Sleeping Beauties: The Mystery of Dormant Innovations in Nature and Culture

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Life innovates constantly it just needs the right environment to succeed. Pioneering mammals appeared when dinosaurs still ruled the roost, but over a hundred million years passed before they flourished. Grasses came on the scene sixty-five million years ago, but they took off only forty million years ago. Examples of sleeping beauties animals, plants and even human inventions seem to be the exception rather than the rule. But why Through cutting-edge experiments, Andreas Wagner demonstrates that innovations come frequently and cheaply to nature, well before they are needed. For proof, look no further than prehistoric bacteria that can resist synthetic antibiotics theyve never encountered, or consider that there are more ways to digest glucose than there are stars in the universe. In human history, the thermometer was invented seven times, the telegraph four times and radar six times.

Reviews

'Hopeful and fascinating.'

'A fascinating argument, told in an engaging and clear style, that reminds us just how creative evolution can be.'

[An] excellent study The accessible prose ensures even excursions into molecular biology are comprehensible, and Wagner finds surprising depth in evolutionary history... This is the rare volume that general readers will enjoy as much as specialists.

Accessible and compelling... [Sleeping Beauties is]a fascinating perspective on dormancys abundant and critical role in evolutionary innovation.

Author Bio

Andreas Wagner is a professor and chairman at the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich. He is the author of four books on evolutionary innovation, including Life Finds a Way, which is also published by Oneworld. He lives in Zurich.