Evolutionary Innovations

Author : Andreas Wagner
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191621285
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.84/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Origins of Evolutionary Innovations written by Andreas Wagner and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2011-07-14 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of life is a nearly four billion year old story of transformative change. This change ranges from dramatic macroscopic innovations such as the evolution of wings or eyes, to a myriad of molecular changes that form the basis of macroscopic innovations. We are familiar with many examples of innovations (qualitatively new phenotypes that provide a critical benefit) but have no systematic understanding of the principles that allow organisms to innovate. This book proposes several such principles as the basis of a theory of innovation, integrating recent knowledge about complex molecular phenotypes with more traditional Darwinian thinking. Central to the book are genotype networks: vast sets of connected genotypes that exist in metabolism and regulatory circuitry, as well as in protein and RNA molecules. The theory can successfully unify innovations that occur at different levels of organization. It captures known features of biological innovation, including the fact that many innovations occur multiple times independently, and that they combine existing parts of a system to new purposes. It also argues that environmental change is important to create biological systems that are both complex and robust, and shows how such robustness can facilitate innovation. Beyond that, the theory can reconcile neutralism and selectionism, as well as explain the role of phenotypic plasticity, gene duplication, recombination, and cryptic variation in innovation. Finally, its principles can be applied to technological innovation, and thus open to human engineering endeavours the powerful principles that have allowed life's spectacular success.

Author : Matthew H. Nitecki
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 9780226586946
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.44/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Evolutionary Innovations written by Matthew H. Nitecki and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1990-07-14 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evolutionary innovations—the bony skeleton of vertebrates, avian flight, or the insect pollination system of angiosperms, for example—have in recent years become the focus of much fertile new research in evolutionary biology. Innovations may hold the keys to understanding why whole new groups of organisms evolve or, conversely, why groups of organisms become extinct. This volume brings together contributors from the fields of morphology, genetics, embryology, physiology, and paleontology to present research on evolutionary innovations and to suggest directions for further work. The topics covered include the plurality of evolutionary innovations, patterns and processes at different hierarchical levels, evolutionary genetics of adaptations, heterochrony and other mechanisms of radical evolutionary change in early development, developmental mechanisms at the origin of morphological novelty, the evolution of morphological variation patterns, functional design and its punctuated products, plausibility and testability in assessing the consequences of evolutionary innovations, paradigms and pitfalls of studying physiological evolution, polyphyletic constructional breakthroughs in fossil and extant species, ecology of evolutionary innovations in the fossil record.

Author : Koen Frenken
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781781956410
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Innovation, Evolution and Complexity Theory written by Koen Frenken and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2006-03-29 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The motivation behind this book is the desire to integrate complexity theory into economic models of technological evolution. By means of developing an evolutionary model of complex technological systems, the book contributes to the neo-Schumpetarian literature on innovation, diffusion and technological paradigms.

Author : Günter P. Wagner
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691180679
Total Pages : 494 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Homology, Genes, and Evolutionary Innovation written by Günter P. Wagner and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-07-10 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major synthesis of homology, written by a top researcher in the field Homology—a similar trait shared by different species and derived from common ancestry, such as a seal's fin and a bird’s wing—is one of the most fundamental yet challenging concepts in evolutionary biology. This groundbreaking book provides the first mechanistically based theory of what homology is and how it arises in evolution. Günter Wagner, one of the preeminent researchers in the field, argues that homology, or character identity, can be explained through the historical continuity of character identity networks—that is, the gene regulatory networks that enable differential gene expression. He shows how character identity is independent of the form and function of the character itself because the same network can activate different effector genes and thus control the development of different shapes, sizes, and qualities of the character. Demonstrating how this theoretical model can provide a foundation for understanding the evolutionary origin of novel characters, Wagner applies it to the origin and evolution of specific systems, such as cell types; skin, hair, and feathers; limbs and digits; and flowers. The first major synthesis of homology to be published in decades, Homology, Genes, and Evolutionary Innovation reveals how a mechanistically based theory can serve as a unifying concept for any branch of science concerned with the structure and development of organisms, and how it can help explain major transitions in evolution and broad patterns of biological diversity.

