You: A Natural History

249 Pages·2018·2.6 MB·English

by  William B. Irvine

You

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You
A Natural History
William B. Irvine
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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.
© William B. Irvine 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction
rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Irvine, William Braxton, 1952– author.
Title: You : a natural history / William B. Irvine.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018012957 | ISBN 9780190869199
Subjects: LCSH: Human biology. | Human beings—Constitution.
Classification: LCC QP34.5 .I78 2018 | DDC 612—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018012957
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
To Jamie,
For helping give the cellular me
a second chance at life,
and for so much more

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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Your Multiple Identities xi
Part I | Your Deep Ancestry
1. Your People 3
2. You and I Are Related 14
3. You Have a Great Throwing Arm 23
4. Your Place on the Tree of Life 34
5. Your Sex Problem(s) 45
6. The Neanderthal in Your Family Tree 55
7. The Code(s) by Which You Live 68
8. Your (Alien?) Roots 75
Part II | The Cellular You
9. You Are Complex 87
10. Your Ancestors Were Boring 95
11. Your “Cellmates” 103
12. Your “Boarders” 113
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Part III | The Atomic You
13. You Are What You Eat, Ate 123
14. Your Windblown Past 130
15. Your Cosmic Connection 139
16. Pulling Yourself Together 146
Part IV | Your Place in the Universe
17. You Are a Gene Machine 159
18. You Are (Merely) Part of Life 169
19. Your Many Afterlives 176
20. Why Are You Here? 185
Notes 193
Works Cited 209
Index 221
Acknowledgments
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The foundation for this book was laid when George W. Bush was president,
the research and writing were done during the Obama administration, and the final
revisions were made during the Trump administration. During this period, many people
and institutions played a role in making this book possible. I would like to take this op-
portunity to thank them.
I want to give particular thanks to Wright State University for the course reductions it
granted me in the 2015‒16 and 2016‒17 school years. The time I thereby gained was spent
writing and revising the words that follow.
I want to thank the many people who looked at and commented on book chapters,
including Kevin de Queiroz at the Smithsonian Institution and his biologist brother
Alan; Jayme Dyer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Matthew Gale in Yellow
Springs, Ohio; Erik Hill at Campbell University; Steven Karafit at the University of
Central Arkansas; Massimo Pigliucci at City University of New York; Robert Riordan
at Wright State University; and Sarah Roe at Southern Connecticut State University.
I would also like to thank William M. Irvine at the University of Massachusetts at
Amherst. In case you are wondering, yes he is a relative of the author— as is every other
person on the planet— but not a close relative.
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