Book Description

This timely book is designed to meet the needs of those who offer amodern introductory course in genetics. As research in the field of geneticsbecomes increasingly complex, it is more challenging to teach introductorystudents its foundations. The goal of this text is to help students understandthe core concepts of gene transmission, mutation, expression and regulation.Additionally, the presentation encourages students to formulate genetichypotheses, research the consequences and test the results against observeddata. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Unclear Explanations, Many Errors in the Problems
As an another student at Harvard, i found this book very unclear at explaning many important concepts in genetics, such as Holliday structure. The authors of this book fail to present approropriate and clear explanations for the conclusions that they make. Also, materials in chapters tend to be seemed unrelated...

Prof Hartl is an entertaining in his lectures but not clear in his book.

A Good Read
As a undergrad at Harvard who took Prof Hartl's intro genetics class (in which we used this textbook), I can tell you that this encompasses all the information we covered in a semester-legnth class. What you miss out on, however, is Prof Hartl's funny, engaging teaching style and graphically complex computer demos. That said I learned (both from class and this book) why female cats' fur can be calico and other interesting applications of genetics. In the age of the Human Genome Project, basic genetics knowledge is crucial, and this book is a great intro to the topic.

Genetically Fun
This was a book that I dreaded to read for a college class. I opened it and stared at the cover with dread. However, I was very surprised to find that it was easy to understand and even.....interesting? Yes, I admit, I fell in love with the subject of genetics by reading this book. It had real world applications and provided many sample questions. The pictures were great and a perfect addition to the entire book. I really enjoyed this book. ... Read more

Book Description

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS.It’s a phrase ripped from the headlines, guaranteed to spark heated debate and generate contentious discussions.Concerned Europeans march in opposition to GM foods. African ports have been barricaded to prevent the unloading of genetically modified corn, despite the urgent needs of starving people.Canadians have mailed slices of bread to their prime minister to protest the use of genetically modified wheat. And in Australia, Greenpeace activists attached themselves to a cargo ship with magnets and painted "Stop GE imports" on its hull in their campaign against genetically modified food.

The truth is we’ve been changing the genetic makeup of our food for millennia, coaxing nature to do our bidding.Long before scientists understood what genes were and how they worked, early civilizations created wheat and corn. These crops, so very different from their wild grassy ancestors, represent man’s early ventures in altering evolution. In time, plant breeders learned to stir up plant genes faster, using novel breeding methods, chemicals, and even radiation to produce such marvels as white blackberries and red grapefruit.

But it was the curiosity of a 19th-century Augustinian monk, Gregor Mendel, that ushered in the modern era of genetics.Mendel spent countless hours in his garden crossing pea plants to find out just how traits were inherited, finally arriving at the idea of the gene, the unit of inheritance that is at the heart of today’s plant breeding strategies.

Mendel’s genetics turned molecular when Watson and Crick unveiled the structure of DNA in 1953.Within a few short decades, genes were understood to be DNA sequences that code for proteins using a universal genetic code.Genes could be moved easily between different organisms without losing their identity or changing their function.But the new terms that entered agriculture -- genetic engineering, biotechnology, genetic modification -- were disquieting.People began to ask questions about foods that they’d never asked plant breeders before:Is it safe to eat?Are these foods natural?Isn’t it dangerous to fool with genes?

Nina Fedoroff, a leading expert in plant molecular biology and genetics, looks at the many issues raised by contemporary techniques for modifying food plants. She answers the most commonly asked questions -- and some we didn’t think to ask. Fedoroff and her co-author, science writer Nancy Marie Brown, weave a narrative rich in history, technology, and science to dispel myths and misunderstandings. In the end, Fedoroff argues, the new molecular approaches hold the promise of being the most environmentally conservative way to increase our food supply, helping us to become better stewards of the earth while enabling us to feed ourselves and generations to come. ... Read more

