Vector Targeting for Therapeutic Gene Delivery

basis for exploring the macroevolutionary history of Earth and the origin of species. Finally, all these elements are nicely synthesized in a particularly readable chapter on human evolution and both our uniqueness from and our similarity to other species. A brief recap ofsome major areas of active research precedes two appendices, one of which adopts the "frequently asked questions" model to provide a useful primer to those readers still confused on primary points of the text. Editing problems are evident from the beginning, and their frequency throughout the book is easily the most frustrating and preventable flaw in hat Evolution Is. Entirely redundant sentences and even paragraphs are littered throughout most sections, exacerbating the confusion produced by the already confusing organization of many chapters. Mayr's ambitious attempts to cover all aspects of evolution create a more understandable problem. While zoologists may enjoy reading a text with a bias toward animals , those interested in other kingdoms will be fiustrated by the superficial treatment of the evolution of plants and microbes. What statements do address these topics are often imprecise and written with an uncertainty that sharply contrasts Mayr's confident descriptions of most topics. Of course, this only proves the difficulty of any one person , regardless of their experience in the field, writing with equal knowledge and confidence on all aspects of a mature science , but a book with such an ambitious title puts exactly this burden on the author. Although Mayr lists creationists and evolutionary agnostics as target audiences of this essay, I doubt many members of either group will find themselves convinced by the presentation of evidence here. Mayr himself is so convinced of evolution, and so steeped in the evidence for it, that he seems unable or unwilling to address its acceptance from the position of an outsider. Although Mayr's logical presentation of evidence is at all times sound and well-reasoned, his seemingly compulsive use of jargon and extreme confidence may lead many readers outside ofbiology to dismiss this work as dogmatism. Non-scientists accustomed to the plurality of viewpoints contrasted in works of scientific journalism, or the controversial speculation and philosophy of many popular science books, may find little to hold their attention in the first few chapters of this work, which follow more of a textbook style. Biologists will find much of interest here, but anyone with a serious interest in evolution as a scientific …