Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction
Tristram D. Wyatt
How animals behave is crucial to their survival and reproduction. Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction discusses how animal behaviour has evolved, how behaviours develop in each ...
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The Animal Kingdom: A Very Short Introduction
Peter Holland
The Animal Kingdom: A Very Short Introduction presents a modern tour of the animal kingdom. Beginning with the definition of animals, this VSI goes on to show the high-level ...
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Astrobiology: A Very Short Introduction
David C. Catling
What fascinates people about astrobiology is that it seeks answers to long-standing unsolved questions: How quickly did life evolve on Earth and why did life persist here? Is there life ...
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Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction
Sebastian G.B. Amyes
Bacteria form a fundamental branch of life. They are the oldest forms of life as we know it, and they are still the most prolific living organisms. Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction ...
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Biometrics: A Very Short Introduction
Michael Fairhurst
Biometrics is the scientific discipline of identifying individuals by means of the measurement of unique personal attributes, such as facial appearance, fingerprints, iris patterning, the ...
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Blood: A Very Short Introduction
Chris Cooper
Blood is vital to most animals. In mammals it transports oxygen and food, carries away waste, and contains the white cells that attack invading microbes. Playing a central role in life, ...
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The Cell: A Very Short Introduction
Terence Allen and Graham Cowling
The Cell: A Very Short Introduction describes the nature of cells — their basic structure, their varying forms, their division, their differentiation from initially highly ...
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Circadian Rhythms: A Very Short Introduction
Russell Foster and Leon Kreitzman
The Earth’s daily rotation affects almost every living creature. From dawn through to dusk, there are changes in light, temperature, humidity, and rainfall. However, these changes are ...
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Coral Reefs: A Very Short Introduction
Charles Sheppard
Coral reefs are found all around the world, from the Indo-Pacific coral reef province to the Caribbean and Australia, and they support both marine and human life. They provide a rich supply ...
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Darwin: A Very Short Introduction
Jonathan Howard
Darwin: A Very Short Introduction explores how Charles Darwin's theory of evolution has revolutionized biology since it was first presented to a wide readership in 1859. At ...
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Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Lewis Wolpert
Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction provides a concise account of what we now know about development, discussing the first vital steps of growth, the patterning ...
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Evolution: A Very Short Introduction
Brian Charlesworth and Deborah Charlesworth
Less than 150 years ago, the view that living species were the result of special creation by God was still dominant. The recognition by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace of the ...
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The Eye: A Very Short Introduction
Michael F. Land
The eye is one of the most remarkable achievements of evolution. In humans, vision is the most important sense, and much of the brain is given over to the processing of visual information. ...
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Forests: A Very Short Introduction
Jaboury Ghazoul
Since the dawn of human civilization, forests have provided us with food, resources, and energy. The history of human development is also one of forest loss and transformation, and yet ...
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Fungi: A Very Short Introduction
Nicholas P. Money
The diversity of the mycological world is far greater than most people imagine. Tens of thousands of fungal species have been described and many more are known only from the abundance of ...
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Genes: A Very Short Introduction
Jonathan Slack
What are genes? What do they say about us? Genes: A Very Short Introduction explores the concept of the gene and looks at the discovery, nature, and role of genes in both evolution and ...
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Genomics: A Very Short Introduction
John Archibald
Genomics has transformed the biological sciences. From epidemiology and medicine to evolution and forensics, the ability to determine an organism’s complete genetic makeup has changed the ...
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Heredity: A Very Short Introduction
John Waller
The idea of heredity—that qualities of body and mind are somehow inherited from one’s parents—has profoundly shaped many aspects of the human experience: from our attempts to understand ...
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The History of Life: A Very Short Introduction
Michael J. Benton
The History of Life: A Very Short Introduction introduces ideas from a range of scientific disciplines, from evolutionary biology and earth history, to geochemistry, ...
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Hormones: A Very Short Introduction
Martin Luck
Hormones balance and coordinate the workings of the body. There are many misconceptions about the endocrine system and few people are aware of its nature and importance. Hormones: A Very ...
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