Book Description

DNA microarrays have revolutionized molecular biology and are becoming a standard tool in the field. Dov Stekel's book is a comprehensive guide to the mathematics, statistics and computing required to use microarrays successfully. Unlike traditional molecular biology, the successful use of DNA microarrays requires the application of statistics and computing to design the arrays and experiments, and to analyze and manage the data. This book is written for researchers, clinicians and laboratory managers. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Good Book for Microarray Bioinformatics
I rate this book a 5 star because I believe this book is one of best bioinformatics books which make it possible for the biologists to understand the bioinformatic tools inside of microarray technology. For me the most useful chapters include Sequence Databases for Microarrays, Computer Design of Oligonucleotide Probes, Normalisation, Measuring and Quantifying Microarray Variability, Analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes. As a three-years microarray user, I still get a lot information after I read this book. However, no any bioinformatic books are perfect and complete. There are also some limitations in this book. The author sometimes did not provide detailed information on some biostatistic analysis tools and only provided some references for reading. Since a lot of bioinformatic tools are still in the trial stage and need to be improved, we can not blame the author for the incompleteness.
As a 250-pages bioinformatics book, I believe, this book is very informative and useful for microarray users and biologists who are tired of understanding the abstract biostatistic equations.

Microarrays Lite
It just doesn't have the detail I wanted.

There's a lot to like here. Stekel covers everything, starting with selecting the probes and printing the arrays. Next comes raw array analysis - scanning, image processing, and measuring the effects of the array itself on the results. That covers the first six chapters. The next three go over analysis of the result, one more chapter covers experimential design, and the last chapter discusses storing, labelling, and sharing the data. Some of those topics, like experiment design, address issues that most other authors neglect.

Still, I came away feeling that I had read only half of each chapter. Going back, it turned out that I hadn't missed anything that really was there. I missed a lot, though. For example, probe selection includes a discussion of self-hybridization - good stuff. It stopped short of giving me any clear idea how much self-complementarity is too much. It mentioned DNA melting points, but without enough information for me to understand what is really melting, or how or why to choose one melting point over another. Handling of raw array data discussed Loess regression as a way to cancel out process differences across a single array. Again, it's good stuff, but what exactly is a Loess regression? Expression analysis mentions Spearman correlation as an alternative to Pearson correlation - it give Pearson's formulas, but not Spearman's. Later, when the author does give a "formula" for selecting sample sizes, it turns out to be some macro reference for some stat package. Throughout the book, I felt the same lack: I learned the names of many things, but not what they really are.

Maybe this book is OK for a first introduction. If you've had that introduction and want to take the second steps, this book probably won't meet your needs. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Someone who would like to do undergraduate research?
This book is very simple to understand molecular biology work in the lab. Actually, the real advantage of this book is each chapter has an assignment (called "praticum" in this book) and that could be tried to learn DNA work in the lab. This book has included DNA works such as PCR, cloning, transfection (and transformation) and so on, except protein work such as protein purification, SDS-PAGE gel etc.. If any undergraduate student who would like to do independent research or undergrad research, this book would be helpful to figure out what kind of real techniques should be required based on your molecular biology background by your class. ... Read more

Book Description

This introductory reference provides a practical, concise summary of everything a physician needs to know about genomics and emerging technologies. Through extensive illustrative examples, this book offers a clear and concise starting point to understanding how medicine has been, and will be, transformed by genomics and bioinformatics. Beginning with a clear overview on the Human Genome Project and its revolutionary impact, the book further investigates new technologies in detail, including: high-throughput DNA sequencing, genome sequence databases, microarrays, proteomics, pharmacogenomics, genetic testing, and gene therapy. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Highly Recommended
"...this book was exactly what I was looking for: a high-level overview of genomic technologies and their application...Brown's book is highly recommended..." (Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 20, No. 6, June 2003)

Recommended Book
"readable account of the underpinnings of genomics and its medical applications...a clearly written book that makes a complex discipline understandable..." (New England Journal of Medicine, July 24, 2003)

