Topobiology: An Introduction to Molecular Embryology (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780465086535)

If you had a complete copy of a dinosaur's DNA and the genetic code, you still would not be able to make a dinosaur--or even determine what one looked like. Why? How do animals get their shape and how does shape evolve? In this important book, Nobel laureate Gerald M. Edelman challenges the notion that an understanding of the genetic code and of cell differentiation is sufficient to answer these questions. Rather, he argues, a trio of related issues must also be investigated--the development of form, the evolution of form, and the morphological and functional bases of behavior. Topobiology presents an introduction to molecular embryology and describes a comprehensive hypothesis to account for the evolution and development of animal form.

Author: Gerald M. Edelman
ISBN-10: 0465086535
ISBN-13: 9780465086535
Publisher: Basic Books
Language: English
Published: 07/21/1993
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 9.26h x 6.15w x 0.72d