Evolution History

The Greek god Hades is something of an enigma. On the one hand, people can view him through a lens that was a byproduct of the Christian tradition: as a terrifying lord of death seated upon his ebony throne, an unseen force of power moving through the world. Certainly, many of the ancient Greeks themselves saw the god in this light.

No other life form on the planet has generated a brain like ours. How did a bundle of cells weighing just 1.2 kg give rise to conscious, self-aware beings capable of understanding time, language, mathematics and music, of exploring outer space and sequencing their own DNA? The answer to such questions is a seven-million-year saga. How the Mind Changed is the definitive audiobook on human brain evolution: a sweeping natural history.

After two months in Skyhome, Alex and the crew are ready to depart for the next phase of their mission - convincing Emperor Augustus of the Nova Roman Empire to join them in their attack on the Great Blight. But when they enter the Empire's borders, they find far more than they bargained for: slavers, deadly beasts, and the cunning and powerful Emperor himself. And even the far-reaching Empire is not immune to the effects of the deadly xenovirus and its newest evolutions....

A sweeping journey through four centuries of passion, politics, and performance. From the candlelit salons of Renaissance Florence to the digital stages of the twenty-first century, Voices of Time tells the epic story of opera—an art form that has captivated audiences with its fusion of music, drama, and spectacle. Blending vivid storytelling with cultural insight, M.Y. Sard traces opera’s evolution across continents and centuries. Discover the birth of monody, the rise of the castrato, the genius of Mozart and Verdi, the radical vision of Wagner, and the boundary-breaking experiments ...

This work is an examination of Darwin's theory of evolution, in particular his belief in competition as the driving force behind human development.

It was September 18, 2001. In the early morning darkness, a lone figure dropped several letters into a mailbox. Seventeen days later, a Florida journalist died of inhalational anthrax. It killed five people, disfigured at least 18 more, and launched the largest investigation in the FBI's history. These anthrax attacks marked the first time a sophisticated biological weapon was released in the United States. Recounting the Anthrax Attacks explores the origins of the innovative forensics used in this case, while also explaining their historical context.

Spectacular fossil finds make today's headlines; new technology unlocks secrets of skeletons unearthed 100 years ago. Still, evolution is often poorly represented by the media and misunderstood by the public. A potent antidote to pseudoscience, Written in Stone is an engrossing history of evolutionary discovery for anyone who has marveled at the variety and richness of life.

50 Groundbreaking Roller Coasters is a comprehensive list of the most influential scream machines that drove the evolution of the modern roller coaster. It's a new and interesting look at roller coaster history. What makes a majority of the roller coasters listed in this book even more impressive is the fact that they were designed using pencil and paper rather than computers. Perfect for coaster fans, theme park travelers, and thrill ride historians alike, this book dives into the technology, stories, and bold ideas behind each groundbreaking coaster. Learn how engineers and visionaries ...

The teaching of Hell today is almost non-existent. The Bible says much about Hell. Matter of fact it refers to Hell much more than it does Heaven. If you do not believe in Hell as a place of forever punishment of the sinner, you no doubt do not believe in Heaven either. Christians of today have overdosed on the love of God, so much so that, many believe that a just and loving God will not do what He said about an eternity of fiery torment. I believe in Hell because the Bible tells us about it. I believe in it because Jesus taught much about it. In this writing, I do my best to make Hell and...

DNA Demystified satisfies the public appetite for and curiosity about DNA and genetics. The book begins with the basic groundwork and a brief history of DNA and genetics. Chapters then cover newsworthy topics, including DNA fingerprinting, using DNA in forensic analyses, and identifying cold-case criminals. For listeners intrigued by the proliferation of at-home DNA tests, the text includes fascinating explorations of genetic genealogy and family tree construction.

Is Genesis Historically Accurate...and What Did Jesus Say? Analyze the impact of the unproven theory of evolution Examine Genesis and the scientific proof of Creation Evaluate the true synchronicity between the Bible and science If you have a deep love for the Bible but find it challenging to defend against intellectual arguments, this resource is invaluable. Dr. Morris empowers you and your church to withstand academic attacks and ridicule directed at the Christian faith. This book serves as an excellent guide for Bible teachers, study groups, and individual learners, catering to both ...

Hut! Hut! Hike! explores the history of football terminology by examining when and why more than 400 familiar words and expressions entered the game. By linking the game’s evolution to changes in its language, readers learn the origins of first string, basic fundamentals, X’s and O’s, long snapper, and hundreds more terms used in every football conversation or broadcasts. In addition, you will learn which change in the game led to dropback and handoff becoming popular, and why the names for many defensive player positions emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. Organized in easy-to-read, bite...

