Title:
The incredible unlikeliness of being : evolution and the making of us
Author:
ISBN:
9781623657987
Physical Description:
viii, 418 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
General Note:
Originally published in the UK in 2014 (Hardback) and 2015 (paperback) ; First published in the United States by Quercus in 2015.
Contents:
Beginnings : the mystery of conception and the history written in your body -- Heads and brains : from the origin of the vertebrate head to the phenomenal growth of the human brain -- Skulls and senses : laying the foundations for building a skull, and growing organs to sense the world around us -- Speech and gills : the watery origins of the voicebox -- Spines and segments : a pattern for life and the evolution of an S-shaped spine -- Ribs, lungs, and hearts : the ribs of our ancestors and the heart and lungs of a fish -- Guts and yolk sacs : links with egg-laying ancestors and fruit-eating apes -- Gonads, genitals, and gestation : the anatomy of reproduction and the helplessness of human babies -- On the nature of limbs : fins, limbs, and ancestors -- Hip to toe : learning to walk before you run -- Shoulders and thumbs : climbing ancestors and unique human hands -- The making of us : finding our twig on the tree of life -- Acknowledgments -- Further reading -- List of illustrations -- Index.
Summary:
Bringing together the latest scientific discoveries and drawing on interviews with scientists from around the world, Dr. Roberts illustrates that our evolution has resulted in something that is awe-inspiring yet far from perfect. Our embryonic development is a quirky mix of new and old, with strokes of genius alongside accommodated glitches and imperfections that are all inherited from distant ancestors. For instance, our development and evolutionary past explains why, as embryos, we have what look like gills, and as adults we suffer from back pain.This is a tale of discovery, about ourselves and our environment, that explores why and how we have developed as we have, looking at the development of human physiognomy through the various lenses of embryology, genetics, anatomy, evolution, and zoology. It combines the remarkable set of skills Alice Roberts possesses as a medical doctor, anatomist, osteoarchaeologist, and writer. As Richard Dawkins put it, the reader emerges from her book "entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself." --- From the publisher.
