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Title: Lamarck's Signature : How Retrogenes Are Changing Darwin's Natural Selection Paradigm (Helix Books Series) by Edward J. Steele, Robyn A. Lindley, Robert V. Blanden ISBN: 0-7382-0171-5 Publisher: Perseus Publishing Pub. Date: 01 December, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Solid foundation, shaky building
Comment: The first 162 pages of this book are great. Steele could spin them off into a short textbook. The explanations of antibody diversity, gene rearrangement and hypermutation are really very good. The rest is a little hard to believe, and where the immune system is concerned doesn't even make sense. Adaptability and variability, not hard-coding, are key to the immune response, so it seems that what he proposes--that learned responses could be passed back into germ-line DNA--wouldn't even be benficial if it were to turn out to be true considering the rate at which most pathogens mutate. But, let the experts address that question. For an overview of antibody production, this is done well.
Rating: 4
Summary: yet another surprise from nature
Comment: A book requiring remarckable courage in the orthodox scientific climate of today, given that Darwinian evolution is generally accepted and most views contrary are considered virtual heresy. The possibility of the passing on of acquired characteristics from a parent to an offspring was first proposed by Lamarck some 200 years ago. This new book suggests from experimental evidence gathered over decades that it is possible for immune functions to be passed from parent to offspring this prceeds via retroviruses being able to infect sex cells such as sperm and ovum. Certainly not an unreasonable possibility and given the strong evidence shown in the book not to be passed over lightly. Although the technical details of the biochemistry involved are at times heavy going the authors attempt to alleviate this through a useful glossary and explanations when necessary. Not easy to follow but worth the effort. The book certainly asks some major questions of accepted dogma.
Once again this book highlights that just when the accepted authorities are fixed and comfortable in their domain along comes something to surprise them and everyone, nature just can't stop being creative and interesting can it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Daring and instructive
Comment: A book based on new scientific knowledge, not vague old ideas. The authors put forward precise statements and hypotheses about inheritance of acquired immunity. I find it very instructive for its vulgarization of molecular genetics and of the functioning of the immune system, which is not easy to find elsewhere. I also like its openness and its boldness, which will certainly be attractive for all inquisitive minds.
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Title: The Triple Helix: Gene, Organism, and Environment by Richard C. Lewontin ISBN: 0674006771 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Acquiring Genomes: A Theory of the Origins of Species by Lynn Margulis, Dorion Sagan, Ernst Mayr ISBN: 0465043917 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 18 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond ISBN: 0393317552 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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