Your Body - The Fish That Evolved

We know more about our bodies than ever before, but why are there so many unanswered questions? Why do our elbows and knees bend in opposite directions? Why do men and women walk differently? Why do men have nipples? Why is childbirth so painful? Why do we sleepwalk? Why do so many of us suffer from back pain and dental problems? This book sets out to answer these questions and many others as it traces our evolution, not for apes, but from our more distant ancestors - the fish. Accessible and endlessly fascinating, Your Body reveals which features we have inherited from our fish, amphibian, reptile, four-legged mammal and primate ancestors and explores how the human body is likely to evolve in the future.

Keith Harrison has a PhD in Zoology. He is a former Senior Scientific Officer at the Natural History Museum in London and a former programme manager for the UK's Natural Environment Research Council. A Fellow of the Institute of Biology, the Geological Society of London and the Linnean Society of London, Keith's fieldwork has taken him to East Africa and South America, and he has published numerous scientific articles about invertebrate and vertebrate animals. He now works in the media.