Good Book
"...a good purchase for...academic or medical libraries as well as large public ones." (E-Streams, Vol. 6, No. 5, May 2003)

Useful Book
"It will be quite useful to anyone from other fields who is interested in a taste of what emerging technologies in genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics can bring to bear on questions of potential importance in biomedical research." --American Journal of Human Genetics

Useful Book
"...useful to both medical students and physicians alike..." (Genomics and Proteomics, March 1, 2003) ... Read more

Book Description

Hardbound. That molecular neurobiology has become a dominant part of neuroscience research can be credited to the discovery of inducible gene expression in the brain and spinal cord. This volume deals with genes, whose expression patterns in the vertebrate central nervous system were the first to be revealed and then the most extensively investigated over the last 15 years. Immediate early genes (IEG) and their protein products, especially those acting as regulators of transcription (inducible transcription factors, ITF) have proven to be very valuable tools in functional neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, as they are rapidly and transiently induced in specific neurons in response to various modes of stimulation. Thus, they have been used to map neuronal populations selectively responsive to a variety of conditions, such as sensory and learning experience, electrical stimulation of specific circuits, seizures, and neurodegeneration.

This single volume, ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Absolute necessity
This book should be read by anyone the least bit interested in breeding better dogs. Not light reading but extremely valuable to the serious breeder. The Author gives a basic course on genetics and backs up her facts. She applies these principles easily to dogs and makes it easy to understand. The photos and graphs are very helpful.The section on color inheritance is fascinating!If you are not interested in improving your breed do not bother but if you dedicated to your breed this book is invaluable.

I'd put this at the top of my list
Jackie Isabell has a wonderful way of explaining genetics that is detailed yet easily understood. She brings you along with her in an enjoyable discovery of what could be very dry subject, and even adds a bit of humour from time to time. I learned what I set out to learn from this book and I thank Jackie Isabell for being an excellent teacher. ... Read more

Book Description

For quite some time textbooks have steered the teaching of genetics down a fairly narrow path - transmissions genetics first, followed by molecular genetics. In Genetics: The Continuity of Life, Fairbanks and Andersen modernize the study of genetics for students. With a clear, robust style, the authors approach genetics at its most fundamental molecular level, building on students' previous exposure from other courses. Once the molecular concepts are in place, transmission genetics is more easily understood.The result is a textbook that reflects the way geneticists think about solving genetics problems in a completely integrative manner. Students relate to the organization and are able to grasp the larger concepts and their applications. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great for Undergrads.
I am currently taking two biology classes at BYU, both of which use portions of this book, and I have found it to be very straight-forward and useful. Although some may say that I am being preferential since Dr. Fairbanks is a professor here at BYU, I'm not-- this book far outperforms the other texts we have and use, including the much lauded Molecular Cell Biology by Lodish. Dr. Fairbanks's book is well-written, contains clear, concise and easy to understand diagrams and his writing style brings genetics to life. Even a Freshman like I can easily dive into this book and understand the world of genetics. Furthermore, his choice to teach the molecular basis of genetics first is very logical and provides a solid background to later ideas like recombination and epistasis. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Nice figures
I'm new to molecular evolution and have been confused with various terms and concepts (e.g., cladogram vs. phylogram vs. dendrogram, plesiomorphy vs. apomorphy vs. autapomorphy vs. synapomorphy vs. homoplasy, etc.). Reading other books that try to explain these concepts mostly in words only added more confusion.

Every page in this book contains highly illustrative figures that accompanies well written text. Of course, not all sections are not immediately clear to understand, and I would need to read other books as well.

If you are new to molecular evolution, start with this book along with any other books that may suit your particular need.

Trees and more trees
Although molecular phylogenetic analysis can be extremely complex, this reference provides an introduction to the subject that is straightforward to read. The reference begins with consideration of trees, which are structures used to model actual evolutionary relationships between genes or entire lifeforms. It then provides an introduction to molecular and population genetics. Coding as well as noncoding DNA (tandem repeats, transposable elements, retroviruses, spacer DNA) is considered. The reference then considers how genetic change can be measured, followed by how we can deduce molecular phylogenies. The validity of the molecular clock is then considered, along with a discussion of the neutralist-selectionist debate. The reference finally considers how different phylogenies can be combined to determine actual phylogeny, reconciled trees, and rates of diversification.

