Making Sense of Life

Preface vii Introduction 1(10) PART ONE Models: Explaining Development without the Help of Genes 11(102) 1 Synthetic Biology and the Origin of Living Form 15(35) 2 Morphology as a Science of Mechanical Forces 50(29) 3 Untimely Births of a Mathematical Biology 79(34) PART TWO Metaphors: Genes and Developmental Narratives 113(86) 4 Genes, Gene Action, and Genetic Programs 123(25) 5 Taming the Cybernetic Metaphor 148(25) 6 Positioning Positional Information 173(26) PART THREE Machines: Understanding Development with Computers, Recombinant DNA, and Molecular Imaging 199(96) 7 The Visual Culture of Molecular Embryology 205(29) 8 New Roles for Mathematical and Computational Modeling 234(31) 9 Synthetic Biology Redux-Computer Simulation and Artificial Life 265(30) Conclusion: Understanding Development 295(10) Notes 305(46) References 351(31) Index 382