Genes are often described by biologists using metaphors derived from computational science: they are thought of as carriers of information, as being the equivalent of "blueprints" for the construction of organisms. Likewise, cells are often characterized as "factories" and organisms themselves become analogous to machines. Accordingly, when the…

There are some important similarities between biological and societal evolution, but these similarities should not blind the enormous differences between them. Each system must be analyzed on its own merits and according to its own peculiar properties and principles. (Author/AM)

The excitement of sociobiology comes from the promise of the role it will play in humanistic investigation. Its potential importance beyond zoology lies in its logical position as the bridging discipline between the natural sciences on the one hand and social sciences and humanities on the other. (Author/AM)

Posits that an evolutionary perspective can unite the study of the typical development for and individual variation within a species and that environments within the normal range for a species are required for species-normal development. Individual differences in children reared in normal environments arise primarily from genetic variation and…

Part of the Anthropology Curriculum Project, the document contains a programmed text on evolution and a vocabulary pronunciation guide. The unit is intended for use by students in social studies and science courses in the 5th, 6th, and 7th grades. The bulk of the document, the programmed text, is organized in a question answer format. Students are…