In this New York Times bestseller and longlist nominee for the
National Book Award, "our greatest living chronicler of the natural
world" (The New York Times), David Quammen explains how recent
discoveries in molecular biology affect our understanding of evolution
and life's history.
In the mid-1970s, scientists began using DNA sequences to reexamine the
history of all life. Perhaps the most startling discovery to come out of
this new field--the study of life's diversity and relatedness at the
molecular level--is horizontal gene transfer (HGT), or the movement of
genes across species lines. It turns out that HGT has been widespread
and important; we now know that roughly eight percent of the human
genome arrived sideways by viral infection--a type of HGT.
In The Tangled Tree, "the grandest tale in biology....David Quammen
presents the science--and the scientists involved--with patience,
candor, and flair" (Nature). We learn about the major players, such as
Carl Woese, the most important little-known biologist of the twentieth
century; Lynn Margulis, the notorious maverick whose wild ideas about
"mosaic" creatures proved to be true; and Tsutomu Wantanabe, who
discovered that the scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a direct
result of horizontal gene transfer, bringing the deep study of genome
histories to bear on a global crisis in public health.
"David Quammen proves to be an immensely well-informed guide to a
complex story" (The Wall Street Journal). In The Tangled Tree, he
explains how molecular studies of evolution have brought startling
recognitions about the tangled tree of life--including where we humans
fit upon it. Thanks to new technologies, we now have the ability to
alter even our genetic composition--through sideways insertions, as
nature has long been doing. "The Tangled Tree is a source of
wonder....Quammen has written a deep and daring intellectual adventure"
(The Boston Globe).
