Darwin's Reach: 21st Century Applications of Evolutionary Biology

The application of evolutionary biology addresses a wide range of practical problems in medicine, agriculture, the environment, and society.Such cutting-edge applications are emerging due to recent advances in DNA sequencing, new gene editing tools, and computational methods.This book is about applied evolution - the application of the principles of and information about evolutionary biology to diverse practical matters.Although applied evolution has existed, unrecognized, for a very long time, today’s version has a much wider scope.Evolutionary medicine has formed into its own discipline.Evolutionary approaches have long been employed in agriculture and in conservation biology.But Darwin’s reach now extends beyond just these three fields.It now also includes forensic biology and the law. Ideas from evolutionary biology can be used to inform policy regarding foreign affairs and national security.Applied evolution is not only interdisciplinary, but also multidisciplinary.Consequently, t