Shostak The Evolution of Death

Why We Are Living Longer
1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7914-8081-6
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 260 Seiten

Reihe: SUNY series in Philosophy and Biology

Argues that death is not unchanging, but rather has evolved over time.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Shostak, Stanley

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Genetik und Genomik (nichtmedizinisch)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction: Death the Mystery

Part I. How Biology Makes Sense of Death

1. Evolution: Death’s Unifying Principle
Death Evolves!
False Clues: Where Science Got It Wrong
In Sum

2. Charting Death’s Evolution and Life’s Extension
Measuring Death’s Evolution: Empirical Evidence
Modeling the Evolution of Lifetimes
Accommodating Increased Longevity
In Sum

3. Rethinking Lifecycles and Arrows
Life as a Cycle: Lifecycles Connect Life to Life
Adaptations to Lifecycles
The Linear View of Life: Life’s Arrow
What Is Wrong with the Weismann/Haeckel Doctrine
In Sum

4. Keeping Life Afloat
Why Is Life So Profligate?
Gambling on Life: Death against the Odds
Improving Profit Margins
In Sum

Part II. How Death Evolves and Where It Is Heading

5. Putting Cells in the Picture
Cellular Theories of Life and Death
The Cell’s Role in Growth and Development
The Cell’s Role in Maintenance and Regeneration of Adult Tissues
The Cell’s Role in Death
The Cell’s Potential Role in Regeneration Therapy
In Sum

6. Neoteny and Longevity
The Time Is Out of Joint
Juvenile Life Expectancy Spreads Upward
Neoteny and the Germ Line
Fecundity Is Decreasing
In Sum

Afterword
How Death’s Evolution Escaped the Gerontologist’s Notice
Where Will Death’s Evolution Take Us?

Appendix: Different Forms of Life and Death

Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Stanley Shostak is Associate Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and is the author of several books, including Evolution of Sameness and Difference: Perspectives on the Human Genome Project.