Research in biology and all basic sciences has undergone profound transformations in recent decades. We have seen the development of extremely sophisticated techniques, allowing us to study, in an objective manner, questions that were still considered science fiction at the end of the 20th century. All of this has allowed us to develop an in-depth knowledge of vast subjects, such as the biology of the brain, for example. Fifty Years of Evolution in Biological Research presents a panorama of these different technical advances. However, at the same time, there has been an increase in the number of constraints on researchers, a monetization of research and a correlative pressure to continually publish in more prestigious journals. This has resulted in a certain degradation of the quality of research activity. This book analyzes this evolution and proposes solutions.

Research in biology and all basic sciences has undergone profound transformations in recent decades. We have seen the development of extremely sophisticated techniques, allowing us to study, in an objective manner, questions that were still considered science fiction at the end of the 20th century. All of this has allowed us to develop an in-depth knowledge of vast subjects, such as the biology of the brain, for example. Fifty Years of Evolution in Biological Research presents a panorama of these different technical advances. However, at the same time, there has been an increase in the number of constraints on researchers, a monetization of research and a correlative pressure to continually publish in more prestigious journals. This has resulted in a certain degradation of the quality of research activity. This book analyzes this evolution and proposes solutions.

A fiftieth birthday is a good one to celebrate-old enough to be ex perienced and mature, but not so old as to be an antique. And if the fifty years have spanned as much change in scientific affairs as has occurred during the lifetime of Biological Abstracts it is surely time for a stocktaking. The leaders of biology in 1926 simply could not have imagined the condi tions of 1976. And few biologists active in 1976 can imagine what 1926 was like. That was before the explosive growth of federal funds for research and development, before the huge swelling of graduate enrollments and degrees, before World War II, even before the Great Depression! A few old-timers can remember 1926, and Bill Steere will forgive me for calling him an old-timer. After all, he provides the evidence himself; as a graduate student he met the first editor when Biological Abstracts was only three years old, and he has known all its later editors and administra tive officers. What he does not say is that tn length of service to BIOSIS, in seniority, he stands among only a few past and present members of the board of trustees; nor does he mention that at least as frequently as any other biologist he has been called upon to serve on governmental and associational councils and committees dealing with policy and strategy concerning the abstracting, classification, and dissemination of scientific knowledge. Surely he was the right choice to write this history.

An important look at a groundbreaking forty-year study of Darwin's finches Renowned evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant have produced landmark studies of the Galápagos finches first made famous by Charles Darwin. In How and Why Species Multiply, they offered a complete evolutionary history of Darwin's finches since their origin almost three million years ago. Now, in their richly illustrated new book, 40 Years of Evolution, the authors turn their attention to events taking place on a contemporary scale. By continuously tracking finch populations over a period of four decades, they uncover the causes and consequences of significant events leading to evolutionary changes in species. The authors used a vast and unparalleled range of ecological, behavioral, and genetic data—including song recordings, DNA analyses, and feeding and breeding behavior—to measure changes in finch populations on the small island of Daphne Major in the Galápagos archipelago. They find that natural selection happens repeatedly, that finches hybridize and exchange genes rarely, and that they compete for scarce food in times of drought, with the remarkable result that the finch populations today differ significantly in average beak size and shape from those of forty years ago. The authors' most spectacular discovery is the initiation and establishment of a new lineage that now behaves as a new species, differing from others in size, song, and other characteristics. The authors emphasize the immeasurable value of continuous long-term studies of natural populations and of critical opportunities for detecting and understanding rare but significant events. By following the fates of finches for several generations, 40 Years of Evolution offers unparalleled insights into ecological and evolutionary changes in natural environments.

Biopolitics at 50 Years: Founding and Evolution explores the study of biology and politics through the prism of fifty years of experience presenting current research that illustrates the nature and evolution of biopolitics.