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Molecules

The understanding of biological processes at a molecular level and across the animal kingdom has revealed great similarities among the component molecules and great diversity in the ways in which these molecules interact. Most conserved processes in metazoa operate under contingencies, that is, their activity depends on conditions, both external and internal to the organism. The establishment of new contingencies in evolution is a process that underlies most of the mechanisms discussed in the following book.

CELLS, EMBRYOS AND EVOLUTION
John Gerhart and Marc Kirschner
Blackwell Science, 1997
Chapter 1. The Surprising Conservation of Cellular Processes Chapter 2. Contingency
Chapter 3. Regulatory Linkage
Chapter 4. The Exploratory Behavior of Biological Systems
Chapter 5. Novelty
Chapter 6. Conditionality and Compartmentalization		 Chapter 7. Body Plans
Chapter 8. Axis Specification and Reproductive Strategies
Chapter 9. Developmental Flexibility and Robustness
Chapter 10. Evolutionary Diversification of the Body Plan
Chapter 11. Evolution and Evolvability

Understanding diseases of man in molecular terms from the standpoint of etiology, pathogenesis and course is now possible and increasingly common.

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