Evo Devo

  (out of 5 stars)

Sean Carroll, researcher and professor at the Howard Hughes Institute, is a genetics expert who offers a wonderful exploration of the cutting-edge science of evolutionary development (evo devo). This book, drawing from decades of genetics research as well as experiments performed in Carroll's own lab, reveals the subtle and exquisite results of millions of years of evolution as it relates to (specifically) embryology.

The first hundred pages or so are a primer on evolution as it is theorized in the Modern Synthesis of evolution. We find that the evidence for evolution is not just substantial, but largely consistent with this theory and overwhelmingly evidence of its predictions.

The second part of the book serve to isolate a few choice types of evidence, including fossil records and genes, and presents the findings of evolutionary development researchers as they apply to the making and diversity of animal species. Carroll focuses on numerous examples in nature of evolutionary processes, including the diversity and differences of butterfly patterns, three different wing development processes, and the coloration changes which lead to black pigmentation.

Carroll wraps up the latter half of the book by challenging the notion that creationism can explain any of this, and instead, offers that the proof of evolution was undeniable decades ago, and only strengthened with more recent research. Humans share a staggering portion of our genes, including the nearly-universal tool kit genes which dictate timing and location of other genes. Human beings are shown to be part of this earth-wide process, not a seperate entity with unusual properties.

At times, Endless Forms is a bit clinical, with several dozen pages running together filled with technical terms and often difficult-to-understand processes. I did have to reread sections to fully understand what was being stated. While this made it slow going at times, the result for me (and I hope for other readers) was a detailed understanding of why evo devo research can answer difficult questions about evolutionary processes which are unanswered in other disciplines.

For anyone interested in the clinical side of evolutionary research, this book is an excellent intermediate-level study of evo devo. Carroll is a fascinating researcher with years of first-hand experience in the field. While the text is dry at times, the information provided is worth the time spent to understand it. Four stars.