Alfonso Martinez Arias – författare

'Timely, important and compelling' Philip Ball'A new and stunning argument' Azra RazaWhat defines who we are?Until now, the biological answer has been our genes. Leading biologist Alfonso Martinez Arias breaks with popular tradition to make a bold argument: what defines us is our cells.Drawing on groundbreaking research, he reveals that we are composed of a thrillingly complex, constantly rearranging symphony of cells that know how to count, feel, and give form to our bodies. While DNA is important, nothing in your genes explains why your heart is on the left, why you have five fingers and not ten, why genetically identical twins have different sets of fingerprints, or why it's possible for a mother to apparently share no DNA with the children she gave birth to! At the heart of it all is a powerful new conception of the essence of life. Our identities are shaped by the interconnections between cells, working cooperatively, creating something greater than its parts - the unbroken lineage that connects us to the fertilized egg from which we developed and back through the billions of years of our planet's history, to the very first cell of all life on Earth.A sweeping revision of both the present and the history of life, The Master Builder puts forward a new paradigm for understanding biology, transforming our approach to where we come from, what shapes us, and where we are going - as individuals, a species, and the community of life itself.

Wolpert's Principles of Development, the latest edition of the prize-winning textbook, opens up the fascinating field of developmental biology to undergraduates studying biology, medicine, and veterinary science. By focusing on the underlying processes shared by diverse organisms, the textbook lays the foundation for a deep understanding. Key features - An emphasis throughout on the underlying principles - which underpin the commonalities between different organisms and their development - enables students to get a clear sense of the 'big picture' of the subject. - Custom-drawn artwork and integrated animations and videos help to make the visualisation of processes and mechanisms in this challenging subject as straightforward as possible. - Medical Boxes explore key developmental diseases and explain how developmental biology furthers our understanding human health and disease. Further experimental detail, including Experimental Boxes, from both classic and current research, demonstrates 'how we know what we know'. - Also available as an e-book enhanced with learning objectives, self-assessment interactive quizzes and multi-media content to offer a fully immersive experience and extra learning support. New to this edition - Chapter 7, a new chapter on Embryonic stem cells, embryo models, and regenerative medicine, to ensure the book's coverage stays up to date with this very active area of developmental biology research. - Chapters 3 and 4 on vertebrate development have been restructured and updated, especially in relation to mouse development, to ensure major concepts and principles are explained with recent supporting experimental evidence. - Chapter 10 on the nervous system has been completely revised and updated, with more emphasis on neural tube patterning. - Chapter 14, which covers nematodes and sea urchins, now appears online as part of the ebook. - There are more examples of the use of CRISPR to address problems like sickle cell disease (Ch6), and evolution of limbs from fins (Ch13). - Examples of single-cell RNA sequencing can be found throughout the book (Ch3, Ch6, Ch7, Ch10, Ch11, Ch12). - Smaller revisions, updates, and new figures have been included throughout. Digital formats and resources The seventh edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats: the e-book and Science Trove offer a mobile experience and convenient access along with interactive self-test questions, videos, flashcards, supplementary materials, functionality tools, navigation features and links that offer extra learning support. For more information about e-books, please visit www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks

'Timely, important and compelling' Philip Ball'A new and stunning argument' Azra RazaWhat defines who we are?Until now, the biological answer has been our genes. Leading biologist Alfonso Martinez Arias breaks with popular tradition to make a bold argument: what defines us is our cells.Drawing on groundbreaking research, he reveals that we are composed of a thrillingly complex, constantly rearranging symphony of cells that know how to count, feel, and give form to our bodies. While DNA is important, nothing in your genes explains why your heart is on the left, why you have five fingers and not ten, why genetically identical twins have different sets of fingerprints, or why it's possible for a mother to apparently share no DNA with the children she gave birth to! At the heart of it all is a powerful new conception of the essence of life. Our identities are shaped by the interconnections between cells, working cooperatively, creating something greater than its parts - the unbroken lineage that connects us to the fertilized egg from which we developed and back through the billions of years of our planet's history, to the very first cell of all life on Earth.A sweeping revision of both the present and the history of life, The Master Builder puts forward a new paradigm for understanding biology, transforming our approach to where we come from, what shapes us, and where we are going - as individuals, a species, and the community of life itself.

What defines who we are? For decades, the biological answer has been our genes. In The Master Builder, leading biologist Alfonso Martinez Arias breaks with decades of scientific and popular tradition to make a bold argument: what defines us is our cells. Drawing on new research from his lab and others, Martinez Arias reveals that we are composed of a thrillingly complex, constantly rearranging symphony of cells that know how to count, feel, and ultimately give form to our bodies. While DNA is important, Richard Dawkins's vision of the selfish gene that controls everything is not a good description of how biology actually works. As Martinez Arias shows, nothing in your genes explains why your heart is on the left side of your body, why you have five fingers and not ten, or why genetically identical twins have different sets of fingerprints and why it's possible for a mother to apparently share no DNA with the children to whom she gave birth! At the heart of it all is not simply gee-whiz science, but a powerful new conception of the essence of life.Our identities are shaped not simply by our genes, but by the interconnections between all our cells, working as a sort of symphony-cooperative, and creating something greater than its parts could on their own-and the unbroken lineage of cells that connects us to the first fertilized egg from which we developed-and in turn, back through the billions of years of our planet's history, to the very first cell in the history of all life on Earth.A sweeping revision of both the present and history of life, The Master Builder puts forward a new paradigm for understanding biology, one rooted in cellular cooperation, not selfish genes. Engaging and ambitious, it will transform our understanding of where we come from, what shapes us, and where we are going, as individuals, a species, and the community of life itself.