Despite emerging over 65 million years ago, it’s ‘only’ in the last 25 million years that grasses have become the most widespread organism on the planet. Similarly in the human world, inventions and discoveries such as radar and the genetic laws of inheritance were long-neglected before their value was understood. Taking in a broad range of examples, Andreas Wagner uncovers how timing is key in ensuring the success of innovations.
Life innovates constantly, producing perfectly adapted species - but there's a catch.
A TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BEST BOOK OF 2023
'Hopeful and fascinating.' THE TIMES
Many animals and plants eke out seemingly unremarkable lives. Passive, constrained, modest, threatened. Then, in a blink of evolutionary time, they flourish spectacularly. Once we start to look, these 'sleeping beauties' crop up everywhere. But why?
Looking at the book of life, from apex predators to keystone crops, and informed by his own cutting-edge experiments, renowned scientist Andreas Wagner demonstrates that innovations can come frequently and cheaply to nature, well before they are needed. We have found prehistoric bacteria that harbour the remarkable ability to fight off 21st-century antibiotics. And human history fits the pattern too, as life-changing technologies are invented only to be forgotten, languishing in the shadows before they finally take off.
In probing the mysteries of these sleeping beauties, Wagner reveals a crucial part of nature's rich and strange tapestry.
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https://www.psbooks.co.uk/sleeping-beauties545990Sleeping Beautieshttps://www.psbooks.co.uk/media/catalog/product/5/4/545990_media-0.jpg5.995.99GBPInStock/Non-Fiction/Categories/Science & Nature/Non-Fiction/Categories/Science & Nature/Popular Science/Non-Fiction/Categories/Science & Nature/Nature & The Natural World/Campaigns/Innovation & InventionDespite emerging over 65 million years ago, it’s ‘only’ in the last 25 million years that grasses have become the most widespread organism on the planet. Similarly in the human world, inventions and discoveries such as radar and the genetic laws of inheritance were long-neglected before their value was understood. Taking in a broad range of examples, Andreas Wagner uncovers how timing is key in ensuring the success of innovations.Paperback00https://www.psbooks.co.uk/media/catalog/product/5/4/545990_media-1.jpghttps://www.psbooks.co.uk/media/catalog/product/5/4/545990_media-2.jpgadd-to-cartrrp_info:£11.99productId:183259bic_code:PDX, PDZ, PSAJ, PSC, PSD, PST, PSV, PSVT, RNCBPDX, PDZ, PSAJ, PSC, PSD, PST, PSV, PSVT, RNCB£11.99Andreas WagnerGeneral198x129mmOneworldNoPaperback
