Genetics For Dummies (Paperback)

~ Tara Rodden Robinson (Author) "Welcome to the complex and fascinating world of genetics..." (more)
Key Phrases: peas plan, radioactive thymine, basic cell biology, Human Genome Project, Genetics Basics, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Reveals the connections between genetics and specific diseases

Understand the science and the ethics behind genetics

Want to know more about genetics? This non-intimidating guide gets you up to speed on all the fundamentals. From dominant and recessive inherited traits to the DNA double-helix, you get clear explanations in easy-to-understand terms. Plus, you'll see how people are applying genetic science to fight disease, develop new products, solve crimes . . . and even clone cats.

Discover:

• What geneticists do
• How traits are passed on
• How genetic counseling works
• The basics of cloning
• The role of DNA in forensics
• The scoop on the Human Genome Project

From the Back Cover

Reveals the connections between genetics and specific diseases

Understand the science and the ethics behind genetics

Want to know more about genetics? This non-intimidating guide gets you up to speed on all the fundamentals. From dominant and recessive inherited traits to the DNA double-helix, you get clear explanations in easy-to-understand terms. Plus, you'll see how people are applying genetic science to fight disease, develop new products, solve crimes . . . and even clone cats.

Discover

• What geneticists do
• How traits are passed on
• How genetic counseling works
• The basics of cloning
• The role of DNA in forensics
• The scoop on the Human Genome Project

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (September 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764595547
• ISBN-13: 978-0764595547
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,635 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Currently Available Introduction to Genetics, November 27, 2005

By	J. E. Robinson - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have a PhD in science from MIT and I have bought and read a number of books on genetics. This is one of the best introductory books, and most will be impressed with the scope, the size, the graphics, and the overall presentation. This must be one of the better "Dummies" books. The only other similar book is "Genetics" (2002) by Guttman et al, but it has less applications than the present book. Overall I would rate the present book as the best introductory book on the market today. I bought about 10 books including the present book.

What I like about the book is the shotgun approach. The author (not a relative) has five basic parts, i.e.:

- 1. Genetics Basics,
- 2. DNA: The Genetic Material,
- 3. Genetics and Your Health,
- 4. Generics and Your World,
- 5. The Part of Tens (genetic history and hot topics).

The first two parts are a general introduction to genetics. This is at a fairly sophisticated level, but made simple by good graphics and excellent writing. The third part describes some of the 200 cancers and how some common cancers are related to genetics. The are other topics here including Down's syndrome. Part 4 is on applications, such as human history, forensic DNA, cloning, ethics, and other topics. The last part describes major events in the development of genetics.

The author has presented a good index at the end along with a good guide to Web Sites so the reader can follow up some of the details.

Tara Robinson has managed to put together an excellent introduction with great graphics that is suitable for the average reader.

Highly recommend: 5 stars.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars has it all, June 26, 2006

By	C. Brown (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a wonderful book that not only covers the whole field of genetics, but does so with just the right amount of detail and reiteration so that you find yourself grasping the terms. Very clear drawings illuminate the text and take the complexity out of everything from Mendelian inheritance to mRNA transcription. Not once did I find myself wondering what something meant.

When I finished I felt fully briefed and was amazed at how easy it was to understand what I had always felt was a baffling subject.

Want to know how cancer occurs? Why people are worried about genetically modified foods? How mutation is always occurring and can be a good thing? How "junk" DNA is distinguished from the genes that are read to create the protein that composes our bodies? How DNA can compact itself in the cell? How crime labs can find the culprit through a genetic fingerprint? It's all here and much much more. You'll have a hard time reading any one page without exclaiming "wow!", "no kidding!" or "so THAT'S how it works!"

I eagerly began each chapter because the titles always made me think, "Yeah, I was wondering about that!"

The humor, thank goodness, is mostly in the subtitles (Cloning: There Will Never Be Another You) and the text is largely free of attempts to make you laugh. That's good because when you get so excited to find out more, humor just gets in the way.

Terms that are introduced in one place will be mentioned again later with a reference if you have forgotten a definition. Just when you might be getting confused, the author will tell you how the subject might differ from what was covered before.

When you are done you will be awed by what you've learned: that all the complexity of life is based on simple chemical bonds within structures that have become elaborated over 100's of millions of years. If there is one subject that we will probably never comprehend, and that no Dummies book will be able to reveal, it is time itself.

PS: I recommend Richard Dawkins new book "The Ancestor's Tale" after reading this book.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genetics for everyone!, November 22, 2005

By	Vector "Prof" - See all my reviews

This is a great book. Textbooks of the future will be, or should be, like this: clear, up to date and affordable. I have been a biologist for thirty years but admit that my knowledge of genetics has fallen behind. Genetics has undergone extraordinary developments over the last few decades, and many have had profound impact on society. Tara Robinson covers it all and does it expertly. I know Tara and she's a great scientist - I admire her skill in writing a book that is both informative and readable. The historical anecdotes bring added relevance to the topic.