Handy read
This book is very well written and a handy tool for anyone who is new to molecular evolution. Nice diagrams and concise chapters. The authors know how to break up the sometimes demanding ideas into appropriate bites. Perfect for grad students and senior undergrads. ... Read more

Book Description

This book presents the statistical methods that are useful in the study of molecular evolution and illustrates how to use them in actual data analysis. It is appropriate for graduate students and researchers (assuming a basic knowledge of evolution, moecular biology, and elementary statistics), allowing many investigators to incorporate refined statistical analysis of large-scale data in their own work. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A valuable addition
I don't look for any one book to answer all my questions. This one carries its weight, though, and maybe a bit more.

The first section gives the clearest and most detailed description of nucleotide sequence comparisons I've seen. I'm no biologist, but it really got me thinking about some new ways to talk about substitution matrices.

The bulk of the book covers what I hoped for originally: phylogenetic trees. The authors choose an unusual approach - it doesn't quite meet the authors' initial promise of math-minimization, but doesn't climb too far up the ivory tower, either. I find it a very practical, usable level of presentation. I'd be nervous about going beyond their formulas, since the math for real understanding isn't all there. Still, the phylogeny discussion covers a lot of material, and covers it well enough for me to write programs about most of it.

The final section addresses population genetics. I have nothing against population genetics, it just never seemed to point where I'm headed. Nei and Kumar corrected my mis-impression. Population gentics is the background model, the null hypothesis, behind the functions that score population differences. It really shows what happens when the tree of life branches out.

The book has some minor weaknesses. It emphasizes nucleotide sequences at the expense of peptides; I can't fault an author for writing what they want as opposed to what I want. On page one, the authors decline an intensely mathematical approach. By page 25, they're up to Poisson and gamma distances. The typography make the section breaks into a "Where's Waldo" experience. Nei's favorite author, based on citations, is Nei. Well, false modesty is no virtue. This book seems authoritative and Nei seems to be an authority, maybe not just in Nei's opinion.

This book really has given me a lot more to work with than most. Education isn't cheap these days, and this book is very educational. I just hope no one asks me to lend it any time soon.

OK, until something better comes along
Nei and Kumar's "Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics" is basically an updated version of Nei's 1987 "Molecular Evolutionary Genetics" book. Accordingly, attention is shifted to reviewing many recent advances in methods of phylogenetic inference with an obvious bias towards distance methods, particularly those which the senior author devised. In fairness, they give decent coverage to the more popular parsimony and likelihood methods as well. The great strength of the book is the number of real examples used to illustrate properties of the methods, and their focus on statistical methodology without miring the reader in detailed mathematics. The disappointment is that while breadth of coverage is tolerable, depth is lacking. Expanding their views on the shortcomings of likelihood in choosing tree topology and likelihood ratio-tests in choosing models of sequence evolution would have been most enlightening, particularly as these issues have been brushed lightly aside by phylo-likelihoodists. Other methods (Hadamard transformations, Bayesian phylogenetic inference) were absent altogether. Further the chapter on molecular clocks was disappointing--old 1980s controversies were rehashed, while there was nothing on methods that relax the assumption of rate constancy while still allowing divergences to be dated. Admittedly some of this is very new and research is ongoing, but there isn't even a hint of these developments in this chapter. Another plus though is the addition of a chapter on inferring ancestral states of molecular sequences.

Unlike Molecular Evolutionary Genetics, far too little of the book is devoted to methods at the population level, and what is there again smacks of state-of-the-art 15-20 years ago. I was hoping for much more coverage of microsatellite and AFLP data. There was very little for either, while now rarely-used RFLPs were given extensive coverage.

