Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction
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From a single cell - a fertilized egg - comes an elephant, a fly, or a human. How does this astonishing feat happen? How does the egg 'know' what to become? How does it divide into the different cells, the separate tissues, the brain, the fingernail - every tiniest detail of the growing foetus? These are the questions that the field of developmental biology seeks to answer. It is an area that is closely linked to genetics, evolution, and molecular biology. The processes are deeply rooted in evolutionary history; the information is held in genes whose vital timings in switching on and off is orchestrated by a host of proteins expressed by other genes. Timing is of the essence. Here, the distinguished developmental biologist Lewis Wolpert gives a concise account of what we now know about development, discussing the first vital steps of growth, the patterning created by Hox genes and the development of form, embryonic stem cells, the timing of gene expression and its management, chemical signalling, and growth.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Informative but Dense
21 Sep 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
One of the most significant and revolutionary developments in the history of life was the evolution of the multi-cellular organisms. Almost all the life that we can see with a naked eye is multi-cellular, including the vast majority of animals. The unique biology of multi-cellular organisms required the development of the means for creating a whole organism from a single (germ) cell. The process of achieving this complicated goal is the developmental biology.
This very short introduction to developmental biology is very detailed and exhaustive, or at least as exhaustive as this format would permit. The book covers both the animal and plant developmental biology, but the accent is definitely on animals. This is somewhat understandable since animal development is much more fascinating and complex, but I wish there had been more information on plant growth and development. The book contains many illustrations and images that help you visualize various aspects of an organism's development, as well as compare the developments across the species.
The sheer amount of information and specialized biology jargon on each page of this book makes this a very thorough and informative read. Unfortunately, this also means that this book is not terribly accessible to a general reader. In my estimation a year of college-level biology (or the equivalent) would be the minimal prerequisite for being able to wade through this introduction. The book also doesn't provide a lot of explanation of why certain developmental features and processes occur. In other words, there are plenty of answers to "what?" and "how?" types of questions, but not enough answers to the "why?" inquiries. Part of this is due to the fact that the best (or perhaps the only) way to understand anything in biology is from an evolutionary perspective, but the chapter on evolution in this VSI is rather brief and relegated to the end of the book. Overall, however, this is a very well written book and if you don't mind investing the time and effort you can learn a lot by reading it.
This very short introduction to developmental biology is very detailed and exhaustive, or at least as exhaustive as this format would permit. The book covers both the animal and plant developmental biology, but the accent is definitely on animals. This is somewhat understandable since animal development is much more fascinating and complex, but I wish there had been more information on plant growth and development. The book contains many illustrations and images that help you visualize various aspects of an organism's development, as well as compare the developments across the species.
The sheer amount of information and specialized biology jargon on each page of this book makes this a very thorough and informative read. Unfortunately, this also means that this book is not terribly accessible to a general reader. In my estimation a year of college-level biology (or the equivalent) would be the minimal prerequisite for being able to wade through this introduction. The book also doesn't provide a lot of explanation of why certain developmental features and processes occur. In other words, there are plenty of answers to "what?" and "how?" types of questions, but not enough answers to the "why?" inquiries. Part of this is due to the fact that the best (or perhaps the only) way to understand anything in biology is from an evolutionary perspective, but the chapter on evolution in this VSI is rather brief and relegated to the end of the book. Overall, however, this is a very well written book and if you don't mind investing the time and effort you can learn a lot by reading it.
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