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Genes in Conflict: The Biology of Selfish Genetic Elements
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 572.86
EAN: 9780674017139
ISBN: 0674017137
Label: Belknap Press
Manufacturer: Belknap Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 632
Publication Date: January 15, 2006
Publisher: Belknap Press
Studio: Belknap Press
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Editorial Review: In evolution, most genes survive and spread within populations because they increase the ability of their hosts (or their close relatives) to survive and reproduce. But some genes spread in spite of being harmful to the host organism—by distorting their own transmission to the next generation, or by changing how the host behaves toward relatives. As a consequence, different genes in a single organism can have diametrically opposed interests and adaptations. Covering all species from yeast to humans, Genes in Conflict is the first book to tell the story of selfish genetic elements, those continually appearing stretches of DNA that act narrowly to advance their own replication at the expense of the larger organism. As Austin Burt and Robert Trivers show, these selfish genes are a universal feature of life with pervasive effects, including numerous counter-adaptations. Their spread has created a whole world of socio-genetic interactions within individuals, usually completely hidden from sight. Genes in Conflict introduces the subject of selfish genetic elements in all its aspects, from molecular and genetic to behavioral and evolutionary. Burt and Trivers give us access for the first time to a crucial area of research—now developing at an explosive rate—that is cohering as a unitary whole, with its own logic and interconnected questions, a subject certain to be of enduring importance to our understanding of genetics and evolution.
(20060428)
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Excellent and exhaustive coverage of the subject
I was EXTREMELY lucky to have taken an one-on-one course with Dr. Trivers and I must say that he's the first to both praise and point out pitfalls in this book.
While being the most definitive guide to the subject out there, it can at times be very technical and hard to understand. Especially the chapters on genomic imprinting, exclusion (for me). However, I feel that this complexity only arises from the fact that the chapters are written out with as much detail as possible (as you ... Read More
Rating: - Holding it all together
When Richard Dawkins published "The Selfish Gene" two decades ago, today one wonders if he had any inkling then of what his idea launched. The din of protest over the concept was loud and vituperous. Yet, a generation of research has proven him more correct than anybody imagined then. In this work, researchers Trivers and Burt have summarized the wealth of information derived over the years. Genes do far more, it seems, than simply act to replicate themselves. They intrude, divert, even kill ... Read More
Rating:  - Detailed but Confusing
Burt and Trivers have produced an encylopedic compilation of examples of selfish genetic elements. There is a wealth of information available in this book, but you have to work hard to wade through the authors' ambiguous wording, contradictory phrasing, utterly confusing tables and figures, and almost complete lack of follow-through on any of their ideas. This book is not for the general public. I read it with a group of professors and graduate students who focus on evolution, and we had a hard ... Read More
Rating:  - Rich book but...
The book is rich, brings several ideas and hypotheses but does not bother explain those ideas. There can be too much information in a chapter to be able to draw overall picture of the topic. Still, it is a good book to obtain.
Rating: - Fascinating
The concept of a "selfish gene" has made its way into the popular and semi-popular press, and because of this has provoked many discussions in ethical circles as well as in the area known as evolutionary psychology. Some of these discussions attempt to set the record straight on just what biologists mean when they talk about selfish genes. This book could be considered part of these discussions, and offers the reader a fascinating account of the science behind what the authors call selfish genetic ... Read More
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