Time, love, memory
Subtitle: a great biologist and his quest for the origins of behavior
By: Jonathan Weiner
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Knopf
Published: 1999
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 300
ISBN-13: 9780679444350
Subjects: EVOLUÇÃO HUMANA; Behavioral Genetics; Genetica; Verhaltensgenetik; COMPORTAMENTO; COMPORTAMENTO (GENÉTICA); Behavior genetics
Description: The story of a biologist's search for the foundations of behavior. Looking over the shoulder of some of the premier scientists in the field, biologist Weiner takes us into their laboratories to show us how pieces of DNA actually shape behavior. He focuses on the work of Seymour Benzer, who, decades ago, with James Watson and Francis Crick, helped to crack the genetic code. Then, in a simple experiment using a few test tubes, a light bulb, and 100 fruit flies, Benzer invented the genetic dissection of behavior. Now we see how he and his students find and study genes that build our inner clocks, genes that shape the way we love, and genes that decide what we can (or cannot) remember. These breakthroughs help explain secrets of human behavior and may lead to advance treatments for behavioral disorders ranging from rage to autism to schizophrenia.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-283) and index.
Table of contents: title: Pt. 1. Occam's Castle. 1. From So Simple a Beginning. 2. The White-Eyed Fly. 3. What Is Life? 4. The Finger of the Angel. 5. A New Study, and a Dark Corner; title: Pt. 2. Konopka's Law. 6. First Light. 7. First Choice. 8. First Time. 9. First Love. 10. First Memory; title: Pt. 3. Pickett's Charge. 11. The Drosophila Arms. 12. Cloning an Instinct. 13. Reading an Instinct. 14. Singed Wings. 15. The Lord's Masterpiece. 16. Pavlov's Hat. 17. Rough Mountain. 18. The Knot of Our Condition. 19. Pickett's Charge.