molecular biology, physiology, psychology, behavior, neurochemistry, anthropology, and many other subjects.

All in all, a wonderful book filled with still-relevant scientific information. Any biology or popular science reader should enjoy Ridley's pace and presentation, and there is a great deal to learn about how genes affect a wide range of concepts. Four and one-half stars.