"Endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved," Darwin famously concluded The Origin of Species, and for confirmation we look to...the guinea pig? How this curious creature and others as humble (and as fast-breeding) have helped unlock the mystery of inheritance is the unlikely story Jim Endersby tells in this book. Biology today promises everything from better foods or cures for common diseases to the alarming prospect of redesigning life itself. Looking at the organisms that have made all this possible gives us a new way of understanding how we got here--and perhaps of thinking about where we're going. Instead of a history of which great scientists had which great ideas, this story of passionflowers and hawkweeds, of zebra fish and viruses, offers a bird's (or rodent's) eye view of the work that makes science possible. Mixing the celebrities of genetics, like the fruit fly, with forgotten players such as the evening primrose, the book follows the unfolding history of biological inheritance from Aristotle's search for the "universal, absolute truth of fishiness" to the apparently absurd speculations of eighteenth-century natural philosophers to the spectacular findings of our day--which may prove to be the absurdities of tomorrow. The result is a quirky, enlightening, and thoroughly engaging perspective on the history of heredity and genetics, tracing the slow, uncertain path--complete with entertaining diversions and dead ends--that led us from the ancient world's understanding of inheritance to modern genetics.

Approx.317 pages

Stories of ten men and women, from the 1770s to the present, who devoted their lives, and sometimes risked them, to answer some of the big questions in science and medicine.

CHOICE Highly Recommended title, 2022! This 30-chapter volume informs students and professionals about the behavioral biology of animals commonly housed in laboratory and other captive settings. Each species evolved under specific environmental conditions, resulting in unique behavioral patterns, many of which are maintained in captivity even after generations of breeding. Understanding natural behavior is therefore a critical part of modern animal care practices. The descriptions, data, guidance, resources, and recommendations in this book will help the reader understand their animals better, refine the care and treatment that they receive, and improve the well-being, welfare, and wellness of their animals. The book is divided into three sections, all focusing on aspects of the behavioral biology of animals found in laboratories and related research settings. After five introductory chapters, 25 chapters are dedicated to specific taxonomic groups (including mice, zebrafish, zebra finches, reptiles, macaques) while a concluding section of ethograms provides a centralized resource for those interested in understanding, and potentially quantifying, animal behavior. The Behavioral Biology of Laboratory Animals will provide anyone working in maintenance, care, and/or research programs that involve laboratory animals with information about the way the animals live in the wild, and the way that they should live in captive research settings. Many of the guidelines and recommendations will also be valuable to those managing and working with animals in other environments, including zoological parks, aquaria, and sanctuaries.

This is a single volume, comprehensive book sanctioned by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM), covering the rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, gerbil and other rodents often used in research. This well illustrated reference includes basic biology, anatomy, physiology, behavior, infectious and noninfectious diseases, husbandry and breeding, common experimental methods, and use of the species as a research model. It is a resource for advancements in the humane and responsible care of: rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, gerbil, chinchilla, deer mouse, kangaroo rat, cotton rat, sand rat, and degu Includes up-to-date, common experimental methods. Organized by species for easy access during bench research.

This book goes beyond the truism that 'correlation does not imply causation' and explores the logical and methodological relationships between correlation and causation. It presents a series of statistical methods that can test, and potentially discover, cause-effect relationships between variables in situations in which it is not possible to conduct randomised or experimentally controlled experiments. Many of these methods are quite new and most are generally unknown to biologists. In addition to describing how to conduct these statistical tests, the book also puts the methods into historical context and explains when they can and cannot justifiably be used to test or discover causal claims. Written in a conversational style that minimises technical jargon, the book is aimed at practising biologists and advanced students, and assumes only a very basic knowledge of introductory statistics.

Excerpt from Studies of Inheritance in Guinea-Pigs and Rats For several years I have been engaged in studies of heredity in guinea-pigs. In the course of these studies all the common varieties of guinea-pigs have been investigated by the method of experimental breeding and something has been learned concerning their inter relationships and probable mode of origin. The actual origin of most Of these varieties is, however, unknown, as is true also concerning most varieties of domesticated animals. One or two varieties have, however, been made synthetically in the laboratory and it is conceivable that, if we had the original wild stock to work with, from which the domesticated guinea-pig has arisen, some or all Of the existing varieties might be synthesized anew and perhaps still others might be Obtained, and that in this way something might be learned of the method by which new varieties arise. From considerations such as these I have for several years been seeking to obtain living specimens Of the wild species which most closely resemble guinea-pigs. In 1903 I received from Campinas, Brazil, 3 wild - caught individuals referred at the time to the species Cam'a aperea, but Since found to agree better with the description Of C. Rufescens. From two of these animals young were Obtained, and crosses, the results of which have been described in detail by Dr. Detlefsen were made with domesticated guinea pigs. It may be noted that all male F1 hybrids were sterile, but that the PI females were fertile, and that upon repeated crossing Of these with male guinea-pigs, a race Of fertile hybrids was at last obtained, these being, in the language of breeders, about guinea-pig, firufescens. From this result it seems doubtful whether C. Rufescens has any close genetic relationship to the domesticated guinea-pig, although by hybridization it has been found possible to produce races (g or more guinea-pig) which have derived certain characters from a rufescens ancestor. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.