Sean Carroll was interviewed by the Discovery Magazine in the March 2009 edition of the magazine, on evolutionary developmental biology by Pamela Weintraub fascinating interview
I am reading a book currently, which is called A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness. It's fascinating. You may wish to consider it as a valuable addition to your own library. The author is Merlin Donald Ph.D. Cheers all. Fifteendaysofbliss.
I have been reading the latest book by Sean Carroll from Darwin to Leaky there are some interesting details of which was not familar very interesting read it seems that evolution of life is only a question to those who have at least not read the book I have read ( above ) I have ordered 2 more books of his , it will be interesting
As has been said already, if you’re not willing to direct the thread with any specific questions or directions then don’t be surprised if no one can be bothered participating. If you are interested in finding out about the latest developments in evolutionary developmental biology, I suggest you consult journals on the subject. How about here or any of these? When you can actually come up with a question, let us know.
Sorry mate, but I am in agreement with Hercules Rockfeller here. Seriously, this is a great feild and one which all of us here in this convo love, but PLEASE can you post a specific question since you posted the thread in the first place and thus act as a sort of director of any potential discourse. Cheers mate.
what puzzles me how does a moth, that does not have the colour of the enviroment or the colour or pattern to avoid predation , know to change its colour and/or pattern to avoid predation , based on a moth that does ? how does this happen ? how does a moth with a minute brain( or nervous system really ) become aware of another moths survival advantage ?
Natural selection. What happens is that moths tend to look alike, but every so often some are born looking different. If these differences lead to even a slightly higher rate of reproduction, the genes for these differences will become more numerous in the gene pool.
but what about the ability to mimic ? in order to mimic, initially another , means that somehow the moth, bird , insect , octypus etc. has become somehow aware of the advantage that another has , how is this communicated ?
or to mimic the colour of the enviroment means that somehow any living being no matter how primative and simple must somehow be able to adapt to that enviroment initially , but how ? if not through awarness that is the fascinating question really
when a pray-mantis act like a twig of tree for instance , in both figure and colour there must be some sort of underlying awarness or communication within that living being , I would think anyway
Nope, there is no awareness. Variations in form sometimes tend to slightly resemble something else. If under certain conditions, if this similarity results in greater survivability (actually reproductive ability), that variation will survive. If there is a gradation in the environment where more similarity to something is even better, then the population will change towards that form. If you notice, the resemblance is not always perfect, because greater perfection would exceed the perceptive ability of the (usually) predator, and is not necessary.
so what perspective does one take on the ology of , evolutionary developmental biology then I find it a very in-depth look at life's development over time
The field of evolutionary developmental biology deals with developmental questions. In other words, it deals with embryonic development. It compares the developmental processes of different animals and plants in an attempt to determine the ancestral relationship between organisms and how developmental processes evolved. The discussions in this thread to date have concerned straight evolutionary biology, not evo-devo.
