Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- Part I. Models: Explaining Development with the Help of Genes -- 1. Synthetic Biology and the Origin of Living Form -- 2. Morphology as a Science of Mechanical Forces -- 3. Untimely Births of a Mathematical Biology -- Part II. Metaphors: Genes and Developmental Narratives -- 4. Genes, Gene Action, and Genetic Programs -- 5. Taming the Cybernetic Metaphor -- 6. Positioning Positional Information -- Part III. Machines: Understanding Development with Computers, Recombinant DNA, and Molecular Imaging -- 7. The Visual Culture of Molecular Embryology -- 8. New Roles for Mathematical and Computational Modeling -- 9. Synthetic Biology Redux-Computer Simulation and Artificial Life -- Conclusion: Understanding Development -- Notes -- References -- Index.