A comparative study of lemurs in the context of shared ancestral links with both humans and primates.

Why isn't the evolution of flight shown in the fossil record? Bugs, birds, bats and dinosaurs flew and are shown fully formed in the fossil record, but there are no animals with halfway wings in the fossil record leading from ground based animals to flying animals. What is desperately wrong with the Grand Canyon if evolution is true? Where are the massive signs of erosion between the sedimentary layers of the Grand Canyon if they were laid down a "million years" at a time? Why does massive erosion only show up at the top? Animals with well-developed eyes show up suddenly in the fossil record as do flying animals. It's the norm for plants and animals to show up in the fossil record with the same separations as we see in different types of living animals and plants today. The "second law of thermodynamics" is a law of science that says everything left to its own will wear out, run down. It is a fundamental law of science. So how did evolution accidentally go up? How could a DNA molecule fumble together? The cell needs DNA; DNA needs the cell ñ which came first? 'Beneficial' mutations also weaken in other areas, and don't write evolutionary advancing DNA code. Spiral galaxies (which have the shape of a star fish that is spinning quickly) throughout our universe, like our Milky Way galaxy, are supposed to be over 10 billion years old. If they were over a billion years old they would lose their spiral arm shape. The arms of our galaxy, the Milky Way, only show a maximum age of 0.3 billion years. People want to know why they're here now and where they're going to go. They want surety of truth also. Read this book and see how well evolution holds up in all the sciences. Read this book and see if life can have meaning, direction and hope ñ with surety. For those who claim to be open minded, put on your seatbelts and keep your arms inside as you ride the roller coaster of your own value systems!

The bonobo, along with the chimpanzee, is one of our two closest living relatives. Their relatively narrow geographic range (south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo) combined with the history of political instability in the region, has made their scientific study extremely difficult. In contrast, there are dozens of wild and captive sites where research has been conducted for decades with chimpanzees. Because data sets on bonobos have been so hard to obtain and so few large-scale studies have been published, the majority of researchers have treated chimpanzee data as being representative of both species. However, this misconception is now rapidly changing. With relative stability in the DRC for over a decade and a growing community of bonobos living in zoos and sanctuaries internationally, there has been an explosion of scientific interest in the bonobo with dozens of high impact publications focusing on this fascinating species. This research has revealed exactly how unique bonobos are in their brains and behavior, and reminds us why it is so important that we redouble our efforts to protect the few remaining wild populations of this iconic and highly endangered great ape species.

This book takes a new approach to understanding primate conservation research, adding a personal perspective to allow readers to learn what motivates those doing conservation work. When entering the field over a decade ago, many young primatologists were driven by evolutionary questions centered in behavioural ecology. However, given the current environment of cascading extinctions and increasing threats to primates we now need to ensure that primates remain in viable populations in the wild before we can simply engage in research in the context of pure behavioural ecology. This has changed the primary research aims of many primatologists and shifted our focus to conservation priorities, such as understanding the impacts of human activity, habitat conversion or climate change on primates. This book presents personal narratives alongside empirical research results and discussions of strategies used to stem the tide of extinction. It is a must-have for anyone interested in conservation research.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide today, but are not just a modern phenomenon. To explore the deep roots of CVDs in human history, this book, for the first time, brings together bioarchaeological evidence from different periods, as old as 5000 BC, and geographic locations from Alaska to Northern Africa. Experts in their fields showcase the powerful tool set available to bioarchaeology, which allows a more comprehensive reconstruction of the human past through evidence for disease. The tools include aDNA and histological analyses and digital imaging techniques for studying skeletal and mummified human remains. The insights gained from these studies are not only of value to historical research but also demonstrate how the science of archaeological human remains can provide the long view of the history of disease and contributes to modern biomedical research within the context of evolutionary medicine.

This completely revised edition provides a synthesis of the forces that shaped the evolution of the human growth pattern, the biocultural factors that direct its expression, the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate individual development, and the biomathematical approaches needed to analyze and interpret human growth. After covering the history, philosophy and biological principles of human development, the book turns to the evolution of the human life cycle. Later chapters explore the physiological, environmental and cultural reasons for population variation in growth, and the genetic and endocrine factors that regulate individual development. Using numerous historical and cultural examples, social-economic-political-economic forces are also discussed. A new chapter introduces controversial concepts of community effects and strategic growth adjustments, and the author then integrates all this information into a truly interactive biocultural model of human development. This remains the primary text for students of human growth in anthropology, psychology, public health and education.