iGenetics with Free Solutions [Hardcover]

Peter J. Russell (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0805345531 | ISBN-13: 978-0805345537 | Publication Date: October 15, 2001

iGenetics is the first integrated text written from the ground up and designed to provide a balanced introduction to genetics. Building on the proven strength of Russell's step-by-step problem-solving approach, iGenetics takes a modern, molecular approach. iGenetics covers basic genetics principles, with balanced coverage of Mendel, historical experiments, and cutting edge chapters on Genomics and Molecular Evolution. Over 500 class testers preferred the integrated iGenetics text and CD-ROM over their current book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter J. Russell received his B.Sc. in Biology from University of Sussex in 1968 and his Ph.D. in Genetics from Cornell University in 1972. He then joined the Biology faculty of Reed College in 1972 where he is currently Professor of Biology. Russell teaches an upper-division genetics and molecular biology lecture/laboratory course, the genetics section of the introductory biology course, an advanced seminar course in yeast virology, and advises senior thesis research students. He is also the author of a number of successful genetics textbooks.

He is currently studying the molecular genetics of the replication of double-stranded (ds)RNA viruses found in budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The research goals are to define in vivo the cis-acting sequences that are required for viral RNA packaging into capsids and for genome replication, and to identify and characterize any yeast gene products required for virus propagation. His earlier research involved Neurospora rRNA synthesis and the organization of and regulation of the number of ribosomal RNA genes, and nitrogen metabolism in the pathogenic dimorphic yeast Candida albicans.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 850 pages
• Publisher: Benjamin Cummings (October 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805345531
• ISBN-13: 978-0805345537
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,048,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, even if it is a bit wordy at times, June 2, 2004

By 

Matthew Bratkowski "mattster" (Ithaca, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: iGenetics with Free Solutions (Hardcover)

I used this textbook when I took General Genetics this past semester. The book contains a wealth of information. In the course I took we focused on the basic principle of DNA and RNA, Mendelian principles, mono and dihybrid crosses, pedigrees and inheritance, multiple alleles located on different loci and multiple alleles located on the same loci, genetic mapping, damage and DNA repair mechanisms, prokaryotes gene regulation, and population genetics. This text did much to help my understanding of these topics and also contained other topics that we only touched upon in class or did not have time to cover, including the genetics of cancer, quantative genetics, and recombinate DNA technology.

At the end of each chapter in the text there are a number of conceptual questions and genetics "problems" that serve as a tool of teaching genetics by the problem based approach. These problems are helpful because my class focused on the problem based side of genetics, as most general genetics classes probably do. The book includes a CD-rom that includes the answers to ALL of the problems in the book for FREE! The CD-rom also contains movies that illustrate important mechanisms like transcribtion, translation, and DNA replication, as well as additional exercises. For me, I found it particulary helpful to be able to "see" genetic processes instead of just hearing about them in class.

Even though all of the anwsers to the book problems are included on the CD-rom, I would recommend picking on the Student Solution Guide as well because it is GREAT. It works out every single problem in the book. This is somewhat of a rarity for science books (especially biology ones). I can say that this solutions manuels is very helpful.

The only problem that I had with the textbook was that it was a bit wordy in some sections. While reading this book, I would recommend highlighting only those topics that your professor discusses in class and not getting hung up on terms that he or she has not talked about and sound like gobble-gook (Shrine-Delgado sequence, TATA box). Most likely, your class will focus on general concepts and you will not have the time to discuss the specifics in detail. I can't say that it is a bad thing that the book included detailed information from other areas of biology (biochemistry, cell biology), since these fields will be important if you are a biology major, but they probably do not need to be disscused in great detail in genetics if not prompted by the instructor.

Overall, I would say that this is a good genetics text. It contains usefull explanations and illustrations about topics that may not have been clearly explained in class, especially if your professor tends to mummble or doesn't have the best artistic style when it comes to drawing chromosomes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, January 26, 2004

By 

Luxorien (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: iGenetics with Free Solutions (Hardcover)

I haven't been using this textbook very long, but there is one issue I think people might want to be aware of. If you buy this book used, you can't get access to the website. Mine didn't come with the CD-ROM either, but that's more to do with the person who sold it back than anything else (although if the CD-ROM were packaged so that you could just slip it into a pocket on the back cover more people might return the CD with the book). You can buy access to the website for $22/yr.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty colorful photos and good CD rom for extra effect, October 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: iGenetics with Free Solutions (Hardcover)

Overall, the book was well-written. I really enjoyed the color photos and the review questions at the end of the chapters was pretty good.

Also included was a CD-rom with the answers to the problems, iActivities to help us digest the chapters we read, and chapter quizzes.

I really enjoyed the chapter quizzes because they helped me focus on areas I was fuzzy about. However, I did not like the quizzes very much either, because there were wrong answers. Most of the time, I figured the answer it said was "correct" was wrong and vice versa, so if the problems with the CD can be cleared, this can be a great book.