Well, this was turning out to be one boring summer job. When you signed on as an undergraduate intern with the resident Starfleet Biologist, you figured fame would soon follow. What followed was endless hours of thankless lab work, coffee serving and errands. If you are ever going to break free of this scientist’s shadow now is the time; but reading up on some widely known, scientific theory on the Vendian, Ediacaran, Cambrian and why they occurred is not going to get you far. What you need is an obscure point of view. Some strange theory on evolution that will prove why Starfleet should not re-colonize while distinguishing you from the rest of the scientists. A quick glance at Nature and Scientific American reassures you that there are plenty of interesting theories to choose from.
Leads and Sources
Magazines and Articles:
"When Life Exploded," J. Madeleine Nash. Cover Story Time Magazine December 4, 1995.
"On Embryos and Ancestors," Stephen Jay Gould. Natural History 7/98-8/98, p. 20.
"The Evolution of Life on the Earth," Stephen Jay Gould. Scientific American October 1994, p. 85.
"Breathing Room for Early Animals" (Oxygen), Andrew H. Knoll. Nature Vol. 382, July 11, 1996, p. 111.
"The Big Bang of Animal Evolution," Jeffrey Levinton. Scientific American November 1992.
"Hypersea," Dianna and Mark McMenamin. Discover October 1995, p. 76.
"The Emergence of Animals," Mark McMenamin. Scientific American April 1987, p. 94.
"Life’s Grand Explosions." (theories on why the Cambrian explosion occurred) Lori Oliwenstein. Discover January 1996, p. 42.
"The Molecular Explosion," Henry Gee. Nature Vol. 373, February 16,1995, p. 558.
Internet Sites:
The Divisions of Precambrian Time
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/precambrian/precambrian.htmlLife of the Vendian
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vendian/vendianlife.htmlLearning About the Vendian Animals
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vendian/critters.htmlOxygen Pulse and the Evolutionary Expansion of the Metazoans
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/8200/Oxygenation.htmlCambrian Explosion
http://www.carleton.ca/Museum/camex/1ahome.html
Books:
The Emergence of Animals: The Cambrian Breakthrough. Mark and Dianna McMenamin, 1990, Columbia University Press.
Biology: The Science of Life. Wallace, Sanders and Ferl, 4th ed., 1996, Addison-Wesley.