Christiane Nusslein-Volhard's Books

Animal Beauty

On the Evolution of Biological Aesthetics

By: Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

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Animal Beauty

On the Evolution of Biological Aesthetics

By: Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

An illustrated exploration of colors and patterns in the animal kingdom, what they communicate, and how they function in the social life of animals. Are animals able to appreciate what humans refer to as “beauty”? The term scarcely ever appears nowadays in a scientific description of living things, but we humans may nonetheless find the colors, patterns, and songs of animals to be beautiful in apparently the same way that we see beauty in works of art. In Animal Beauty, Nobel Prize–winning biologist Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard describes how the colors and patterns displayed by animals arise, what they communicate, and how they function in the social life of animals. Watercolor drawings illustrate these amazing instances of animal beauty. Darwin addressed the topic of ornament in his 1871 book The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, and did not hesitate to engage with criteria of beauty, convinced that animals experienced color and ornament as attractive and agreeable in the same way that we do, and that the role this played in mate choice pointed to a “sexual selection” distinct from natural selection. Nüsslein-Volhard examines key examples of ornament and sexual selection in the animal kingdom and lays the groundwork for biological aesthetics. Noting that color patterns have not been a research priority—perhaps because they appeared to be nonessential luxuries rather than functional necessities—Nüsslein-Volhard looks at recent scientific developments on the topic. In part because of Nüsslein-Volhard's own research on the zebrafish, it is now possible to decipher the molecular genetic mechanisms that lead to production of colors in animal skin and its appendages and control its pattern and distribution.

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Page Count

123

Publisher

MIT Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

026203994X

ISBN 13

9780262039949

Coming To Life

How Genes Drive Development

By: Volhard Christiane Nusslein

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Coming To Life

How Genes Drive Development

By: Volhard Christiane Nusslein

Christiane Nusslein-Volhard, winner of The Nobel Prize in Medicine, gives a concise and illustrative overview of genetics, evolution, and cellular processes as well as a discussing of current ethical issues in human biology. Coming to Life is a remarkable journey through developmental biology that reveals miraculous processes in the microscopic world of cells. Through an accounting of groundbreaking discoveries, Christiane Nusslein-Volhard tells us many answers to historical and contemporary questions in science. For example, she brings us the newest knowledge about embryonic forms, explains the genetic mechanisms that influence adult development of all animals, and shares insights into the ethical standards society moist uphold in the face of new scientific discoveries. As the author leads us from laboratory research to its applications in human beings, we also come to understand why children look like their parents, how an embryonic cell knows to become an eye rather than an eyelash, and other incredible influences hat result in variety in life. Complete with her own hand-drawn illustrations, Coming to Life gives a rare opportunity to understand a Nobel Prize-winner's passion for science in concise, understandable language. 55 b/w illustrations.

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Page Count

190

Publisher

Kales Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0967007674

ISBN 13

9780967007670

Animal Beauty

On the Evolution of Biological Aesthetics

By: Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Animal Beauty

On the Evolution of Biological Aesthetics

By: Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

123

Publisher

MIT Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

026203994X

ISBN 13

9780262039949

Animal Beauty

On the Evolution of Biological Aesthetics

By: Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Animal Beauty

On the Evolution of Biological Aesthetics

By: Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard

An illustrated exploration of colors and patterns in the animal kingdom, what they communicate, and how they function in the social life of animals. Are animals able to appreciate what humans refer to as "beauty" The term scarcely ever appears nowadays in a scientific description of living things, but we humans may nonetheless find the colors, patterns, and songs of animals to be beautiful in apparently the same way that we see beauty in works of art. In An imal Beauty, Nobel Prize-winning biologist Christiane Nusslein-Volhard describes how the colors and patterns displayed by animals arise, what they communicate, and how they function in the social life of animals. Watercolor drawings illustrate these amazing instances of animal beauty. Darwin addressed the topic of ornament in his 1871 book The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, and did not hesitate to engage with criteria of beauty, convinced that animals experienced color and ornament as attractive and agreeable in the same way that we do, and that the role this played in mate choice pointed to a "sexual selection" distinct from natural selection. Nusslein-Volhard examines key examples of ornament and sexual selection in the animal kingdom and lays the groundwork for biological aesthetics. Noting that color patterns have not been a research priority-perhaps because they appeared to be nonessential luxuries rather than functional necessities--Nusslein-Volhard looks at recent scientific developments on the topic. In part because of Nusslein-Volhard's own research on the zebrafish, it is now possible to decipher the molecular genetic mechanisms that lead to production of colors in animal skin and its appendages and control its pattern and distribution.

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Age

Page Count

128

Published Date

ISBN 10

0262353350

ISBN 13

9780262353359

Book's by Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

Animal Beauty

Animal Beauty

Coming To Life

Coming To Life

Animal Beauty

Animal Beauty

Animal Beauty

Animal Beauty

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