The Biology of Us

The Living World All Around and In Us

Gary C. Howard (Science editor and writer, Science editor and writer)

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Hardback

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
12 March 2025

Taxonomy & systematics; Evolution; Applied ecology

In our modern world, it is easy to overlook the natural world all around us. Only major life events, such as birth, injury, disease, and death, remind us that we are still biological organisms. We ""interact"" with nature in controlled and safe environments, such as zoos, theme parks, or through different forms of media. Television shows, films, and books are nearly always in exotic locations (e.g., the Kalahari Desert, the deep ocean, or Antarctica), but they inadvertently reinforce our separation from nature. Biology happens somewhere else. Author Gary Howard seeks to change that perception. The Biology of Us describes the common but fascinating examples of biology and nature that are hidden in plain sight in our daily lives. It focuses on human biology, but describes animals and plants all around, on, and in us to put human features into an evolutionary context. Many aspects of ourselves and our normal activities are examples of evolution: breathing, eating, standing up, communicating, telling time, and more. This book illustrates evolutionary strategies used successfully by common organisms for hundreds of millions of years. Howard shows that the organisms in our daily lives are not trivial neighbors or even pests but are just as amazing as those in the Serengeti or the Galápagos Islands.

By: Gary C. Howard (Science editor and writer Science editor and writer)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 166mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 635g
ISBN: 9780197664797
ISBN 10: 0197664792
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 12 March 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Preface 1. Looking for Sowbugs 2. Life around Us Building the Family Tree Animals What Distinguishes Humans from Other Animals Plants Lichens Fungi and Bacteria Life Is Everywhere 3. Life beneath Our Feet Earth under Our Feet Life Underground Key Process Underground Think about What's Underground 4. Supermarket Systematics Animals Animal Products Plant Products Mushrooms and Fungi Thanksgiving Dinner Supermarket Systematics 5. Fellow Travelers Visitors That Drop in for a Bite Visitor That Stay for a While Internal Parasites Fungi Bacteria Microbiome Viruses Viral Fossils Endosymbiosis In the End 6. Inside and Outside Water Oil and Lipids Proteins Membrane Structure Crossing Membranes Other Lipids Inside and Outside of Us The Ultimate Inside 7. Inside and Outside of Us Outside: Skin The Other Outside: The Digestive Tract The True Outside 8. Food and Eating The Evolution of Eating Cooking Digestion When Things Go Wrong Diseases of Affluence 9. Standing Up Standing on Two Feet Cells and Cellular Structures Animals Humans Plants Moving Plants Putting it all together 10. The Heart of the Matter Blood Heart Lungs Kidneys Internal Sea 11. Life Using Death Programmed Cell Death Butterflies and Frogs Falling Leaves and Fruit Human Development and Maintenance Diseases and Aging Quorum Sensing in Bacteria Cell Death Support Cell Life 12. Laughing and Crying Crying and Tears Laughing Anatomy of Speech Vocalizations and Language Evolution of Speech Chemical Communication Conclusions 13. Sleep and Consciousness What Is Sleep? How Much Sleep Do We Need? Sleep Disorders Do All Animals Sleep? Do Plants Sleep? How the Brain Works What Are Dreams? Consciousness Conclusion 14. Telling Time Circadian Rhythms Confusing Our Internal Clocks Beyond Waking and Sleeping Development and Aging Time 15. What's Next Glossary

Gary C. Howard, PhD, served as a science editor and writer for the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco for 22 years. He received a PhD in biological sciences from Carnegie Mellon University and completed fellowships at Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University. He continues to edit and write. His previous books, The Biology of Death (2021) and Imaging Life (2014) were both published by Oxford University Press. Howard is also an elected member of the Board of Education of Castro Valley Unified School District and an appointed member of the Alameda County Public Health Commission.