In short, this book was too short, particularly for the price, and I almost gave it 3 stars rather than 4. However, if you are a phylogeneticist, you will probably want to have this book on your shelf. A lighter introduction for the uninitiated would be Rod Page's "Molecular Evolution" or Graur and Li's "Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution". However, my hopes for a good comprehensive text and reference on phylogenetic methods now rest on publication of Joseph Felsenstein's "Inferring Phylogenies".

Top in its Field
This book is an excellent text and reference for both graduate students and faculty. It covers several topics in molecular evolution and phylogenetic analysis, as the title suggests. It stands as a unique contribution because the authors explain the mathematical and conceptual framework of a given topic in molecular evolution or phylogenetic analysis and give subsequent examples to show how various analytical methods can be applied to the study of that topic. In that context, the explanation of concepts was exceptionally clear, which made it easy to understand potentially difficult subject matter. This book is highly recommended to those wishing to study the analysis of genes and proteins in an evolutionary framework.

An advanced textbook for graduate students.
This is an advanced textbook on population genetics and molecular evolution. It is best recommended for graduate students with some background in population genetics and statistics. It gives a broad and thorough view of the field of molecular evolution and phylogenic different models up to date. The authors have included a lot of numerical examples to demonstrate the principles of the various models dealt with (mainly by using the MEGAII software), which helps a lot to relate to. Unlike some other general textbooks of population genetics, this book indeed concentrate mainly on phylogenic analysis and hence it's uniqueness and advantage. ... Read more

Book Description

Information Theory, Evolution and the Origin of Life presents a timely introduction to the use of information theory and coding theory in molecular biology. The genetical information system, because it is linear and digital, resembles the algorithmic language of computers. George Gamow pointed out that the application of Shannon's information theory breaks genetics and molecular biology out of the descriptive mode into the quantitative mode and Dr Yockey develops this theme, discussing how information theory and coding theory can be applied to molecular biology. He discusses how these tools for measuring the information in the sequences of the genome and the proteome are essential for our complete understanding of the nature and origin of life. The author writes for the computer competent reader who is interested in evolution and the origins of life. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Clears confusions with different concepts of entropy.
Biological literature is full of confusions stemming from using different concepts of entropy as if they are the same or related.
Thermodynamic entropy and logical (information) entropy don't correlate, and as an interesting recent example of one way that they don't, Rolf Landauer has shown that "there is no umavoidable minimal energy requirement per transmitted bit."

Yockey gives an insightful treatment of this subject, forcefully pointing out how different types of entropy are unrelated. For instance, he explains that Shannon entropy and Maxwell-Boltzmann-Gibbs entropy have nothing to do with each other, and shows how Shannon's information form of entropy makes no distinction between meaningful DNA sequences that encode life and random DNA sequences of equal length. Concluding, that evolution does not create any paradox for Shannon entropy.

Quantitative analysis of the human genome, version 2.0
I found this book to be an important and valuable resource while researching a possible Ph.D. thesis topic on interactions of DNA with enzyme pathways. Having previously studied about 95% of the math and spent a month as a Visiting Scholar in the most mathematical of the genetics labs at Harvard Medical School, I feel pretty confident that I can recommend the first half of the book to those seeking to build or broaden their professional knowledge of applied mathematics in the biological and biomedical sciences or in bioengineering. Despite its obvious importance to calculating the information content of proteins, protein folding, and cell-to-cell signalling, information theory is rarely covered in the standard biomathematics texts at all. § I think Cambridge University Press ought to ask Yockey to add text material on traditional subjects like Lottka-Volterra population studies, Turing diffusion models, Hopfield networks, and the like. Also, the book needs more exercises, so it would be easier to use for teaching. And wouldn't it be great if it were packaged in Mathematica or MatLab form! § I wish I could say something intelligent about the applications to molecular biology in the second half of the book, but I don't think I've gotten enough biochemistry and molecular genetics yet. One thing's for sure, though, it's written clearly enough that any molecular biologist familiar with the state of the art ought to be able to gauge its worth pretty quickly. Yockey's math is so good it's pretty hard to imagine he flopped on the science. § Maybe some of my own work will arrive in the 2nd edition. I can hope, can't I?

