This volume is the final outcome of a conference designed to wrap up IOCP Project 157 (" Early Organic Evolution and Mineral and Energy Resources ") after a decade of prolific activity. The picturesque solitude of Maria Laach Abbey in the Eifel Mountains (FRO) provided the appropriate setting for a conclave of some 80 specialists from the various walks of the field who, during the week of Sept. 19 - 23, 1988, strived hard to define the state of the art in the principal segments of this Earth Science frontier. The following pages contain the essence of the conference transactions, giv ing a vivid cross-section of the activities pursued by IOCP Project 157 during its final years. The coverage of topics is not necessarily complete, but rather eclec tic in part. With regard to single papers dealing with modern analogues of ancient processes, the book title might even be considered a grave misnomer. Neverthe less, all contributions relate to the subject in the widest sense, and the reader should be reminded that much of the heterogeneity reflected by the volume de rives from the fact that it is primarily a research report from a highly inter disciplinary field rather than a textbook.

This title provides a comprehensive analytical overview of public dialogue among 19th century American Protestant intellectuals who struggled with the theory of organic evolution. Arguments over the scientific merits of Darwin's theory gave way to discussions of its theological implications.

As scientists debated the nature of life in the nineteenth century, two theories predominated: vitalism, which suggested that living things contained a "vital spark," and mechanism, the idea that animals and humans differed from nonliving things only in their degree of complexity. Erik Peterson tells the forgotten story of the pursuit of a Third Way in biology, known by many names, including "the organic philosophy," which gave rise to C. H. Waddington's work in the subfield of epigenetics: an alternative to standard genetics and evolutionary biology that captured the attention of notable scientists from Francis Crick to Stephen Jay Gould. The Life Organic chronicles the influential biologists, mathematicians, philosophers, and biochemists from both sides of the Atlantic who formed Joseph Needham's Theoretical Biology Club, defined and refined Third-Way thinking through the 1930s, and laid the groundwork for some of the most cutting-edge achievements in biology today. By tracing the persistence of organicism into the twenty-first century, this book also raises significant questions about how we should model the development of the discipline of biology going forward.

Now available in English for the first time, Basic Questions in Paleontology is a landmark work in twentieth-century evolution and paleontology. Originally published in German in 1950, Schindewolf's book was highly controversial for its thoroughgoing anti-Darwinism, but today his ideas are remarkably relevant to current research in evolutionary biology. "[This book] would rank number one on my list of items awaiting translation from the history of twentieth-century evolutionary theory."—Stephen Jay Gould

Evolution: Components and Mechanisms introduces the many recent discoveries and insights that have added to the discipline of organic evolution, and combines them with the key topics needed to gain a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of evolution. Each chapter covers an important topic or factor pertinent to a modern understanding of evolutionary theory, allowing easy access to particular topics for either study or review. Many chapters are cross-referenced. Modern evolutionary theory has expanded significantly within only the past two to three decades. In recent times the definition of a gene has evolved, the definition of organic evolution itself is in need of some modification, the number of known mechanisms of evolutionary change has increased dramatically, and the emphasis placed on opportunity and contingency has increased. This book synthesizes these changes and presents many of the novel topics in evolutionary theory in an accessible and thorough format. This book is an ideal, up-to-date resource for biologists, geneticists, evolutionary biologists, developmental biologists, and researchers in, as well as students and academics in these areas and professional scientists in many subfields of biology. - Discusses many of the mechanisms responsible for evolutionary change - Includes an appendix that provides a brief synopsis of these mechanisms with most discussed in greater detail in respective chapters - Aids readers in their organization and understanding of the material by addressing the basic concepts and topics surrounding organic evolution - Covers some topics not typically addressed, such as opportunity, contingency, symbiosis, and progress

Certain organic compounds, among them albumen, are neither soluble, despite their great affinity for water, nor are they fusible, and hence are produced in the micellar form. These compounds are formed in water, where the molecules that arise immediately adjoining each other arrange themselves into incipient crystals, or micellæ. Only such of the molecules as are formed subsequently and come in contact with a micella contribute to its increase in size, while the others, on account of their insolubility, produce new micellæ. For this reason the micellæ remain so small that they are invisible, even with the microscope. On account of their great affinity for water the micellæ surround themselves with a thick film of it. The attraction of these micellæ for matter of their own kind is felt outside this film. Hence the micellæ with their films unite themselves into solid masses permeated with water, unless other forces overcome attraction and re-establish a micellar solution (as in albumen, glue, gum), where the slightly moving micellæ show a tendency to cling together in chain-like and other aggregations. Very often there are found, especially in albumen, half liquid modifications intermediate in fluidity between the solid masses and the micellar solution.