Biology 2015-2016
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Biology 2015-2016 press.princeton.edu Contents “Bringing a lost species back to 1 life is an exciting prospect and general interest also a scary one. No one is better able to explain the challenges and 6 the potential of the enterprise textbooks than Beth Shapiro. How to Clone a Mammoth is an engaging, rigor- ous, and deeply thoughtful book.” 10 —Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The monographs in Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History population biology New 11 How to Clone a Mammoth biomechanics The Science of De-Extinction Beth Shapiro 12 “In this lucid road map for the nascent discipline of ‘de-extinction,’ ecology | evolution | Shapiro, an evolutionary biologist, examines not only how we can res- behavior urrect long-vanished species but also when we cannot or should not.” —Scienti c American 14 Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? The science says yes. In How to Clone a Mammoth, Beth princeton primers Shapiro, evolutionary biologist and pioneer in “ancient DNA” research, in climate walks readers through the astonishing process of de-extinction. From deciding which species should be restored, to sequencing their genomes, 15 to anticipating how revived populations might be overseen in the wild, Shapiro vividly explores the extraordinary cutting-edge science that is primers in being used—today—to resurrect the past. Journeying to far- ung Siberian complex systems locales in search of Ice Age bones and delving into her own research—as well as that of fellow experts such as Svante Pääbo, George Church, and 16 Craig Venter—Shapiro considers de-extinction’s practical bene ts and ethi- fi eld guides cal challenges. Would de-extinction change the way we live? Is this really cloning? What are the costs and risks? And what is the ultimate goal? 21 Using DNA collected from remains as a genetic blueprint, scientists aim science essentials to engineer extinct traits—traits that evolved by natural selection over thousands of years—into living organisms. But rather than viewing de-extinction as a way to restore one particular species, Shapiro argues 22 that the overarching goal should be the revitalization and stabilization of of related interest contemporary ecosystems. For example, elephants with genes modi ed to express mammoth traits could expand into the Arctic, restoring lost 24 productivity to the tundra ecosystem. princeton science Looking at the very real and compelling science behind an idea once library seen as science ction, How to Clone a Mammoth demonstrates how de-extinction will rede ne conservation’s future. 2015. 256 pages. 16 color illus. 2 halftones. 9 line illus. 25 Cl: 978-0-691-15705-4 $24.95 | £16.95 index | order form One of Flavorwire’s 10 Must-Read Academic Books for 2015 cloneamammoth.com New Life’s Engines How Microbes Made Earth Habitable Paul G. Falkowski “Falkowski reminds us that we are living o the kindness of strangers— small ones, the microbes that are the very foundation of all life on this planet. He describes a hidden world of extraordinary complexity. Life’s Engines is a treasure trove of science and history that sounds a strong cautionary note about our future.” —Martin J. Blaser, author of Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibi- otics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues For almost four billion years, microbes had the primordial oceans all to themselves. The stewards of Earth, these organisms transformed the chemistry of our planet to make it habitable for plants, animals, and us. Life’s Engines takes readers deep into the microscopic world to explore how these marvelous creatures made life on Earth possible—and how human life today would cease to exist without them. Life’s Engines will inspire wonder about these elegantly complex nanomachines that have driven life since its origin. Science Essentials 2015. 224 pages. 22 line illus. 16 tables. Cl: 978-0-691-15537-1 $24.95 | £16.95 Forthcoming The Real Planet of the Apes A New Story of Human Origins David R. Begun “[A] masterful book by a leading scholar that provides an authorita- tive and engaging introduction to the evolution of apes—including humans. No other book covers the topic in such a coherent and comprehensive way.” —John G. Fleagle, author of Primate Adaptation and Evolution Was Darwin wrong when he traced our origins to Africa? The Real Planet of the Apes makes the explosive claim that it was in Europe, not Africa, where apes evolved the most important hallmarks of our human lineage—such as bipedalism, dexterous hands, and larger brains. In this compelling and accessible book, David Begun, one of the world’s leading paleoanthropologists, transports readers to an epoch in the remote past when the Earth was home to many migratory populations of ape species. Presenting startling new insights about our fossil ape ancestors, The Real Planet of the Apes is a book that fundamentally alters our understanding of human origins. November 2015. 