Books about Ontogeny from Amazon.com

"Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" was Haeckel's answer--the wrong one--to the most vexing question of nineteenth-century biology: what is the relationship between individual development (ontogeny) and the evolution of species and lineages (phylogeny)? In this, the first major book on the subject in fifty years, Stephen Gould documents the history of the idea of recapitulation from its first appearance among the pre-Socratics to its fall in the early twentieth century.

Mr. Gould explores recapitulation as an idea that intrigued politicians and theologians as well as scientists. He shows that Haeckel's hypothesis--that human fetuses with gill slits are, literally, tiny fish, exact replicas of their water-breathing ancestors--had an influence that extended beyond biology into education, criminology, psychoanalysis (Freud and Jung were devout recapitulationists), and racism. The theory of recapitulation, Gould argues, finally collapsed not from the weight of contrary data, but because the rise of Mendelian genetics rendered it untenable.

Turning to modern concepts, Gould demonstrates that, even though the whole subject of parallels between ontogeny and phylogeny fell into disrepute, it is still one of the great themes of evolutionary biology. Heterochrony--changes in developmental timing, producing parallels between ontogeny and phylogeny--is shown to be crucial to an understanding of gene regulation, the key to any rapprochement between molecular and evolutionary biology. Gould argues that the primary evolutionary value of heterochrony may lie in immediate ecological advantages for slow or rapid maturation, rather than in long-term changes of form, as all previous theories proclaimed.

Neoteny--the opposite of recapitulation--is shown to be the most important determinant of human evolution. We have evolved by retaining the juvenile characters of our ancestors and have achieved both behavioral flexibility and our characteristic morphology thereby (large brains by prolonged retention of rapid fetal growth rates, for example).

Gould concludes that there may be nothing new under the sun, but permutation of the old within complex systems can do wonders. As biologists, we deal directly with the kind of material complexity that confers an unbounded potential upon simple, continuous changes in underlying processes. This is the chief joy of our science."

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Price: $24.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Ontogeny of Information is a critical intervention into the ongoing and perpetually troubling nature-nurture debates surrounding human development Originally published in 1985, this was a foundational text in what is now the substantial field of developmental systems theory. In this revised edition Susan Oyama argues compellingly that nature and nurture are not alternative influences on human development but, rather, developmental products and the developmental processes that produce them.
Information, says Oyama, is thought to reside in molecules, cells, tissues, and the environment. When something wondrous occurs in the world, we tend to question whether the information guiding the transformation was pre-encoded in the organism or installed through experience or instruction. Oyama looks beyond this either-or question to focus on the history of such developments. She shows that what developmental “information” does depends on what is already in place and what alternatives are available. She terms this process “constructive interactionism,” whereby each combination of genes and environmental influences simultaneously interacts to produce a unique result. Ontogeny, then, is the result of dynamic and complex interactions in multileveled developmental systems.
The Ontogeny of Information challenges specialists in the fields of developmental biology, philosophy of biology, psychology, and sociology, and even nonspecialists, to reexamine the existing nature-nurture dichotomy as it relates to the history and formation of organisms.


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Price: $26.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The study of animal development has deep historical roots in codifying the field of evolutionary biology. In the 1940s, evolutionary theory became engulfed by microevolutionary genetic analysis and development became focused on mechanisms, forsaking the evolutionary implications of ontogeny. Recently, ontogeny has resurfaced as a significant component of evolutionary change, population, and community dynamics. Ontogeny, Functional Ecology and Evolution of Bats is a unique reference work by bat biologists who emphasize the importance of understanding ontogeny in the analysis of evolution and ecology. In addition, the developmental underpinnings of specialized morphology, physiology, and behavior are elucidated, and the strong influence of ecology on the ontological niche of juvenile bats is illustrated. This book is an essential reference for bat biologists, and all those working in the fields of ecology, developmental biology, evolution, behavior, and systematics..
Price: $70.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This first handbook to integrate developmental and cellular aspects combines the different structural and functional features involved in the regulation of brain perfusion and neuronal function. It highlights pharmacological and biomedical applications with sections on drug delivery and disease-related states as well as explaining in detail the role of astrocytes, shown to be an essential link between neurons and cerebral blood vessels. In addition the book studies how the structural elements interact in response to the dynamics of neuronal activities, necessitating adaptive mechanism of the interface. A significant part of the book describes new approaches to how the barrier can be surmised for drug delivery and how it can be mimicked by artificial in vitro systems for drug testing. Finally, the involvement of the barrier in brain diseases is considered, focusing on inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders of the brain.
Covering basic knowledge as well as specific information dealing with very recent progress in blood-brain interface research, this book will be of interest to a broad audience..
Price: $333.16 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"Lymphocyte Development" presents an extremely up-to-date account of molecular processes involved in the development of lymphocytes. This well written book is based on a graduate course taught by the author. Topics include the selection processes involved in lymphocyte maturation, immune receptor gene rearrangement, signaling pathways involved in cell cycle progression and apoptosis, and the transcriptional regulation of lymphoid ontogeny. The book also covers T cell development and differentiation of helper and cytotoxic T cells as well as the development of Natural Killer lymphocytes. The book finishes with an account of the molecular basis of immunodeficiency syndromes. It will interest researchers in immunology and it will be useful as a supplementary text for a graduate level immunology course..
Price: $177.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Leading international authorities report on their in vivo studies of neuron-glia interactions in animals with simple nervous systems (insects, fish, amphibians, and reptiles). Their work amounts to an in-depth account of many of the principal functions of glial cells: myelination, regulation of ionic environment, neurotransmitter compartmentation and neurotransmitter receptors, blood-brain barrier, regeneration, and aging. Part I examines the origin and role of glial cells during development across the phylogenetic spectrum, including the evolution of their particular functions. Part II discusses the physiological and metabolic interactions between neurons and glia, again across phylogenetic groups.

Neuron-Glia Interrelations During Phylogeny illuminates the evolution of the nervous system and expands our knowledge of the mechanisms involved in regeneration and central nervous system repair. It constitutes a virtual encyclopedia of up-to-date findings concerning the significant roles played by glial cells in neuronal development and function..
Price: $104.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Contemporary research in evolutionary developmental biology has been predominantly devoted to interpreting basic features of animal architecture in molecular genetics terms. Considerably less time has been spent on the exploitation of the wealth of facts and concepts from traditional disciplines, such as comparative morphology. This book integrates traditional morphological and contemporary molecular genetic approaches and deals with postembryonic development as well. It offers unconventional views on the basic features of animal organization, such as body axes, symmetry, segments, body regions, appendages and related concepts. This book is of particular interest to graduate students and researchers in evolutionary and developmental biology, cell biology, genetics, and zoology..
Price: $91.55 [Notify me when price goes down.]