Studies in Biology, Economy and Society – serie

'...this is a splendid, first-class book, the definitive book on Francis Galton and his legacy. The editing has been superb...The timing of its publication is excellent in relation to the increasing interest in human genetics in all areas of the biological and behavioural sciences'.R.Plomin, Distinguished Professor and Director, Center for Development and Health Genetics, Pennsylvania State University Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), a grandson of Erasmus Darwin, was one of the most versatile men of his time. In his twenties he won fame as an explorer. He worked at the prediction of weather, and described his discovery of the anticyclone He first became an anthropologist in 1862 when he joined the Ethnological Society. He initiated anthropometry and the measurement of human variation, and the use of photography for the analysis of differencies, or individual characteristics, in a group. He recognised the uniqueness of Finger Prints, and, in 1875, first used the records of pairs of identical twins in his researches into the laws of heredity. Besides contributions to human genetics, Galton devised the correlation coefficient, and was thus concerned with the advancement of statistics. In 1883, he coined the word eugenics by which he meant 'good in birth' and 'noble in heredity', and, in 1904, he founded the Galton Laboratory at University College, London. He was first President of the Eugenics Education Society in 1907.

Reproductive biologists, evolutionary biologists, demographers and social scientists all have a common interest in the business of human reproduction. Their perspectives, however, are very different and have traditionally prevented them from having much to do with each other. The conference on which this book is based brought together contributors from each of these disciplines in an attempt to explore the common ground that they share and so generate a better understanding of the factors that influence human fertility.

The collected papers in this volume cover the effects of environmental stress under a biological and energetic model. Examples are taken from fossil and living animal populations, and from outlier human populations and traditional societies. These examples indicate that stress increases energy demands and so reduces reproductive fitness. A wide range of stressful situations also are analyzed under the less stringent conditions experienced by modern human populations, when cultural factors assume importance. These emphasize the interaction between genetic, physiological, psychological and social factors in everyday life and in clinical settings.

This collection of papers is in honour of Julian Huxley, President from 1959 until 1962 of the Eugenics Society, which exists to support research into genetic and social factors of human reproduction with a view to improving problems associated with heredity, human qualities and population.

The book focuses on the role of both biological and behavioural factors in the fertility, and specific patterns of health and disease, of minority populations living in developed and less developed countries. The importance of marriages contracted between close relatives is stressed, as over 900 million people inhabit countries where 20 to 50 per cent of marriages are inbred. Past, present and future trends in population mixing are evaluated, with special consideration of their effects on the health of minorities.

This book explores the emerging speciality of fetal medicine. The new technology for examining DNA is described as a background to later chapters concerned with gene therapy and the examination of the conceptus. An account of laboratory techniques for studying the mouse embryo is illustrated by outstanding photographs of scanning electron microscopy. This book will be of interest to all those who are involved with the care of the pregnant woman and her fetus whether in medicine or in the law.