The Evolution Explosion: How Humans Cause Rapid Evolutionary Change

by Stephen R. Palumbi (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2002

  $17.69

  Evolution is not merely the process that ruled the rise and fall of the dinosaurs over hundreds of millions of years. It also happens rapidly, so quickly and so frequently that it changes how all of us live our lives. Drugs fail because diseases like HIV and tuberculosis evolve in a matter of months, neatly sidestepping pharmacology. Insects adapt and render harmless the most powerful pesticides in a matter of years, not centuries. While the ecological impact of human technology has been well publicized, the evolutionary consequences of antibiotic and antiviral use, insecticide applications, and herbicide bioengineering have been largely unexplored. In The Evolution Explosion, Stephen R. Palumbi examines these practical and critical aspects of modern evolution with a simple, yet forceful style that contains both an urgent message and a sense of humor.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2001

  $3.24

  Evolution is not only the slow process that ruled the rise and fall of the dinosaurs over hundreds of millions of years. It also happens quickly - so quickly and frequently that it changes how all of us live our lives: drugs fail because diseases evolve; insects overcome the most powerful pesticides; HIV and tuberculosis develop resistance to the newest drugs in a few months. While the ecological scars of human technology have been well publicized, the broad evolutionary consequences of antibiotic and antiviral use, insecticide applications and herbicide bioengineering are largely unexplored. Humans have a great impact on evolution. Our impact remains largely accidental but our actions have generated a burst of evolutionary change that affects the entire natural world. These changes come back to haunt us and affect our daily lives. Written for a wide audience, The Evolution Explosion examines the practical and critical aspects of modern evolution.