Freaks of Nature: What They Tell Us About Development and Evolution
By Mark S Blumberg
Oxford University Press £12.99, 344 pages
FT Bookshop price: £10.39

Two-faced kittens, goats born without forelegs that learn to walk upright, babies born with both male and female sexual organs – just some of the developmental anomalies analysed in Freaks of Nature.

The study of these phenomena, Mark S Blumberg says, can offer insight into how all organisms develop and adapt to their environment – including humans. What’s more, he argues, they can prove that genetics are not the answer to every biological mystery, contrary to the prevailing attitude in science.

Despite using technical terms such as “ontogeny”, Blumberg, a professor of psychology at the University of Iowa, is a fluid writer. His book can be hard work at times, and a more defined structure might have given his arguments greater coherence and bite. Nevertheless, Freaks of Nature is compelling enough not to suffocate the interest of non-scientific readers. A stimulating read.