288 pages. 16 color illus. 18 halftones. 14 line illus. 2 tables. 2 maps. Cl: 978-0-691-14924-0 $29.95 | £19.95 press.princeton.edu general interest • 1 Forthcoming Forthcoming Forthcoming Paperback The Worst of Times The Secret of Our Success The Bees in Your How Life on Earth Survived How Culture Is Driving Human Backyard Eighty Million Years of Evolution, Domesticating A Guide to North America’s Extinctions Our Species, and Making Us Bees Paul B. Wignall Smarter Joseph S. Wilson & Joseph Henrich “Wignall does a wonderful job Olivia Messinger Carril of describing the mass extinc- “Henrich is one of a small group “The Bees in Your Backyard provides tions from the Middle Permian of anthropologists who has a great introduction to the bees of through the Jurassic. His personal revolutionized our thinking about North America and an invaluable contributions to this eld have evolution. This nuanced work aid to anyone learning to di erenti- been in uential, and it is great fun o ers the most comprehensive ate the various kinds.” to read about the subject through answer I know of to the question —Sheila Colla, coauthor of Bumble his eyes and the experiences of his of how we became human. It tells Bees of North America: An Identi ca- research team. “ the story of how culture, cultural tion Guide —Jonathan Payne, Stanford learning, and cultural evolution An engaging introduction to the University made us so smart.” roughly 4,000 di erent bee species —Jonathan Haidt, author of The Two hundred and sixty million found in the United States and Righteous Mind years ago, life on Earth su ered Canada, dispelling common myths wave after wave of cataclysmic Humans are a puzzling species. about bees while o ering essential extinctions, with the worst—the On the one hand, we struggle to tips for telling them apart in the end-Permian extinction—wiping survive on our own in the wild. eld. The book features more than out nearly every species on the On the other hand, human groups 900 stunning color photos of the planet. The Worst of Times delves have produced innovative tech- bees living all around us—in our into the mystery behind these nologies, sophisticated languages, gardens and parks, along nature extinctions and the fateful role the and complex institutions that trails, and in the wild spaces primeval supercontinent, known as have permitted us to successfully between. It describes their natural Pangea, may have played in caus- expand into environments across history, including where they live, ing these global catastrophes. the globe. What has enabled us how they gather food, their role October 2015. 232 pages. 16 color illus. to dominate such a vast range of as pollinators, and even how to 2 halftones. 11 line illus. environments? Tracking clues from attract them to your own backyard. Cl: 978-0-691-14209-8 $27.95 | £19.95 our ancient past to the present, Ideal for amateur naturalists and The Secret of Our Success explores experts alike, it gives detailed how our cultural and social natures Connect with us: accounts of every bee family and produce a collective intelligence genus in North America, describ- @ PrincetonUniversityPress that explains both our species’ ing key identi cation features, immense success and our human distributions, diets, nesting habits, +princetonuniversitypress uniqueness. and more. November 2015. 456 pages. 25 line illus. December 2015. 288 pages. 926 color photos. 5 tables. 1 table. 99 maps. @ PrincetonUPress Cl: 978-0-691-16685-8 $29.95 | £19.95 Pa: 978-0-691-16077-1 $29.95 | £19.95 2 • general interest Forthcoming Paperback Forthcoming Paperback New The Extreme Life of Oxygen The Future of the Brain the Sea A Four Billion Year History Essays by the World’s Leading Stephen R. Palumbi & Donald E. Can eld Neuroscientists Edited by Gary Marcus & Anthony R. Palumbi “This is the sort of science writing Jeremy Freeman “From ‘immortal’ jelly sh that age we would all do well to read more in reverse, to zombie bone worms of. [E]ngage[s] with the ambigu- “[W]ill leave readers both amazed that eat the skeletons of dead ity of a world where evidence is and full of questions.” whales, the ocean is full of bizarre imperfect, knowledge evolves, and —Richard E. Cytowic, New York characters. Biologist Stephen mistakes can be made in interpret- Journal of Books Palumbi and his science writer son, ing the data.” 2014. 312 pages. 9 color illus. 2 halftones. 18 line illus. Anthony, pro le the most unusual —Ian Sche er, Los Angeles Review Cl: 978-0-691-16276-8 $24.95 | £16.95 specimens.” of Books —Clara Moskowitz, Scienti c Science Essentials American December 2015. 224 pages. 8 color illus.