A very scientific book by a very clear-thinking scientist.
Dr. Yockey is an extremely clear thinker, and has apparently been thinking about the connections between genetics and the mathematics of information theory for some time (1956 at least). This book, probably a difficult read for the layman, is nevertheless written in an entertaining and unbiased style. Although he slyly sneaks in references to the Bible ("...through a glass darkly...", "...stones that must be rejected by the builder...", etc.), he illuminates with equanimity both creationist and evolutionist theories with the cold light of mathematics. Ultimately, he concludes that life did not happen by chance, although he admits that he has no scenario to explain its origin. He speaks as a pure scientist and should be greatly respected for this. ... Read more

Book Description

Quick, who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the double helical structure of DNA?Most people would say Watson and Crick.But most people would make Maurice Wilkins very upset.The Rodney Dangerfield of biology, Wilkins shared the prize with Watson and Crick but missed out on the limelight, due largely to Watson's hit book, The Double Helix.Wilkins thought the book was so misleading he asked Harvard University Press not to publish it. Things have quieted down a bit now, and Wilkins is now telling the story his way.This book tells how he showed his colleagues the x-ray picture that gave them their crucial insight, and about his interactions with Rosalind Franklin, the researcher who actually created the picture, and who also received very little credit for her role in the discovery. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the DNA discovery. Finally Wilkins gets to have his say. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Is this the True Story of the Discovery of the Double Helix?
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There is a joke by a famous comedian that asks who the three tenors are. Most people know two of them and the third man is known as "what's his name." The same situation occurs when you ask people who shared the 1962 Noble Prize (in physiology or medicine) for their discovery of the discovery of DNA (and other nucleic acid achievements). Most people say, "(Dr.) Watson, (Dr.) Crick, and what's his name."

What's his name is Dr. Maurice Wilkins (born: 1916). Most people are unaware that Wilkins was a brilliant physicist (he worked on the Manhattan or Atomic Bomb Project during World War Two) and later on was a biophysicist whose contribution was essential for discovering DNA's structure. Wilkins states this more eloquently: "[My] team of researchers at King's [College, a division of the University of London in the UK] laid the foundations for the double helix structure that Watson and Crick [both of whom worked together in a different UK laboratory] demonstrated so peruasively with their model in 1953."

Wilkins ten chapter autobiography is divided into three parts: those days before, during, and after the discovery of DNA's structure. This book contains almost forty black-and-white photographs. Wilkins' aim in writing this book was to tell his life story (that begins before he was born) and, perhaps more importantly, clear up "the tensions, accusations, confusions, and controversies that have attended the telling and retelling of the DNA story."

I felt that Wilkins was totally honest (and at a times naive) throughout this book. Some of the reasons I say he was honest are as follows:

(1) He was an octogenarian when this book was published and thus I feel he had nothing to hide at this advanced age.

(2) He reveals many aspects of his personal life that many people would be reticent to reveal, especially in print. For example, he tells us he "felt a bit suicidal at times."

(3) He says many times that in retrospect "he should of" or "he could of" done things differently. I got the impression that at times he was a bit hard on himself.

(4) Finally, he tells us that both he and Crick found Watson's book "The Double Helix" (1968) "distasteful." They both protested to Watson's publisher. (Wilkins said Watson's book was "badly written, juvenile, and in bad taste.") As a result the book was not published. (However, another publisher published it, and the rest is history.)

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Wilkins' book (at least for me) was the controversey surrounding Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), an "x-ray [diffraction] specialist" who worked in the same lab as Wilkins. He gives us detailed information of what occurred. From other books (particularly the 1975 book by Ann Sayre), I learned that two major things occurred:

(1) There was tension between Frankin and Wilkins. I got the impression from these other books that this tension was due to personality and gender differences. Not true. Wilkins explains why this tension really arose and gives proof of his assertion.

