Foreword / Michael Ghiselin -- Ch. 1. The microscope and the cell -- The cell theory -- The problem of generation -- The problem of embryonic development -- The two versions of the cell theory -- Mechanism -- The chemical machine -- The computer model -- The autopoietic cell -- The epigenetic cell -- Ch. 2. Theories of evolution -- Traditional biology -- Lamarck's contribution -- Darwin's bet -- Natural selection -- Organs of extreme perfection -- Common descent -- The second mechanism of evolution -- The Modern Synthesis -- Molecular evolution -- The third mechanism of evolution -- Macroevolution -- Where is biology going to? -- Ch. 3. A new model for biology -- The logic of embryonic development
Summary
Marcello Barbieri sets out his theory that there are many more organic codes in nature than the genetic code. The existence of these codes can be used to explain the major steps in the evolutionary history of life, and processes like epigenesis and complexity generation in embryos
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-293) and index
