Why Size Matters: From Bacteria To Blue Whales
by John Tyler Bonner /
2006 / English / EPUB, Mobipocket
4.1 MB Download
John Tyler Bonner, one of our most distinguished and creative
biologists, here offers a completely new perspective on the role
of size in biology. In his hallmark friendly style, he explores
the universal impact of being the right size. By examining
stories ranging from Alice in Wonderland to Gulliver's Travels,
he shows that humans have always been fascinated by things big
and small. Why then does size always reside on the fringes of
science and never on the center stage? Why do biologists and
others ponder size only when studying something else--running
speed, life span, or metabolism?
John Tyler Bonner, one of our most distinguished and creative
biologists, here offers a completely new perspective on the role
of size in biology. In his hallmark friendly style, he explores
the universal impact of being the right size. By examining
stories ranging from Alice in Wonderland to Gulliver's Travels,
he shows that humans have always been fascinated by things big
and small. Why then does size always reside on the fringes of
science and never on the center stage? Why do biologists and
others ponder size only when studying something else--running
speed, life span, or metabolism?Why Size Matters
Why Size Matters, a pioneering book of big ideas in a
compact size, gives size its due by presenting a profound yet
lucid overview of what we know about its role in the living
world. Bonner argues that size really does matter--that it is the
supreme and universal determinant of what any organism can be and
do. For example, because tiny creatures are subject primarily to
forces of cohesion and larger beasts to gravity, a fly can easily
walk up a wall, something we humans cannot even begin to imagine
doing.
, a pioneering book of big ideas in a
compact size, gives size its due by presenting a profound yet
lucid overview of what we know about its role in the living
world. Bonner argues that size really does matter--that it is the
supreme and universal determinant of what any organism can be and
do. For example, because tiny creatures are subject primarily to
forces of cohesion and larger beasts to gravity, a fly can easily
walk up a wall, something we humans cannot even begin to imagine
doing.
Bonner introduces us to size through the giants and dwarfs of
human, animal, and plant history and then explores questions
including the physics of size as it affects biology, the
evolution of size over geological time, and the role of size in
the function and longevity of living things.
Bonner introduces us to size through the giants and dwarfs of
human, animal, and plant history and then explores questions
including the physics of size as it affects biology, the
evolution of size over geological time, and the role of size in
the function and longevity of living things.
As this elegantly written book shows, size affects life in its
every aspect. It is a universal frame from which nothing escapes.
As this elegantly written book shows, size affects life in its
every aspect. It is a universal frame from which nothing escapes.