Science: Survival of the Fittest ; Two Books on Human Evolution Look Set to Slug It out This Month for the Aventis Prize, Science Writing's Version of the Booker

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SIX SCIENCE books have reached the final shortlist for the pounds 10,000 Aventis Prize, the scientific equivalent of the Booker. The winner, to be announced at a Science Museum dinner in London at the end of the month, will receive more than a hefty cheque - the prize has proven to be a useful boost for book sales.

The subjects of this year's shortlist range from a history of tuberculosis and an analysis of the implications of the human genome project, to the cosmological considerations of the universe and the origins of the internet. The six finalists represent the cream of a record-breaking 117 entrants.

They are:

n The White Death, a history of …