Animals may be careful in their choice of mates for a variety of reasons. The ideal mate may have to hold valuable resources as well as being highly fertile or fecund. As likely as not, it should be neither too closely related nor too distantly related, and it should be maximally attractive. All these aspects of a member of the opposite sex may influence how many descendants the pair could produce, but the importance of each will usually depend on the sex and the species of the individual making the choice. This book brings together modern thinking on the various functions of mate choice and...

The main part of the book begins with a study of behavioral development in animals, progresses to the neural and endocrine aspects of behavior, and then to the social behavior of nonhuman primates. The final transition from monkeys to humans, which Hinde made in his own research, leads to an impressive section on the development of social behavior in humans. The last scientific chapter relates to Dr. Hinde's deep concern about aggression and the peculiarly human institution of war. His own commentaries to the book discuss the recurring theme of crossing and recrossing the boundaries among...

The Human Genome Diversity Project was an important controversial research program arising from the debates surrounding the mapping of the human genome. This book, based on a detailed ethnographic study of two laboratories involved in the project, explores issues concerning standardization, naturalization and diversity generated in day-to-day work by scientists and technicians.

This work explores the way changes in technology have affected the relationship between ethics and medicine, generating new approaches to ethical issues and the implications of medical practice. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research with families affected by Huntington's Disease, Monica Konrad explores the huge disparity between the experience of living with the results of genetic testing and the knowledge and expertise to develop policy, clinical services and support.

This book applies a social science perspective to an examination of issues that arise in clinical practice as a result of drug development linked to genetic testing. These include the social context within which new drugs undergo trials and the related attitudes and expectations of clinicians and patients. Two case studies illustrate the arguments--one on aspects of Alzheimer's disease, and the other on the drug Herceptin which is used in the treatment of breast cancer.

The Human Genome Diversity Project was an important controversial research program arising from the debates surrounding the mapping of the human genome. This book, based on a detailed ethnographic study of two laboratories involved in the project, explores issues concerning standardization, naturalization and diversity generated in day-to-day work by scientists and technicians.

This work explores the way changes in technology have affected the relationship between ethics and medicine, generating new approaches to ethical issues and the implications of medical practice. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research with families affected by Huntington's Disease, Monica Konrad explores the huge disparity between the experience of living with the results of genetic testing and the knowledge and expertise to develop policy, clinical services and support.

This book applies a social science perspective to an examination of issues that arise in clinical practice as a result of drug development linked to genetic testing. These include the social context within which new drugs undergo trials and the related attitudes and expectations of clinicians and patients. Two case studies illustrate the arguments--one on aspects of Alzheimer's disease, and the other on the drug Herceptin which is used in the treatment of breast cancer.

John Stevens Henslow is known for his formative influence on Charles Darwin, who described their meeting as the one circumstance "which influenced my career more than any other." A Professor of Botany at Cambridge University, Henslow was Darwin's teacher and eventual life-long friend, but what of the man himself? In this new biography, much previously unpublished material has been carefully gathered to produce a rounded picture of a remarkable academic and Victorian philanthropist. The time in 1829-31, when Darwin "walked with Henslow" in and around Cambridge, was followed directly by...

How do we understand and explain the apparent dichotomy between plasticity and robustness in the context of development? Can we identify these complex processes without resorting to 'either/or' solutions? Written by two leaders in the field, this is the first book to fully unravel the complexity of the subject, explaining that the epigenetic processes generating plasticity and robustness are in fact deeply intertwined. It identifies the different mechanisms that generate robustness and the various forms of plasticity, before considering the functional significance of the integrated mechanisms...