On the Origin of Species is one of the most important and influential books of its time and remains one of the most significant contributions to philosophical and scientific thought. The theories Darwin sets out here had an immediate and profound impact on the literature and philosophical thought of his contemporaries and continue to provoke thought and debate today. Written for the general public of the 1850s, On the Origin of Species laid out an evolutionary view of the world which challenged contemporary beliefs about divine providence and the fixity of species.

Lately, the most passionate advocates of the theory of evolution seem to present it as bad news. Scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, and Sam Harris tell us that our most intimate actions, thoughts, and values are mere byproducts of thousands of generations of mindless adaptation. We are just one species among multitudes and therefore no more significant than any other living creature. Now comes Brown University biologist Kenneth R. Miller to make the case that this view betrays a gross misunderstanding of evolution.

Survival of the fittest or survival of the nicest? Since the dawn of time man has contemplated the mystery of altruism, but it was Darwin who posed the question most starkly. From the selfless ant to the stinging bee to the man laying down his life for a stranger, evolution has yielded a goodness that in theory should never be. Set against the sweeping tale of 150 years of scientific attempts to explain kindness, The Price of Altruism tells for the first time the moving story of the eccentric American genius George Price (1922-1975), as he strives to answer evolution's greatest riddle.

In 1955, on a visit to South Africa, Robert Ardrey became aware of the growing evidence that man had evolved on the African continent from carnivorous, predatory stock - ones who had also, long before man, achieved the use of weapons. A dramatist, Ardrey's interest in the African discoveries sprang less from purely scientific grounds than from the radical new light they cast on the eternal question: Why do we behave as we do? Are we naturally inclined towards war and weapons?

In the Rutherford and Fry's comprehensive guidebook, they tell the complete story of the universe and absolutely everything in it - skipping over some of the boring parts. It's a celebration of the weirdness of the cosmos, the strangeness of humans and the very fact that amid all the mess, we can somehow make sense of life.

The scuba-diving philosopher and best-selling author of Other Minds explores the origins of animal consciousness. Dip below the ocean’s surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals and flower-like worms, whose rooted bodies and intricate geometry are more reminiscent of plant life than anything recognisably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins.

Most claims of Native American ancestry rest on the mother's ethnicity. This can be verified by a DNA test determining what type of mitochondrial DNA she passed to you. A hundred participants in DNA Consultants multi-phase Cherokee DNA Study did just that. What they had in common is they were previously rejected - by commercial firms, genealogy groups, government agencies and tribes. Their mitochondrial DNA was not classified as Native American. These are the "anomalous" Cherokee.

In its 4.5 billion–year history, life on Earth has been almost erased at least half a dozen times: shattered by asteroid impacts, entombed in ice, smothered by methane, and torn apart by unfathomably powerful megavolcanoes. And we know that another global disaster is eventually headed our way. Can we survive it? How?

As a species, Homo sapiens is at a crossroads. Study of our planet’s turbulent past suggests that we are overdue for a catastrophic disaster, whether caused by nature or by human interference.
It’s a frightening prospect, as each of the Earth’s past major disasters—from meteor strikes to bombardment by cosmic radiation—resulted in a mass extinction, where more than 75 percent of the planet’s species died out. But in Scatter, Adapt, and Remember, Annalee Newitz, science journalist and editor of the science Web site io9.com explains that although global disaster is all but inevitable, our chances of long-term species survival are better than ever. Life on Earth has come close to annihilation—humans have, more than once, narrowly avoided extinction just
during the last million years—but every single time a few creatures survived, evolving to adapt to the harshest of conditions.
This brilliantly speculative work of popular science focuses on humanity’s long history of dodging the bullet, as well as on new threats that we may face in years to come. Most important, it explores how scientific breakthroughs today will help us avoid disasters tomorrow. From simulating tsunamis to studying central Turkey’s ancient underground cities; from cultivating cyanobacteria for “living cities” to designing space elevators to make space colonies cost-effective; from using math to stop pandemics to studying the remarkable survival strategies of gray whales, scientists and researchers the world over are discovering the keys to long-term resilience and learning how humans can choose life over death.
Newitz’s remarkable and fascinating journey through the science of mass extinctions is a powerful argument about human ingenuity and our ability to change. In a world populated by doomsday preppers and media commentators obsessively forecasting our demise, Scatter, Adapt, and Remember is a compelling voice of hope. It leads us away from apocalyptic thinking into a future where we live to build a better world—on this planet and perhaps on others. Readers of this book will be equipped scientifically, intellectually, and emotionally to face whatever the future holds.