家猫,也就是你家的猫,从它们在非洲的进化起点出发,在相对较短的一段时间里就成了地球上最成功、最多样化的物种之一。乔纳森·洛索斯既是一位科学家,也是位“猫奴”,他在这本书中探讨了如今研究人员如何利用现代科技的各种工具——从 GPS追踪(你会惊奇地发现后院的猫都跑到哪里去了)、基因组学(你口中的暹罗猫究竟是什么?)到考古学——来揭开猫过去、现在和未来的秘密。除了掀开猫的祖先的神秘面纱,《猫的多元宇宙》还让我们以猫的视角观察当今猫的栖息地,包括认识它们的野生近亲,这些野生小家伙的习性有时和你家里可爱的家猫出奇地相似。狮子和老虎会喵呜叫吗?如果它们不会,这是为什么?为什么你的猫会把死老鼠丢在你脚边(或者枕头上)?把虎猫当作宠物是个坏主意吗?猫最早何时离开非洲平原的?埃及象形文字中的那些猫又是怎么回事?洛索斯以亲切的口吻,引用亲身研究调查和多猫家庭中的诸多实例,轻松地解读了复杂的科学和历史,探讨几千年来自然和人工选择如何塑造了当代的猫,让许多新品种在解剖结构和行为方式上都和它们的祖先大相径庭。但作为捕食者的猫,在野外似乎仍旧留了一“爪”,在它们占领世界各地的新领地时尤为明显。人类改造着猫,猫反过来也改变着它们周遭的世界。这本引人入胜又富有知识性的书,描绘出了猫和人可能面对着怎样的未来。

Improbable Destinies : Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution

Jonathan B. Losos; illustrated by Marlin Peterson

Losos, Jonathan B.

Putnam Publishing Group, The

Penguin Publishing Group

CITIC Publishing House

Riverhead Books

Boulevard Books

Penguin Random House LLC, New York, 2017

United States, United States of America

China, People's Republic, China

New York, New York, 2017

First Edition, FR, 2017

New York State, 2017

Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-353) and index.

A Harvard Museum Curator Draws On The Latest Breakthroughs In Evolutionary Biology To Examine How Tiny, Random Convergences, From Mutations To Butterfly Sneezes, Have Triggered Remarkable Evolutionary Changes. Earth's Natural History Is Full Of Fascinating Instances Of Convergence: Phenomena Like Eyes And Wings And Tree-climbing Lizards That Have Evolved Independently, Multiple Times. But Evolutionary Biologists Also Point Out Many Examples Of Contingency, Cases Where The Tiniest Change--a Random Mutation Or An Ancient Butterfly Sneeze--caused Evolution To Take A Completely Different Course. What Role Does Each Force Really Play In The Constantly Changing Natural World? Are The Plants And Animals That Exist Today, And We Humans Ourselves, Inevitabilities Or Evolutionary Flukes? And What Does That Say About Life On Other Planets? Jonathan Losos Reveals What The Latest Breakthroughs In Evolutionary Biology Can Tell Us About One Of The Greatest Ongoing Debates In Science. He Takes Us Around The Globe To Meet The Researchers Who Are Solving The Deepest Mysteries Of Life On Earth Through Their Work In Experimental Evolutionary Science. Losos Himself Is One Of The Leaders In This Exciting New Field, And He Illustrates How Experiments With Guppies, Fruit Flies, Bacteria, Foxes, And Field Mice, Along With His Own Work With Anole Lizards On Caribbean Islands, Are Rewinding The Tape Of Life To Reveal Just How Rapid And Predictable Evolution Can Be. Improbable Destinies Will Change The Way We Think And Talk About Evolution. Losos's Insights Into Natural Selection And Evolutionary Change Have Far-reaching Applications For Protecting Ecosystems, Securing Our Food Supply, And Fighting Off Harmful Viruses And Bacteria. This Compelling Narrative Offers A New Understanding Of Ourselves And Our Role In The Natural World And The Cosmos.--jacket. Introduction: The Good Dinosaur -- Part One: Nature's Doppelgängers. Evolutionary Déjà Vu ; Replicated Reptiles ; Evolutionary Idiosyncrasy -- Part Two: Experiments In The Wild. The Not-so-glacial Pace Of Evolutionary Change ; Colorful Trinidad ; Lizard Castaways ; From Manure To Modern Science ; Evolution In Swimming Pools And Sandboxes -- Part Three: Evolution Under The Microscope. Replaying The Tape ; Breakthrough In A Bottle ; Jots, Tittles, And Drunken Fruit Flies ; The Human Environment ; Conclusion: Fate, Chance, And The Inevitability Of Humans. Jonathan B. Losos ; Illustrated By Marlin Peterson. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [343]-353) And Index.

A major new work overturning our assumptions about how evolution works
Earth's natural history is full of fascinating instances of convergence: phenomena like eyes and wings and tree-climbing lizards that have evolved independently, multiple times. But evolutionary biologists also point out many examples of contingency, cases where the tiniest change--a random mutation or an ancient butterfly sneeze--caused evolution to take a completely different course. What role does each force really play in the constantly changing natural world? Are the plants and animals that exist today, and we humans ourselves, inevitabilities or evolutionary freaks? And what does that say about life on other planets?
Jonathan Losos reveals what the latest breakthroughs in evolutionary biology can tell us about one of the greatest ongoing debates in science. He takes us around the globe to meet the researchers who are solving the deepest mysteries of life on Earth through their work in experimental evolutionary science. Losos himself is one of the leaders in this exciting new field, and he illustrates how experiments with guppies, fruit flies, bacteria, foxes, and field mice, along with his own work with anole lizards on Caribbean islands, are rewinding the tape of life to reveal just how rapid and predictable evolution can be.
Improbable Destinies will change the way we think and talk about evolution. Losos's insights into natural selection and evolutionary change have far-reaching applications for protecting ecosystems, securing our food supply, and fighting off harmful viruses and bacteria. This compelling narrative offers a new understanding of ourselves and our role in the natural world and the cosmos.

A major new book overturning our assumptions about how evolution works Earth's natural history is full of fascinating instances of convergence: phenomena like eyes and wings and tree-climbing lizards that have evolved independently, multiple times. But evolutionary biologists also point out many examples of contingency, cases where the tiniest change—a random mutation or an ancient butterfly sneeze—caused evolution to take a completely different course. What role does each force really play in the constantly changing natural world? Are the plants and animals that exist today, and we humans ourselves, inevitabilities or evolutionary flukes? And what does that say about life on other planets? Jonathan Losos reveals what the latest breakthroughs in evolutionary biology can tell us about one of the greatest ongoing debates in science. He takes us around the globe to meet the researchers who are solving the deepest mysteries of life on Earth through their work in experimental evolutionary science. Losos himself is one of the leaders in this exciting new field, and he illustrates how experiments with guppies, fruit flies, bacteria, foxes, and field mice, along with his own work with anole lizards on Caribbean islands, are rewinding the tape of life to reveal just how rapid and predictable evolution can be. Improbable Destinies will change the way we think and talk about evolution. Losos's insights into natural selection and evolutionary change have far-reaching applications for protecting ecosystems, securing our food supply, and fighting off harmful viruses and bacteria. This compelling narrative offers a new understanding of ourselves and our role in the natural world and the cosmos.

2024-01-12