Where Do We Come From The Molecular Evidence for Human Descent [Paperback]

From the moment we first began to contemplate the world, three questions have occupied our minds: Where do we come from?, What are we?, and Where are we going? Artists, religious thinkers, philosophers, and most recently scientists have all searched for answers. Here, the authors describe how scientists decipher human origin from the record encrypted in the DNA and protein molecules. After explaining the nature of descent and the methods available for studying genealogical relationships, they summarize the information revealed by the molecular archives. In doing so, they draw conclusions about our identity, our place in the living world, and our future.From the moment it first began to contemplate the world, three questions have occupied the human mind: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Artists (notably Paul Gauguin), religious thinkers, philosophers, and most recently scientists have all searched for answers. Here, the authors describe how scientists decipher human origin from the record encrypted in the DNA and protein molecules. After explaining the nature of descent and the methods available for studying genealogical relationships, they summarize the information revealed by the molecular archives about the Tree of Life and our location on one of its branches. The knowledge thus gleaned allows them to draw conclusions about our identity, our place in the living world, our future, and the ethical implications of the changed perspective.1 A Tahitian Prelude Art, Myth, and Science.- 2 Bridging the Generation Gap The Physical Basis of Ancestor-Descendant Relationship.- 3 Cranes Foot Biological Meaning of Descent.- 4 Klados and Phyl? The Molecular Nature of Evolution.- 5 The Painted Tree Methods of Phylogenetic Reconstruction.- 6 The Tree of Life From the Root to the Crown.- 7 The Rise of the Metazoan Tribes The New Phylogeny of the Animal Kingdom.- 8 Our Place in Nature The Closest Living Relative.- 9 Of Time and the Tree The Time Scale of Evolls3