(2) Wilkins gave a critical X-ray photograph (a reproduction of it is included in Wilkins' book) taken by Franklin to Watson without her permission. This photo gave Watson the concrete evidence for DNA's structure. Again, this is not entirely accurate according to Wilkins.

This critical X-ray photo brings up the question of the recognition Franklin should have received. For example, would she have been a contender for the Nobel Prize? I would say yes if this prize was only for determining the structure of DNA. But, as Wilkins explains, he, Crick, and Watson DID NOT receive the prize for this! I checked this out at the offical Nobel Prize internet site. (Note that the inside front and back flaps of Wilkins' book incorrectly says they were awarded the prize for discovering DNA's structure.)

Even so, was Franklin recognized for her achievements and contributions at this time? Watson and Crick did not recognize her for her achievements in their Nobel Prize lectures. However, Wilkins did recognize her (as well as others who made major contributions) in his lecture. (Their actual lectures can also be found at the official Nobel Prize internet site.)

Finally, I still have a few minor questions regarding Wilkins' story. However, my major question is as follows: "Why did he wait half a century after the discovery of DNA's structure to tell his side of the story?"

In conclusion, this autobiography shows that Wilkins was a decent, honest, and brilliant scientist. He also clears up any misconceptions regarding the discovery of the structure of DNA. Be sure to read this book so as to learn the true story of Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins and the true story of the discovery of the structure of DNA!!

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A Good Man
The Third Man--The Autobiography of Maurice Wilkins
by Maurice Wilkins
Reviewed by Donald Siano

Wilkins was involved in one of the watershed scientific events of the twentieth century--the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA. He was the guy who really got the study of the x-ray diffraction studies going, and showed that the features seen were universal to a variety of different organisms, and therefore that it was an important scientific problem. He showed that the structure was probably helical, got Rosilind Franklin started on the problem, and was the link from her to Watson and Crick, who finally made the famous model that shook the world.

This book, published fifty years after, fills in some of the details of the event, correcting and contesting some claims made by others who have written on it. Some of his corrections are quite convincing. For example, a claim was made in one of the books on this affair that his research group contained only one other female, implying that he was something of a misogynist, while a picture of his laboratory coworkers in the book is about half female.

The tension between him and Franklin is made much of in historical accounts, and Wilkins unflinchingly covers this, and is pretty hard on himself too. The incident graphically shows how people from very different cultures (Franklin was a rich, pushy Jew) who are ostensibly working on a common goal can fail. Diversity in a laboratory group is not always the asset that the universal dogma asserts. His regrets and "could'a shoulda's" are revealing and even moving at times.

Another revelation in the book was his involvement in the Communist party, and his flirtation with Freudian psychology. A scientific education unfortunately appears not to immunize one completely from quackery.

The thing I took away from the book is how the simple stories generated and perpetuated in the mass media and in historical accounts are almost always wrong in important ways. Scientific discoveries and important inventions are almost always complicated events, only part of which is even known and understood by any single writer or even the actors involved. But more than that, practically every writer has his prejudices and angles to massage. Autobiographers are no exception to this, but Wilkins has added to our understanding, and should only be applauded for it.

Wilkins and the DNA structure
Maurice Wilkins was a first-rate scientist who was deeply involved in the most important scientific discovery of the 20th century- the discovery of the structure of DNA.

His story needs to be told, since he has been written about often by authors such as Watson, Crick, Anne Sayre, Brenda Maddox and others.

He was a central figure in the continuing saga of Rosalind

Franklin and her "Photograph 51", recently the subject of a televison documentary of the same title, and a previous BBC

special produced by Peter Goodchild some ten years ago.

He was clearly not the equal of Rosalind Franklin in
experimental ability, nor of Watson and Crick in their aggressive utilization of the work of others.