Author : Lynn Margulis
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 9780262132695
Total Pages : 482 pages
Book Rating : 4.99/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Symbiosis as a Source of Evolutionary Innovation written by Lynn Margulis and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These original contributions by symbiosis biologists and evolutionary theorists address the adequacy of the prevailing neo-Darwinian concept of evolution in the light of growing evidence that hereditary symbiosis, supplemented by the gradual accumulation of heritable mutation, results in the origin of new species and morphological novelty.A departure from mainstream biology, the idea of symbiosis--as in the genetic and metabolic interactions of the bacterial communities that became the earliest eukaryotes and eventually evolved into plants and animals--has attracted the attention of a growing number of scientists.These original contributions by symbiosis biologists and evolutionary theorists address the adequacy of the prevailing neo-Darwinian concept of evolution in the light of growing evidence that hereditary symbiosis, supplemented by the gradual accumulation of heritable mutation, results in the origin of new species and morphological novelty. They include reports of current research on the evolutionary consequences of symbiosis, the protracted physical association between organisms of different species. Among the issues considered are individuality and evolution, microbial symbioses, animal-bacterial symbioses, and the importance of symbiosis in cell evolution, ecology, and morphogenesis. Lynn Margulis, Distinguished Professor of Botany at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, is the modern originator of the symbiotic theory of cell evolution. Once considered heresy, her ideas are now part of the microbiological revolution. ContributorsPeter Atsatt, Richard C. Back, David Bermudes, Paola Bonfante-Fasolo, René Fester, Lynda J. Goff, Anne-Marie Grenier, Ricardo Guerrero, Robert H. Haynes, Rosmarie Honegger, Gregory Hinkle, Kwang W. Jeon, Bryce Kendrick, Richard Law, David Lewis, Lynn Margulis, John Maynard Smith, Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, Paul Nardon, Kenneth H. Nealson, Kris Pirozynski, Peter W. Price, Mary Beth Saffo, Jan Sapp, Silvano Scannerini, Werner Schwemmler, Sorin Sonea, Toomas H. Tiivel, Robert K. Trench, Russell Vetter

Author : Gino Cattani
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192573969
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.64/5 ( download)

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Download or read book New Developments in Evolutionary Innovation written by Gino Cattani and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-05-13 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The growth of evolutionary thinking has had a profound impact on economic theory and related fields such as strategy and technological innovation. An important paradigm that underlies the evolutionary theory of innovation is neo-Darwinian evolution. According to this paradigm, evolution is gradualist and based on the mechanisms of variation, selection, and retention. Since the 1970s, theoretical advancements in evolutionary biology have recognised the central role of punctuated equilibrium, speciation, and exaptation. However, despite their significant influence in evolutionary biology, these advancements have been reflected only partially in evolutionary approaches to economics, strategy, and innovation. The aim of this book is to review these advancements and explore their implications, with a particular emphasis on the role of serendipity and unprestateability in innovation and novelty creation.

Author : Nick Lane
Publisher : Profile Books
ISBN 13 : 1847652220
Total Pages : 469 pages
Book Rating : 4.25/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Life Ascending written by Nick Lane and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 469 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2010 Royal Society Prize for science books Powerful new research methods are providing fresh and vivid insights into the makeup of life. Comparing gene sequences, examining the atomic structure of proteins and looking into the geochemistry of rocks have all helped to explain creation and evolution in more detail than ever before. Nick Lane uses the full extent of this new knowledge to describe the ten greatest inventions of life, based on their historical impact, role in living organisms today and relevance to current controversies. DNA, sex, sight and consciousnesses are just four examples. Lane also explains how these findings have come about, and the extent to which they can be relied upon. The result is a gripping and lucid account of the ingenuity of nature, and a book which is essential reading for anyone who has ever questioned the science behind the glories of everyday life.

Author : Frank W. Geels
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781845424596
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.9X/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Technological Transitions and System Innovations written by Frank W. Geels and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This important book addresses how long term and large scale shifts from one socio-technical system to another come about, using insights from evolutionary economics, sociology of technology and innovation studies. These major changes involve not just technological changes, but also changes in markets, regulation, culture, industrial networks and infrastructure. The book develops a multi-level perspective, arguing that transitions take place through the alignment of multiple processes at three levels: niche, regime and landscape. This perspective is illustrated by detailed historical case studies: the transition from sailing ships to steamships, the transition from horse-and-carriage to automobiles and the transition from propeller-piston engine aircraft to turbojets. This book will be of great interest to researchers in innovation studies, evolutionary economics, sociology of technology and environmental studies. It will also be useful for policy makers involved in long-term sustainability and systems transitions issues.

Author : John M. Ziman
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521542173
Total Pages : 404 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Technological Innovation as an Evolutionary Process written by John M. Ziman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-09-18 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ground-breaking yet non-technical analysis of the analogy that technological artefacts 'evolve' like biological organisms.

Author : Arthur O. Eger
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107187656
Total Pages : 327 pages
Book Rating : 4.58/5 ( download)

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Download or read book On the Origin of Products written by Arthur O. Eger and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-02-15 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides an evolutionary perspective on the origin of products. Offers a method to give designers directions in New Product Development.