{"title":"Vienna Series In Theoretical Biology","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the complex world of theoretical biology with this thought-provoking series. Explore cutting-edge research and interdisciplinary perspectives on the fundamental principles of life and evolution.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"evolution-of-communication-systems-book-d-kimbrough-oller-9780262151115","title":"Evolution of Communication Systems","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLaying foundations for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of evolution in communication systems with tools from evolutionary biology, linguistics, animal behavior, developmental psychology, philosophy, cognitive sciences, robotics, and neural network modeling.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe search for origins of communication in a wide variety of species including humans is rapidly becoming a thoroughly interdisciplinary enterprise. In this volume, scientists engaged in the fields of evolutionary biology, linguistics, animal behavior, developmental psychology, philosophy, the cognitive sciences, robotics, and neural network modeling come together to explore a comparative approach to the evolution of communication systems. The comparisons range from parrot talk to squid skin displays, from human language to Aibo the robot dog's language learning, and from monkey babbling to the newborn human infant cry. The authors explore the mysterious circumstances surrounding the emergence of human language, which they propose to be intricately connected with drastic changes in human lifestyle. While it is not yet clear what the physical environmental circumstances were that fostered social changes in the hominid line, the volume offers converging evidence and theory from several lines of research suggesting that language depended upon the restructuring of ancient human social groups. 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This volume counters such methodological individualism by exploring recent and influential work in the life sciences that utilizes notions of collectivity, sociality, rich interactions, and emergent phenomena as essential explanatory tools to handle numerous persistent scientific questions in the life sciences. The contributors consider case studies of collectivity that range from microorganisms to human consensus, discussing theoretical and empirical challenges and the innovative methods and solutions scientists have devised.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe contributors offer historical, philosophical, and biological perspectives on collectivity, and describe collective phenomena seen in insects, the immune system, communication, and human collectivity, with examples ranging from cooperative transport in the longhorn crazy ant to the evolution of autobiographical memory. 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More than 150 years later many evolutionary biologists see not endless forms but the same, or very similar, forms evolving repeatedly in many independent species lineages. A porpoise's fishlike fins, for example, are not inherited from fish ancestors but are independently derived convergent traits. In this book, George McGhee describes the ubiquity of the phenomenon of convergent evolution and connects it directly to the concept of evolutionary constraint--the idea that the number of evolutionary pathways available to life are not endless, but quite limited.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConvergent evolution occurs on all levels, from tiny organic molecules to entire ecosystems of species. McGhee demonstrates its ubiquity in animals, both herbivore and carnivore; in plants; in ecosystems; in molecules, including DNA, proteins, and enzymes; and even in minds, describing problem-solving behavior and group behavior as the products of convergence. For each species example, he provides an abbreviated list of the major nodes in its phylogenetic classification, allowing the reader to see the evolutionary relationship of a group of species that have independently evolved a similar trait by convergent evolution. McGhee analyzes the role of functional and developmental constraints in producing convergent evolution, and considers the scientific and philosophical implications of convergent evolution for the predictability of the evolutionary process.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52409759006993,"sku":"NLS9780262539098","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780262539098.jpg?v=1758775958"},{"product_id":"transformations-of-lamarckism-book-snait-b-gissis-9780262527507","title":"Transformations of Lamarckism","description":"\u003cb\u003eA reappraisal of Lamarckism--its historical impact and contemporary significance.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1809--the year of Charles Darwin's birth--Jean-Baptiste Lamarck published \u003ci\u003ePhilosophie zoologique\u003c\/i\u003e, the first comprehensive and systematic theory of biological evolution. The Lamarckian approach emphasizes the generation of developmental variations; Darwinism stresses selection. Lamarck's ideas were eventually eclipsed by Darwinian concepts, especially after the emergence of the Modern Synthesis in the twentieth century. The different approaches--which can be seen as complementary rather than mutually exclusive--have important implications for the kinds of questions biologists ask and for the type of research they conduct. Lamarckism has been evolving--or, in Lamarckian terminology, transforming--since \u003ci\u003ePhilosophie zoologique\u003c\/i\u003e's description of biological processes mediated by subtle fluids. Essays in this book focus on new developments in biology that make Lamarck's ideas relevant not only to modern empirical and theoretical research but also to problems in the philosophy of biology. 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Indeed, the development-oriented approach it presents is becoming central to current evolutionary studies--as can be seen in the burgeoning field of Evo-Devo. \u003ci\u003eTransformations of Lamarckism\u003c\/i\u003e makes a unique contribution to this research.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52456396685585,"sku":"NLS9780262527507","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780262527507.jpg?v=1759377211"},{"product_id":"rethinking-cancer-book-bernhard-strauss-9780262054348","title":"Rethinking Cancer","description":"\u003cb\u003eLeading scientists argue for a new paradigm for cancer research, proposing a complex systems view of cancer supported by empirical evidence.