{"product_id":"flaws-of-nature","title":"Flaws Of Nature","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecies evolve over time to become perfectly adapted to their environments, right?\u003c\/strong\u003e{::} \u003cstrong\u003eWell, sometimes.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Consider that an elephant will not grow a seventh set of teeth, even though wearing down the sixth will condemn it to starvation; that hosts of the European cuckoo seem unable to tell that the overgrown monster in their nest is not their own chick; and that whales are fully aquatic mammals who, millions of years after first abandoning the land, still cannot breathe underwater.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book is about evolution, but not its greatest hits. Instead, it explores everything in the animal kingdom that is self-defeating, ill-made, uneconomical, or downright weird – and explains how natural selection has favoured it. In the grand struggle for survival, some surprising patterns emerge: animals are always slightly out-of-date; inefficiency tends to increase over time; predators usually lose, and parasites usually win. With equal parts humour and scientific insight, Andy Dobson is here to explain the how and why of evolution’s limits and liabilities.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57302761537918,"sku":"NW9781803990170","price":14.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781803990170.jpg?v=1778579091","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/flaws-of-nature","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}