Adam is in Antartica, marking the passage of the solstice. Across the globe, his wife Ellie is waiting for the results of her IVF treatment. So begins the story of one family in a changing world, where the apocalyptic mingles with the everyday; a father battles a biblical storm; an immigrant is mysteriously drawn to the art of beekeeping; a young girl’s diary chronicles a pandemic; and a young man finds solace in building virtual recreations of the dead…

IT’S A POST-ECOCAUST WORLD. WELCOME TO IT. In the San Jose of tomorrow, all of nature is gengineered—from the warm-blooded plants to the designer people. But even in a rigidly controlled biosystem, with its pheromone-induced social order, the American dream is still the American dream. Caught between these new-old worlds, Rigo is on his way up—he’s going to be part of tomorrow, even if it means he has to leave today behind. Written off as a sellout on the streets of his old ’hood, Rigo’s got his own ap in an aplex, a 9-to-5er, and a girl. He’s got opportunity. If he works hard, his job with a heavyweight politicorp could give him a chance to move up in the clades. But when he’s chosen as part of a team to construct a new colony on a nearby comet, Rigo smells a setup. And when disaster strikes, he learns that if there’s a way to bend the rules, there’s also a way to break them…

The book provides insight on the osteology, myology, phylogeny and evolution of Osteichthyes. It not only provides an extensive cladistic analysis of osteichthyan higher-level inter-relationships based on a phylogenetic comparison of 356 characters in 80 extant and fossil terminal taxa representing all major groups of Osteichthyes, but also analyses various terminal taxa and osteological characters. And also provides a general discussion on issues such as the comparative anatomy, homologies and evolution of osteichthyan cranial and pectoral muscles, the development of zebrafish cephalic muscles and the implications for evolutionary developmental studies, the origin homologies and evolution of one of the most peculiar and enigmatic structural complexes of osteichthyans, the Weberian apparatus, and the use of myological versus osteological characters in phylogenetic reconstructions.

The PhyloCode is a set of principles, rules, and recommendations governing phylogenetic nomenclature, a system for naming taxa by explicit reference to phylogeny. In contrast, the current botanical, zoological, and bacteriological codes define taxa by reference to taxonomic ranks (e.g., family, genus) and types. This code will govern the names of clades; species names will still be governed by traditional codes. The PhyloCode is designed so that it can be used concurrently with the rank-based codes. It is not meant to replace existing names but to provide an alternative system for governing the application of both existing and newly proposed names. Key Features Provides clear regulations for naming clades Based on expressly phylogenetic principles Complements existing codes of nomenclature Eliminates the reliance on taxonomic ranks in favor of phylogenetic relationships Related Titles: Rieppel, O. Phylogenetic Systematics: Haeckel to Hennig (ISBN 978-1-4987-5488-0) de Queiroz, K., Cantino, P. D. and Gauthier, J. A. Phylonyms: A Companion to the PhyloCode (ISBN 978-1-138-33293-5).

Over the last two years with the strain of coronavirus having a devastating effect on the world’s healthcare system and triggering a global "lockdown", one question that has emerged; What, or which infectious disease is going to hit us next? Many infectious diseases prevalent in humans and animals are caused by pathogens that once emerged from other animal hosts. In addition to these established or re-emerging infections, new infectious diseases periodically emerge. In extreme cases they may lead to pandemics as we currently are seeing. The increased urbanization and globalization of the world order with faster connectivity and traveling has further in-creased the risk factors for emerging infections. Despite this, enormous progress has been made in the field of infectious disease in the last few decades. The number of deaths and severe infections because of diseases like Malaria, HIV, Ebola, Dengue, Yellow fever virus (YFV), Zika etc. have been significantly reduced and diseases like Polio are on the brink of eradication. In particular, the emergence of the devastating SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has revolutionized the field in an unprecedented way. A myriad of vaccine platforms and highly potent therapeutic approaches have been developed by government, industry, academic, and non-governmental organizations. However, the rapid and unparalleled spread of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, and the amount of toll that it has caused to the public health and global economy also underscores the urgent need to develop broadly cross-reactive, rapidly deployable, and scalable therapeutic platforms. Development of these novel therapeutic modalities also requires a strong emphasis on the functional and mechanistic understanding of how molecular components in a biological process related to emerging infectious diseases work together. Onset of the out-breaks of recent decades including but not limited to SARS-CoV-1, MERS, Ebola virus, Zika virus, Nipah virus, Yellow fever virus, Lassa virus and the ongoing ever devastating SARS-CoV-2 pandemic also highlight the urgent need to devise a future proof pandemic preparedness strategy and the demand for a fast and early response.

This important and extensive volume presents part of the Proceedings of the Fourth International Crustacean Congress held in Amsterdam in 1998. As the title implies, 'Crustaceans and the Biodiversity Crisis' was the general, underlying theme of all contributions at the congress. With the turn of the century, someone ought to 'assess the balance' of our natural environment and of the various branches of biology that study its rapidly declining diversity. From the five subthemes covered at the conference, those of (1) Diversity in Time and Space (including Systematics, Phylogeny, and Palaeontology), (2b) Biogeography, (3c) Larvae, and (4) Physiology and Biochemistry (including Molecular Biology and Genetics) are represented in this volume, along with a few contributions from other subthemes (e.g. (2a) Invasive Crustacea, (3a) Ecology, (3b) Behaviour, and (5) Fisheries and Aquaculture). The book is primarily meant for scientists working at institutes involved in research on the group (Crustacea: marine, freshwater, or terrestrial) and/or the disciplines covered. Individual carcinologists working on one of the themes discussed in this volume, will find a wealth of interesting and timely contributions, as will other scientists working in marine or freshwater biology or in soil ecology.

Documents in comprehensive detail a major environmental crisis: rapidly declining amphibian populations and the disturbing developmental problems that are increasingly prevalent within many amphibian species.