The Achievements and the Days Book I. From the Origin to the Hominids

In Book 1, there is discussion of the development of the universe, the galaxies and the earth. A careful, though cursory, scientific examination of the mechanisms involved in the progression of molecules to metazoan species follows. The author promulgates the interesting concept that evolution of highly organized systems under appropriate conditions is a necessity rather than occurring by chance. He proposes that within a species, Darwinian selection plays a role in adapting the species to changing conditions, but that does not account for the sudden appearance of a species with remarkably new characteristics. Rather, he proposes that radical changes in physical or psychological environment can lead to the emergence of a new species from a small outlying group composed of markedly different genetic make-up. Natural selection then leads to adaptation of the newly developed species.
Another point stressed by the author is that disease and behavior cannot be understood completely from the analysis of genes and their protein products. The presentation emphasizes the role played by post-translation modifications and alteration of protein configuration in space in phenotypic expression. One could add the important role that small non-coding RNA molecules, such as interfering RNA (iRNA), play in regulation of the transcription of DNA into RNA and thereby modulate the expression of proteins. In this manner, the DNA genes’ effect on phenotype can be dramatically modulated.
This book concludes with discussion of amphibians, reptiles, mammals and primates and their development in relation to changes in the environment that each encountered.