Miller and Levine Biology

Kenneth Raymond Miller (born 1948) is an American cell biologist and molecular biologist who is currently Professor of Biology at Brown University; he has also written  Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution  and  Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul .[NOTE: this review is of the third (1995) edition.]They begin the fourth chapter, “There are no special elements found in living things. In fact, the molecules that make up a living cell do not, in and of themselves, have the property of life. Yet there can be no doubt that certain elements organized into a variety of molecules do indeed account for life. How, you might ask, is this possible? In a way, we will spend the rest of this book searching for an answer, an answer that will remain incomplete in the end. For life itself is not completely understood. But we can begin.” (Pg. 82)They explain, “the processes involved in duplicating genetic information and transmitting it to the next generation are complex and precise. Although mistakes are rare, they do occur. These mistakes are called ‘mutations’… Not all mutations are harmful. Many mutations either have no effect or cause slight, harmless changes. And once in a while a mutation may be beneficial to an organism.” (Pg. 212) They give an example: “The incidence of sickle cell anemia parallels the incidence of malaria throughout the tropical areas of the world…, That mutation conferred an advantage wherever malaria was common, and thus it was favored by natural selection. Sickle cell anemia has persisted wherever it has helped its carriers survive malaria.” (Pg. 233)They state, “The idea that life on Earth has changed over time, or evolved, is very old. But just believing that change occurs is not enough to make evolution a science. In a science… observation, questioning, and constant testing of hypotheses must replace belief. Scientists have accumulated considerable evidence to show that organisms alive today have been produced by a long process of change over time. The process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms is called evolution.” (Pg. 269)They acknowledge, “You might think of fossils as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces, assembled correctly, would provide a complete picture of the history of life on Earth. But we do not have all the pieces, and probably never will. The chance process by which organisms are fossilized means that the fossil record is not as complete as we would like it to be. For every organisms that leaves a proper fossil, many die and vanish without leaving a trace.” (Pg. 279)They assert, “Humans also have vestigial organs. We have a set of miniature tailbones at the base of our spine---which obviously no longer support a tail. In most people, the muscles that move the ears are vestigial. Humans also have a small sac called the appendix that leads off the large intestine. The appendix is a vestigial organ that does not seem to serve a function in digestion today. In fact, an appendix can become infected, and sometimes must be removed surgically. Today, a large functioning appendix is found in some animals… that eat primarily plant materials. So it is probable that our appendix is left over from a time during which our ancestors needed this organ to digest their food.” (Pg. 284-285)They suggest, “Certain aspects of Darwin’s original theory of evolution have been revised by biologists in the years since the publication of ‘On the Origin of Species.’ But the revisions do not mean that evolutionary change itself is debatable or that evolutionary theory is merely a collection of vague hunches that are not supported by evidence. Evolutionary change is undeniable. Evolutionary theory is a collection of carefully reasoned and tested hypotheses about how evolutionary change occurs. By way of comparison, consider that even today physicists do not completely understand gravity, although there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that gravity exists. There are at least two completing modern theories that explain how gravity works... Explaining the fine points of evolutionary change will continue to be one of the great challenges of biology.” (Pg. 291)They observe, “England’s peppered moth provides an example of natural selection in action… British ecologist H.B.D. Kettlewell … found that in unpolluted areas, more of his light-colored moths had survived. In soot-blackened areas, more of the dark-colored moths has survived… It was logical to conclude that when soot darkened the tree trunks in an area, natural selection caused the dark-colored moths to become more common. Today Kettlewell’s work is considered to be a classic demonstration of natural selection in action.” (Pg. 297-298)They note, “Natural selection is not always necessary for genetic change to occur. With the aid of theories and genetic experiments, biologists have realized that gene pools can change---in other words, evolution can occur---in the absence of natural selection. This does not mean that natural selection is not important. However, biologists now realize that chance plays an even larger part in evolutionary change than Darwin thought.” (Pg. 310) Later, they add, “Punctuated equilibria theory, which has generated much debate, is still controversial among biologists today. It is clear, however, that evolution has often produced at different rates for different organisms at different times during the long history of life. But whatever the pace of change might have been, it is certain that organisms have evolved over time.” (Pg. 313)They indicate, “astronomers have determined that meteors, comets, and cosmic dust are filled with organic molecules, ice, and other elements that are essential to life. For example, scientists discovered lipids and the five nitrogenous bases found in DNA and RNA in a large meteorite that crashed to earth in 1969. No one knows how these compounds formed. However, meteors could have carried organic molecules to Earth from outer space. These molecules could have become mixed in with those already forming on the young Earth. Thus, over the course of millions of years, some of the building blocks of life could have accumulated in great quantities on Earth.” (Pg. 344)They explain, “In Section 16-1 you read about some experiments that disproved the hypothesis of spontaneous generation. ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ you might exclaim. If we just said that life did arise from nonlife billions of years ago, why couldn’t it happen again?’ The answer is simple: Today’s Earth is a very different planet from the one that existed billions of years ago. On primitive Earth, there were no bacteria to break down organic compounds. Nor was there any oxygen to react with the organic compounds. As a result, organic compounds could accumulate over millions of years, forming that original organic soup. Today, however, such compounds cannot remain intact in the natural world for a long enough period of time to give life another start.” (Pg. 346)They point out, “At the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 65 million years ago, something happened to cause a worldwide mass extinction. Within a few million years, dinosaurs and most other animal and plant groups became extinct. Exactly why this mass extinction occurred is not known for certain. Some biologists think that it was caused by the slow process of climatic change that resulted from movements of the continents into their present positions. Other biologists believe that the change in climate that produced the mass extinction occurred more suddenly. Some evidence suggests that a huge meteor struck the Earth, causing an explosion that produced enormous clouds of airborne dust. The explosion may also have caused worldwide forest fires. The smoke from the fires, as well as the clouds of dust, may have blocked the sun’s rays, causing Earth’s temperature to drop. Whatever happened at the end of the Cretaceous Period resulted in the death of virtually all the great and terrible lizards. The disappearance of the dinosaurs left open many niches for animals, both on land and in the sea.” (Pg. 710)They say, “The first fossil ever found of an early birdlike animal is called ‘Archaeopteryx’ and dates from late in the Jurassic Period… Its skeleton looks very much like a small running dinosaur. Unlike modern birds, Archaeopteryx had teeth in its beak. It also had toes and claws on its wings. In fact, Archaeopteryx would be classified as a dinosaur except for one important feature: It had well-developed feathers covering its entire body. The fossils of the earliest birds are rare, often poorly preserved, and very similar to those of many small dinosaurs. Because of this, there is much controversy over which fossils are those of birds and when birds first appeared on Earth. Although the fine points of bird evolution are hotly debated, one thing is certain---birds evolved from ancient reptiles.” (Pg. 724-725)They observe, “Chimpanzees, one of the most intelligent of the great apes, have a reasonably complicated language composed of sounds, gestures, and facial expressions. However, human language is the most complicated form of communication. Some researchers feel they can teach chimpanzees to communicate with humans. Chimpanzees cannot talk, but chimpanzees do seem able to learn a language composed of hand signs. Some scientists believe the chimps are really intelligent and actually learn to communicate by using these signals. Other scientists insist the chimps are just learning which signs they need to use to get food and attention. According to these researchers, the chimps do not really understand the signs. The debate continues as both sides argue about this fascinating topic.” (Pg. 777)This textbook probably contains the most extensive explanation/defense of the theory of evolution of any other available textbook. It will be of help to many readers---not just the students to whom it is aimed.

Had what I wanted. It’s a useful book for learning. I recommend it to anyone interested

Loved this product! It is the textbook I had in high school and now what I use for my middle school homeschool lessons.

Good book. Bought for homeschool. 9th grade biology. It could also be a intro to biology college book also as I remember a lot of the content from this book was covered in my college biology 101 class. I would suggest you buy a lab tools kit, chemistry set and microscope if you want to be able to do the experiments that come in the book. They are college level, no baking soda and vinegar mixes in there (lol).

Loved this book, had lots of details and ideas to add even more in depth classwork

We home school and we used this book for 10 grade high school science. Not being strong in science myself it covered in great detail what I myself didn't know. Good quality and detailed. There is a web sight and code you can enter after each chapter for a on line test. IT then scores it for you. You have the ability to retake the tests as many times as needed.

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I used this book in high school and it was worth getting it

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