Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us about Development and Evolution

Want to change, enhance or cement your view on evolution? Get this book. You will never think about or discuss this topic in the same fashion again. It is a true perspectives piece.

As in his previous book, Basic Instinct (also highly recommended), Blumberg does a remarkable job of translating a number of complex ideas into readily understandable prose. The relationship between development and evolution was a subject largely neglected in mainstream biology for much of the 20th century. The tide has begun to turn significantly only over the course of the last two decades--not enough time for the burgeoning science of epigenetics (molecular and molar) to have filtered into the general scientific and popular consciousness. Books like Blumberg's are thus badly needed. In Freaks of Nature Blumberg presents a novel way of understanding the development and significance of "freaks"--those organisms who differ from the species-typical (or order-, family-, or genus-typical) norm in significant if not radical ways. Whether the freak be a cyclopean human fetus, a bipedal goat or rodent, an experimentally produced "unicorn," or a female hyena with freakishly enlarged sexual anatomy, Blumberg shows that there is a developmental logic to such anomalies. As numerous findings from modern epigenetics and developmental biology show, subtle differences in the timing of events during development (e.g., the separation of the tissues that eventually become the two fully formed eyes) can result in a cascade of downstream effects, producing sometimes radically novel forms. Many such novelties are simply not viable and thus never make it to the stage (birth) where scientists can study and others wonder at them. Others, like Johnny Eck, a man who was born with no legs and yet managed to locomote with a high degree of fluidity and even gracefulness--using his hands--are not only viable but capable of thriving due to the high degree of plasticity inherent in the brain and nervous system. We are neither born with a knowledge of what our bodies will be like (for one, our bodies change throughout the lifespan, so we would have to be born with knowledge of infinitely many bodies) nor a knowledge of how to effectively and efficiently control them. This is the beauty of development and is why developmental processes have enormous implications for understanding not only ourselves as humans (we are, in important ways, freaks among the primates), but ourselves as individuals and moreover evolution as a whole. Blumberg concludes his excellent book by introducing the possibility of two new fields of scientific investigation: terethology, or the study of the behavior of developmental anomalies (or "monsters"), and developmental neuroethology, a field that would seek to study comprehensively the behavior and neural development of "brains packaged in novel forms." In many ways such a field already exists or at least has seeds in modern developmental neurobiology and developmental neuroscience. It also resembles the vision for the behavioral sciences advocated by the psychologist and embryologist Zing-Yang Kuo: an integrative, interdisciplinary science that takes

A two-legged goat. A man who walked on his hands. A kitten with two faces. A naked mole rat. A star-nosed mole. A fun read. Freaks is a provocative look at anomalies in nature and the developmental processes that produce them. Blumberg details the self-organizing mechanisms that create an integrated phenotype in all creatures, not just the archetypes, and persuasively argues how these systems should influence the way we think and talk about evolution. Poignantly blending fields such as embryology, ethology, psychology and neuroscience, along with a bit of history and anecdote, Blumberg delivers a treat for readers of all interests that should change how we look at what it means to be "normal".

This book is truly one of a kind. Not only does Dr. Mark Blumberg help to elucidate the issues and confusion that people often have with development and evolution, but he does so in a way that helps us to understand that development isn't a prescribed process. He shows us, through many examples, how one small change during the developmental process can result in big effects: both development and evolution are continuing processes that are guided by cascading effects in the system: genes and environment alike. Never has a book been so "raw" in presenting the details and differences that exist among species...and quite frankly, that exist amongst ourselves. Each of us is a "freak of nature" expressed in different ways. It is just more evident in some humans and some non-human animals that may represent the more extreme, or unique, cases. Why don't we ask each other how we walk, talk and function every single day? We have all been faced with developmental demands and environmental challenges along the way, just like the goat without forelimbs that learned to walk upright. We are always adapting. After reading this book, the reader will undoubtedly walk away with a better understanding of the science behind development and evolution, as well as a strong appreciation for these "freaks." The examples throughout the book are very beautiful demonstrations of how powerful science can be, and how adaptable organisms really are. Even after being faced with these challenges, we all find a way to evolve and survive.

What a delight! Finally, a beautifully written science book exploring a subject area often ignored or deliberately shunned. Mark Blumberg sensitively explores the world of exceptions, those individuals among us who are limbless, ambiguously gendered, conjoined--those creatures that we see as abnormal. He helps us understand the wondrous diversity of our world, and calls us to embrace the exceptions, for we are all "monsters."