Jonathan Silvertown

For all the selfishness of genes they team up to survive Is the history of life in fact a story of cooperation Amid the violence and brutality that dominates the news it s hard to think of ourselves as team players But cooperation Jonathan Silvertown argues is a fundamental part of our make up and deeply woven into the whole four billion year history of life Starting with human society Silvertown digs deeper to show how cooperation is key to the cells forming our organs to symbiosis between organisms to genes that band together to the dawn of life itself Cooperation has enabled life to thrive and become complex Without it life would never have begun

Utilizando anécdotas sobre verduras, hierbas, carnes, quesos y más, Silvertown demuestra cómo nuestras relaciones con los alimentos han definido no solo nuestras culturas e historia, sino también las trayectorias evolutivas de nuestra especie y la de aquello que comemos.Jonathan Silvertown nos invita a una cena multicultural de gastronomia evolutiva, un recorrido por el gusto humano que nos ayuda a comprender los origenes de nuestras dietas y los alimentos que han sido fundamentales durante milenios, desde las especias hasta los licores.Cenando con Darwin revela que nuestras listas de la compra, recetarios y menus de restaurante no solo contienen los ingredientes para nuestro deleite culinario, tambien nos cuentan una historia fascinante sobre la seleccion natural y su influencia en nuestros paladares. Con un ingenio tan seco como unpinot noir y un conocimiento evolutivo tan amplio como la bodega de vinos de un enologo, Silvertown nos abre el apetito y nos deja con hambre de mas.

In this provocative reimagining of what it is to be a plant, an evolutionary biologist draws on a lifetime of research to offer an original and beguiling behind-the-scenes perspective on how plants really workand how we truly depend on leaves for our survival. For readers of Entangled Life and An Immense World.Leaves are so familiar that they are easy to overlook. Yet it is through leaves that plants perform their magicnot least building towers of wood from the unlikeliest of raw materials: a rare gas, a shower of rain, a heap of dung, and some sunlight. Everything we eat that comes from the land began as a leaf. The air we breathe is cleaned by leaves. Many of the rainfall patterns of the earth depend on tree cover. As evolutionary biologist Jonathan Silvertown shows in this eye-opening book, the most basic questions about leaves remain unasked and have surprising answers. With leaves so vital to plant life, why did land plants have none for the first 50 million years of their evolution? Today, there are easily more leaves on Earth than stars in our galaxy. What changed? Silvertown explains how they grow, the ways they protect themselves against invaders, and the reasons they take such diverse shapes, sizes, and color. By looking at the leaf as a solar panel, a rainmaker, a lunch box, a chemistry set, a shapeshifter, a soil-maker, a geometric designer and more, Silvertown provides a behind-the-scenes look at the foliage that makes all of life possible.

From the broad leaves of Britains forests to the curious patterns of desert succulents uncover how leaves shape our world.Unless youre an avid gardener, leaves might slip your notice. But from the smallest pavement crevices to the trees that line our streets, theyre everywhere. And leaves power much of the natural world from salad to soil. They are solar panels, rainmakers, lunch boxes, chemistry sets, mulch-makers and building material all in one.From the lush rainforests of the tropics, where the fight for light has given rise to magnificent leaves of all shapes, sizes and colours, to the strange, spectacular adaptations of desert plants, Jonathan Silvertown revels in the wondrous science and evolutionary success of these magicians of the natural world.

El acto de comer diariamente es una acción tan natural como imprescindible en la vida de cualquier ser humano, pero si nos parásemos a reflexionar acerca de nuestro desayuno, comida o cena, nos daríamos cuenta de que todo lo que comemos y bebemos tiene su propia historia evolutiva.Jonathan Silvertown nos invita a una cena multicultural de gastronomia evolutiva que nos ayuda a comprender los origenes de nuestras dietas y los alimentos que han sido fundamentales durante milenios, desde las especias hasta los licores. Cenando con Darwin revela que nuestras listas de la compra, libros de recetas y menus de restaurantes no solo contienen los ingredientes esenciales para nuestro deleite culinario, sino que tambien nos cuentan una historia fascinante sobre la seleccion natural y su influencia en nuestros paladares. Este libro es un festin de sopa y ciencia pensado para ser saboreado mientras se lee. Con un ingenio tan seco como un pinot noir y un conocimiento evolutivo tan amplio como la bodega de vinos de un enologo, Silvertown nos abre el apetito y nos deja con hambre de mas.