Tangled Trees

In recent years, the use of molecular data to build phylogenetic trees and sophisticated computer-aided techniques to analyze them have led to a revolution in the study of cospeciation. Tangled Trees provides an up-to-date review and synthesis of current knowledge about phylogeny, cospeciation, and coevolution. The opening chapters present various methodological and theoretical approaches, ranging from the well-known parsimony approach to "jungles" and Bayesian statistical models. Then a series of empirical chapters discusses detailed studies of cospeciation involving vertebrate hosts and their parasites, including nematodes, viruses, and lice. Tangled Trees will be welcomed by researchers in a wide variety of fields, from parasitology and ecology to systematics and evolutionary biology. Contributors: Sarah Al-Tamimi, Michael A. Charleston, Dale H. Clayton, James W. Demastes, Russell D. Gray, Mark S. Hafner, John P. Huelsenbeck, J.-P. Hugot, Kevin P. Johnson, Peter Kabat, Bret Larget, Joanne Martin, Yannis Michalakis, Roderic D. M. Page, Ricardo L. Palma, Adrian M. Paterson, Susan L. Perkins, Andy Purvis, Bruce Rannala, David L. Reed, Fredrik Ronquist, Theresa A. Spradling, Jason Taylor, Michael Tristem

In this New York Times bestseller and longlist nominee for the National Book Award, “our greatest living chronicler of the natural world” (The New York Times), David Quammen explains how recent discoveries in molecular biology affect our understanding of evolution and life’s history. In the mid-1970s, scientists began using DNA sequences to reexamine the history of all life. Perhaps the most startling discovery to come out of this new field—the study of life’s diversity and relatedness at the molecular level—is horizontal gene transfer (HGT), or the movement of genes across species lines. It turns out that HGT has been widespread and important; we now know that roughly eight percent of the human genome arrived sideways by viral infection—a type of HGT. In The Tangled Tree, “the grandest tale in biology….David Quammen presents the science—and the scientists involved—with patience, candor, and flair” (Nature). We learn about the major players, such as Carl Woese, the most important little-known biologist of the twentieth century; Lynn Margulis, the notorious maverick whose wild ideas about “mosaic” creatures proved to be true; and Tsutomu Wantanabe, who discovered that the scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a direct result of horizontal gene transfer, bringing the deep study of genome histories to bear on a global crisis in public health. “David Quammen proves to be an immensely well-informed guide to a complex story” (The Wall Street Journal). In The Tangled Tree, he explains how molecular studies of evolution have brought startling recognitions about the tangled tree of life—including where we humans fit upon it. Thanks to new technologies, we now have the ability to alter even our genetic composition—through sideways insertions, as nature has long been doing. “The Tangled Tree is a source of wonder….Quammen has written a deep and daring intellectual adventure” (The Boston Globe).

In recent years, the use of molecular data to build phylogenetic trees and sophisticated computer-aided techniques to analyze them have led to a revolution in the study of cospeciation. Tangled Trees provides an up-to-date review and synthesis of current knowledge about phylogeny, cospeciation, and coevolution. The opening chapters present various methodological and theoretical approaches, ranging from the well-known parsimony approach to "jungles" and Bayesian statistical models. Then a series of empirical chapters discusses detailed studies of cospeciation involving vertebrate hosts and their parasites, including nematodes, viruses, and lice. Tangled Trees will be welcomed by researchers in a wide variety of fields, from parasitology and ecology to systematics and evolutionary biology. Contributors: Sarah Al-Tamimi, Michael A. Charleston, Dale H. Clayton, James W. Demastes, Russell D. Gray, Mark S. Hafner, John P. Huelsenbeck, J.-P. Hugot, Kevin P. Johnson, Peter Kabat, Bret Larget, Joanne Martin, Yannis Michalakis, Roderic D. M. Page, Ricardo L. Palma, Adrian M. Paterson, Susan L. Perkins, Andy Purvis, Bruce Rannala, David L. Reed, Fredrik Ronquist, Theresa A. Spradling, Jason Taylor, Michael Tristem

This is the story of some of biology’s most incredible discoveries. This book is a summary of “The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life,” by David Quammen. One of the central insights in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was that life branched like a tree. Over a century later, scientists used DNA sequences to reexamine the history of life and found that the tree of life was tangled. Humans are likely descended from single-cell organisms which we didn’t know existed fifty years ago. Genes don’t just move vertically. They also pass laterally across species lines. Eight percent of the human genome arrived not through traditional inheritance, but sideways through viral infections. The Tangled Tree chronicles these discoveries through the lives of the researchers who made them. It explains how molecular studies of evolution have brought startling recognition about the tangled tree of life. Read this book to get a new understanding of evolution and the history of life. This guide includes: * Book Summary—helps you understand the key concepts. * Online Videos—cover the concepts in more depth. Value-added from this guide: * Save time * Understand key concepts * Expand your knowledge

It's taken 400 years of travel, but the starship Venture has finally arrived at its destination. Beta Earth is an uninhabited, untouched planet that seventeen-year-old engineer Ursa has to colonise with her crewmates. The first night Ursa is on Beta Earth her world goes out of control when she encounters a dead body. She's positive she saw a large creature with sharp teeth, something that shouldn't even be on the planet, but nobody believes her. As injuries and bodies start piling up, Ursa must figure out who to trust when her fellow crewmates start taking sides between Venture's safety and the hope of creating a home on Beta Earth. If Ursa and her people can't find out what's really going on in the forest, their already fragile society won't survive.

“Once you get a taste of Stormcloud Station, you just don’t want to leave.” Mistake number one was to risk her heart. Mack Diaz was the golden boy of bull riding...until the accident. Sent to Stormcloud Station to learn the ropes on an Australian cattle station, Mack hopes to try his luck on the local rodeo circuit. Mack won’t admit his injuries have affected his self-confidence, and he keeps up a façade of swaggering bravado. Until he meets Bindi, a sassy, dark-eyed beauty, who gets under his skin. Bindi Takao is perfectly happy with her ordinary life working on Stormcloud. She loves her horses and her cooking. When the cocky new cowboy arrives from Montana, she steers clear, deciding he’s too sexy for his own boots. Mack pushes all her buttons, and she can’t decide if she wants to throttle him or kiss him. Then she does something totally out of character and spends one delicious night with him. Which is mistake number one, because Mack never dares to risk his heart. An out-of-control bushfire threatens Stormcloud. Details come to light that the fire may have been deliberately lit and suspicions swirl that Mack was the intended target. Not only does someone want him dead, but Mack struggles to deny his growing connection with Bindi. Can Mack succeed in facing his fears or will he head back to Montana with his tail between his legs? When two people fight their true feelings, something’s got to give. But mistake number two may just cost Bindi her life.