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Your Inner Fish

A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body

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Your Inner Fish

Written by: Neil Shubin
Narrated by: Marc Cashman
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Summary

 Why do we look the way we do? What does the human hand have in common with the wing of a fly? Are breasts, sweat glands, and scales connected in some way? To better understand the inner workings of our bodies and to trace the origins of many of today’s most common diseases, we have to turn to unexpected sources: worms, flies, and even fish.

Neil Shubin, a leading paleontologist and professor of anatomy who discovered Tiktaalik–the “missing link” that made headlines around the world in April 2006–tells the story of evolution by tracing the organs of the human body back millions of years, long before the first creatures walked the earth. By examining fossils and DNA, Shubin shows us that our hands actually resemble fish fins, our head is organized like that of a long-extinct jawless fish, and major parts of our genome look and function like those of worms and bacteria.

Shubin makes us see ourselves and our world in a completely new light. YOUR INNER FISH is science writing at its finest–enlightening, accessible, and told with irresistible enthusiasm.©2008 Neil Shubin; (P)2008 Books on Tape Biological Sciences Science Paleontology Natural History
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Understanding what makes us biologically human, and how much that ties us to the rest of life here on our planet, is one of the most humbling experiences. This book does just that. It clearly explains the genetic and historical links we share with other life. And at the same time fills the reader with wonder at the incredible scientific journy that led to this understanding.

A must read.

Understanding the history of humans

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Great book detailing fossil expeditions, genetic experiments and epiphanies about where our eyes and ears (etc.) came from. Very easy to follow, exciting and insightful.

Fossils and their role in understanding evolution

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So much makes sense now having been given the background. Although complicated, Shubin arrives at an inescapable truth. Definitely worth the journey.

Now I Get It

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