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A completely revised and updated edition that teaches the essentials of forensic biology, with increased coverage of molecular biological techniques and new information on wildlife forensics, wound analysis and the potential of microbiomes as forensic indicators. This fully revised and updated introduction to forensic biology carefully guides the reader through the science of biology in legal investigations. Full-colour throughout, including many new images, it offers an accessible overview to the essentials of the subject, providing balanced coverage of the range of organisms used as evidence in forensic investigations, such as invertebrates, vertebrates, plants and microbes. The book provides an accessible overview of the decay process and discusses the role of forensic indicators like human fluids and tissues, including bloodstain pattern analysis, hair, teeth, bones and wounds. It also examines the study of forensic biology in cases of suspicious death. This third edition of Essential Forensic Biology expands its coverage of molecular techniques throughout, offering additional material on bioterrorism and wildlife forensics. The new chapter titled 'Wildlife Forensics' looks at welfare legislation, CITES and the use of forensic techniques to investigate criminal activity such as wildlife trafficking and dog fighting. The use of DNA and RNA for the identification of individuals and their personal characteristics is now covered as well, along with a discussion of the ethical issues associated with the maintenance of DNA databases. Fully revised and updated third edition of the successful student-friendly introduction to the essentials of Forensic Biology. Covers a wide variety of legal investigations such as homicide, suspicious death, neglect, real and fraudulent claims for the sale of goods unfit for purpose, the illegal trade in protected species of plants and animals and bioterrorism. Discusses the use of a wide variety of biological material for forensic evidence. Supported by a website that includes numerous photographs, interactive MCQs, self-assessment quizzes and a series of questions and topics for further study to enhance student understanding. Includes a range of important, key case studies in which the difficulties of evaluating biological evidence are highlighted. Essential Forensic Biology, Third Edition is an excellent guide for undergraduates studying forensic science and forensic biology.

A review essay on a book by Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life. The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History (New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1989) [see listing in IRPS No. 70]). Gould's book provides a reconstruction of evolutionary theory that parallels recent developments in postmodernism. By postulating radical contingency as a feature of his theory of punctuated equilibria, Gould encounters many of the problems generated by postmodernity's vindication of a radical relativism against the universalism of modernity. Gould's book is criticized for its failure to present a convincing case for the contingent character of evolution, but is praised for offering an incisive & highly interesting debunking of gradualist & progressivist readings of conventional evolutionary theory. W. Howard

"Economics and Biology" is a collection of key essays on the relationship between economics and biology. As the limitations of the mechanistic metaphor in economics are increasingly recognized, this volume explores the potential for the use of evolutionary and other ideas from the science of biology. Topics covered include evaluations of mechanistic and biological analogies in economics in the Darwinian revolution, the use of biology in Alfred Marshall's economics, the concepts of optimisation and rationality in an evolutionary context and the inspirations that biology may offer for modern economics.

"Cities occupy approximately 3% of the Earth's habitable land area and are home to roughly half of all humans worldwide, with both estimates predicted to grow. Urban space is thus becoming an important, novel ecological niche for humans and wildlife alike. Building on knowledge gathered by urban ecologists during the last half century, evidence of evolutionary responses to urbanisation has rapidly emerged. Urban evolutionary biology is a nascent yet fast-growing field of research - and a fascinating testing ground for evolutionary biologists worldwide. Urbanisation offers a great range of opportunities to examine evolutionary processes because of the radically altered and easily quantifiable urban habitat, and the large number of cities worldwide enabling rigorous, replicated tests of evolutionary hypotheses. Urban populations are increasingly exhibiting both neutral and adaptive evolutionary changes at levels ranging from genotypes to phenotypes. The novelty of urban evolutionary biology is that these changes are driven by the cities we have built, including effects of infrastructure, pollution, and the social characteristics of our urban neighbourhoods. It will thereby enrich the field of evolutionary biology with emergent yet incredibly potent new research themes where the urban habitat is key. With contributions written by leading evolutionary biologists working on urban drivers of evolution, Urban Evolutionary Biology (title in italics) is the first academic book in the field. It synthesises current knowledge on evolutionary processes occurring literally on our doorstep, across the globe and in each city independently. This advanced textbook is suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers studying the evolutionary biology and genetics of urban environments. It is also highly relevant to urban ecologists and urban wildlife practitioners"--