The art of genes : how organisms make themselves / Enrico Coen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coen, Enrico.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Developmental biology.

Evolution (Biology).

Genetics.

Creative ability.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 386p. ) ill., facsims.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, c1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this highly original synthesis of art and science, Enrico Coen describes the recent revolution in human understanding of how plants and animals develop and how this offers fresh insights into evolution and human creativity.

'Coen's book is spiced with historic quotations and examples of plants' and animals' intriguing behaviour contains a wealth of interesting material Coen communicates his immense learning with a hundred appealing tales' Max Perutz How is a tiny fertilised egg able to turn itself into a human being? How can an acorn transform itself into an oak tree? Over the past twenty years there has been a revolution in biology. For the first time we have begun to understand how organisms make themselves. The Art of Genes gives an account of these new and exciting findings, and of their broader significance for how we view ourselves. Through a highly original synthesis of science and art, Enrico Coen vividly describes this revolution in our understanding of how plants and animals develop. Drawing on a wide range of examplesDSfrom flowers growing petals instead of sex organs, and flies that develop an extra pair of wings, to works of art by Leonardo and MagritteDShe explains in lively, accessible prose the language and meaning of genes. 'I would have loved this book at 16, and so should anyoneDSaged 16 to 60DSwho really wants to understand development.' John Maynard Smith, Nature.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

1 Painting a picture

2 Copying and creating

3 A question of interpretation

4 A case of mistaken identity

5 The internal world of colour

6 Evolution of locks and keys

7 The hidden skeleton

8 The expanding canvas

9 Refining a pattern

10 Creative reproduction

11 Scents and sensitivities

12 Responding to the environment

13 Elaborating on asymmetry

14 Beneath the surface

15 Themes and variations

16 Shifting forms

17 The story of colour

18 The art of Heath Robinson

Sources of quotations

Bibliography

Glossary

A

B

C

D

E

G

H

I

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

W

Figure acknowledgements

Index

F

J

K

X

Y

Z.

Notes:

Originally published: 1999.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [367]-372) and index.

ISBN:

1-280-69882-9

9786613675781

0-19-158767-2

0-585-12944-4

OCLC:

43476569