Integrative biology

(Eörs Szathmáry, Ádám Kun)

1. The naked ape: evolutionary questions of human anatomy
2. Our inner ape: Human behaviour and sociality in comparison to ape's
3. Gun, germs and steel: Biological basis of human history
4. What is inherited? Evolution in four dimensions
5. Ecological developmental biology
6. Evolution of language
7. Homo economicus? The foundation of human cooperation
8. Astrobiology
9. Minimal genomes
10. Genome based metabolic reconstructions
11. Definition of Life
12. Behavioural ecology of plants
13. Darwinian medicine

List of topics for the exam (2016)

1. The naked ape: evolutionary questions of human anatomy
2. Our inner ape: Human behaviour and sociality in comparison to ape's
3. Gun, germs and steel: Biological basis of human history [pdf]
4. Ecological developmental biology [pdf]
5. Evolution of language
6. Astrobiology [ppt]
7. Minimal genomes [pdf]
8. Behavioural ecology of plants
9. Darwinian medicine [pdf]

1. The naked ape: Evolutionary questions of human anatomy

Suggested readings

Morris, Desmond: The naked ape
Morris, Desmond: The naked woman
Morris, Desmond: The naked man
Lieberman, Daniel: The story of the human body - Evolution, health, and disease. 2013. Pantheon books, New York, USA

2. Our inner Ape: Human behaviour and sociality in comparison to apes

Suggested readings

Frans De Waal: Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are. 2006. Riverhead Trade

3. Guns, germs and steel: Biological basis of human history

Suggested readings

Jared Diamond: Guns, germs and steel.

4. Homo economicus? Foundation of human cooperation

Suggested readings

Matt Ridley: The Origins of Virtue - Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation. 1998. Penguin Books.

5. Ecological developmental biology

6. Astrobiology

Suggested readings

Keresztúri Ákos: Asztrobiológia. Magyar Csillagászati Egyesület, Budapest, 2011

7. Minimal genomes

8. Genome based metabolic reconstructions

MetaCyc [http://www.metacyc.org/]: Personally I think this is the most reliable database for metabolic reactions, especially if the direction of the reactions are important.

Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes  [http://www.genome.jp/kegg/]

In silico organism [http://gcrg.ucsd.edu/InSilicoOrganisms/OtherOrganisms]: This is a collection of metabolic reconstructions. Reconstructions done by the Palsson groups are precise and clear.

Suggested readings

Kun Á., Papp B. és Szathmáry E. 2008. Computational identification of obligatorily autocatalytic replicators embedded in metabolic networks. Genome Biology 9:R51
Feist, A.M., Herrgård, M.J., Thiele, I., Reed, J.L. and Palsson, B.Ø. 2009. Reconstruction of Biochemical Networks in Microbial Organisms. Nat Rev Microbiol. 7(2): 129–143.

9. What is inherited? Evolution in four dimensions

Suggested readings

Eva Jablonka and Marion J. Lamb 2006. Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life. Bradford Book

10. The Definition of Life

The ppt of Viktor Müller's lecture is here.

11. Evolution of language

Suggested readings