| Chapter
1 |
The
microscope and the cell |
13
|
| Chapter
2 |
Theories
of evolution |
37
|
- Traditional
biology, 37
- Lamarck’s
contribution, 39
- Darwin’s
bet, 41
- Natural
selection, 43
- Organs
of extreme perfection, 45
- Common
descent, 48
- The
second mechanism of evolution, 52
- The
Modern Synthesis, 55
- Molecular
evolution, 58
- Macroevolution,
60
- Where
is biology going to?, 63
| Chapter
3 |
A
new model for biology |
67
|
| Chapter
4 |
Organic
codes and cell memories |
89
|
- The
characteristics of the codes, 89
- The
organic codes’ fingerprints, 92
- The
bridge between genes and organism, 95
- The
splicing codes, 97
- The
signal transduction codes, 101
- Contextual
information, 106
- Determination
and cell memory, 108
- The
other face of pattern, 110
- Hints
from developing neurons, 112
- The
key structures of embryonic development, 114
| Chapter
5 |
The
origin of life |
117
|
- The
primitive Earth, 117
- Chemical
evolution, 122
- “Postchemical”
evolution, 125
- The
metabolism paradigm,
127
- The
replication paradigm,
130
- The
RNA world, 134
- The
replication catastrophes, 136
- Eigen’s
paradox, 138
- The
ribotype theory,
141
- The
genetic code, 144
- Evolution
of the code,
151
- The
ribotype concept, 153
| Chapter
6 |
Prokaryotes
and eukaryotes |
157
|
- The
Potassium world, 157
- Two
forms of life,
159
- Three
primary kingdoms, 161
- The
last common ancestor, 166
- The
origins of bacteria, 168
- The
cytoskeleton, 171
- The
compartments,
173
- Chromosomes,
175
- The
seven kingdoms, 178
- Three
thousand million years, 180
| Chapter
7 |
The
Cambrian explosion |
183
|
- The
fossil record, 183
- The
experimental data, 184
- Body
plans and phylotypic stages, 187
- The
traditional explanations,
191
- The
Cambrian singularity, 193
- The
stumbling-block,
195
- The
reconstruction model, 196
- Multicellular
structures, 197
- Biological
memories, 201
- A
new model of the Cambrian explosion, 202
- The
conservation of the phylotypic stage, 205
| Chapter
8 |
Semantic
biology |
209
|
- A
new view of life, 209
- The
semantic theory of the cell, 211
- The
semantic theory of embryonic development, 213
- The
mind problem,
216
- The
semantic theory of mental development, 218
- Artefacts
and natural selection, 220
- Chaos
and antichaos, 222
- The
semantic theory of evolution, 225
- About
organic codes, 229
- The
language model,
230
- The
development of semantic biology,
232
|