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Current consensus in cancer research explains cancer as a disease caused by specific mutations in certain genes. Thanks to dramatic advances in genome sequencing, never before have we known so much about the individual cancer cell--and yet it is still unclear how to use this knowledge for treatment success. In this volume, leading researchers argue for a new theory framework for understanding and treating cancer. The contributors propose a complex systems view of cancer, presenting conceptual building blocks for a new research paradigm supported by empirical evidence.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The contributors first discuss the new research framework in terms of theoretical foundations and then take up the relevance of a systems approach, reviewing such topics as nonlinearity, recurrence after treatment, the cellular attractor concept, network theory, and noncoding DNA--the \"dark matter\" of our genome. They address the temporality of cancer progression, drawing on evolutionary theory and clinical experience. 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It also represents a change in the definition of individuality, because a new organism emerges from interactions among single cells. This volume considers these and other questions, with contributions that explore the origins and consequences of the evolution of multicellularity, addressing a range of topics, organisms, and experimental protocols.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach section focuses on selected topics or particular lineages that present a significant insight or challenge. The contributors consider the fossil record of the paleontological circumstances in which animal multicellularity evolved; cooptation, recurrent patterns, modularity, and plausible pathways for multicellular evolution in plants; theoretical approaches to the amoebozoa and fungi (cellular slime molds having long provided a robust model system for exploring the evolution of multicellularity), plants, and animals; genomic toolkits of metazoan multicellularity; and philosophical aspects of the meaning of individuality in light of multicellular evolution. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eContributors\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eMaja Adamska, Argyris Arnellos, Juan A. Arias, Eugenio Azpeitia, Mariana Ben tez, Adriano Bonforti, John Tyler Bonner, Peter L. Conlin, A. Keith Dunker, Salva Duran-Nebreda, Ana E. Escalante, Valeria Hern ndez-Hern ndez, Kunihiko Kaneko, Andrew H. Knoll, Stephan G. K nig, Daniel J. G. Lahr, Ottoline Leyser, Alan C. Love, Raul Monta ez, Emilio Mora van Cauwelaert, Alvaro Moreno, Vidyanand Nanjundiah, Aurora M. Nedelcu, Stuart A. Newman, Karl J. Niklas, William C. Ratcliff, I aki Ruiz-Trillo, Ricard Sol \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52484356899089,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52484358439185,"sku":"NLS9780262545853","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780262545853.jpg?v=1759856164"},{"product_id":"contingency-and-convergence-book-russell-powell-9780262043397","title":"Contingency and Convergence","description":"\u003cb\u003eCan we can use the patterns and processes of convergent evolution to make inferences about universal laws of life, on Earth and elsewhere?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this book, Russell Powell investigates whether we can use the patterns and processes of convergent evolution to make inferences about universal laws of life, on Earth and elsewhere. Weaving together disparate philosophical and empirical threads, Powell offers the first detailed analysis of the interplay between contingency and convergence in macroevolution, as it relates to both complex life in general and cognitively complex life in particular. If the evolution of mind is not a historical accident, the product of convergence rather than contingency, then, Powell asks, is mind likely to be an evolutionarily important feature of any living world?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStephen Jay Gould argued for the primacy of contingency in evolution. Gould's \"radical contingency thesis\" (RCT) has been challenged, but critics have largely failed to engage with its core claims and theoretical commitments. Powell fills this gap. He first examines convergent regularities at both temporal and phylogenetic depths, finding evidence that both vindicates and rebuffs Gould's argument for contingency. Powell follows this partial defense of the RCT with a substantive critique. Among the evolutionary outcomes that might defy the RCT, he argues, cognition is particularly important-not only for human-specific issues of the evolution of intelligence and consciousness but also for the large-scale ecological organization of macroscopic living worlds. Turning his attention to complex cognitive life, Powell considers what patterns of cognitive convergence tell us about the nature of mind, its evolution, and its place in the universe. If complex bodies are common in the universe, might complex minds be common as well?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52634230587665,"sku":"NLS9780262043397","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780262043397.jpg?v=1761867206"},{"product_id":"convergent-evolution-in-stone-tool-technology-book-michael-obrien-9780262552080","title":"Convergent Evolution in Stone-Tool Technology","description":"\u003cb\u003eScholars from a variety of disciplines consider cases of convergence in lithic technology, when functional or developmental constraints result in similar forms in independent lineages.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Hominins began using stone tools at least 2.6 million years ago, perhaps even 3.4 million years ago. 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This volume offers an overview of the cross-disciplinary integration of evolutionary and developmental approaches to cognition in light of these exciting new contributions from the life sciences. This research has explored many cognitive abilities in a wide range of organisms and developmental stages, and results have revealed the nature and origin of many instances of the cognitive life of organisms. Each section of Cognitive Biology deals with a key domain of cognition- spatial cognition; the relationships among attention, perception, and learning; representations of numbers and economic values; and social cognition. Contributors discuss each topic from the perspectives of psychology and neuroscience, brain theory and modeling, evolutionary theory, ecology, genetics, and developmental science.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eContributors\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chris M. Bird, Elizabeth M. Brannon, Neil Burgess, Jessica F. Cantlon, Stanislas Dehaene, Christian F. 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