Perhaps the key story of this book was Wilkins' graciously declining co-authorship of the basic DNA Publication in Nature, which also, much to the relief of Watson and Crick, avoided having to acknowledge how they obtained Photograph 51.

As Sir John Maddox said recently, "If all these publications had arrived at Nature when I was Editor, I would have smelled a rat"

In any case, Wilkins comes off as a thoroughly decent person, although one wonders why he permitted the consistent publication
of articles representing Rosalind Franklin as one of his subordinates- which she never was. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A descent book for beginners
Before making any critics about this book I should stress upon the fact that the authors well deserve a four star rating for this most readable book, both for the writing style and for the contents. Almost everything written is clear, concise and well presented. The captions are of high quality and if you ever buy this book feel sure that you are not wasting your money! I am referring in particular to chapter 16: Genetics of Bacteria and Bacteriophages which in reality is quite tricky but here presented with simple words. You may not have to read it more than once for you will understand it right from the first lecture. For in-depth study though you might need something more advanced!
However I did not really appreciate the way the fluctuation test of S.Luria and M.Delbruk was presented nor was the following work of J.Cairns and B.Hall in chapter 14: Gene mutation, DNA repair and Transposable elements. There seems to lack the true essence of it. Furthermore the existence of mutational hotspots is limited to a subsection only of chapter 14 and a few lines on the work of S.Benzer. Even B.Lewin in Genes VII gives a better treatment of mutational hotspots. Finally I would have expected a chapter on Mutations to talk about mutator mutations as possible ways to increase or decrease the spontaneous mutation rate but no such references were made.
Despite these few things, if you love genetics or need an introductory course be sure that this book is meant for you!

I was taught by the proffesor who wrote the book
Yup, and the professor gave out many problems in addition to supplementary problems. The book was an easy read but in order to do well in this course you simply need a mind for genetics. This is probably the best book I've seen.

I am very pleased with my purchase:timely, great condition!
I recieved the book in one day and it was in great condition!

OK, but could have been better
I used this book in an intro genetics course. Now I can't say if it was the professor or the book that made me really dislike the subject, but I think that if it was a really good book I would have come out with a least a little understanding on what genetics is about; I didn't. Something was not right; genetics is supposed to be a booming field, interesting, and cutting edge in terms of research. I did not get this picture from reading this book. Now I must say that the book was easy to read in the sense that they don't try and pack too much material on one page, there are nice illustrations and color photograhs etc. The problem I had with it was that it didn't really explain how to do those complicated genetics problems, those ones where you'd have to predict the percentages of progeny that were pink, spotted, and had one ear if the parents had linked recessive genes on chromosome 17.25 (you get the gist) These were the kinds of problems that we had all year and I just never understood. The professor couldn't explain them, neither could the book, neither could my friends. All in all, genetics was a bad experience for me and this book did not make it any better. I am sure that there are many better texts out there, but I have just been so turned away from genetics that I haven't bothered to look.

I loved this book.
I used this textbook in as an undergraduate student at Trenton State College. Not only did I find the course incredibly fascinating, the text book was a great complement to the material. I found it to be readable and by no means did it resemble a research paper as one reviewer commented. On a personal note, Dr. Klug, the author of the book, was infact my professor. I imagine that this may have influenced my appreciation of the text but in any case I enjoyed the book and course immensely. Also, for the reviewer who suspected that Dr. Klug was some snobby PhD, he was one of the best professors I had during my college career! ... Read more

Book Description

In the wake of highly-publicized scientific breakthroughs in using genetics to establish family connections, genealogists began to see potential for their own research. Now many are finding that organizing tests is a relatively straightforward matter – and that comparing the DNA signatures of individuals can reveal startling information on families, surnames and origins. Here Chris Pomery explains the practicalities of testing and interpreting the results. He also takes an objective look at the issues. Whether you are simply seeking to stay informed, actively interested in exploiting the technology, or already part of a DNA project, this is the one guide that fully explores the existing possibilities. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Beyond Genic Reductionism
Accounts of the new world of the genome are confusing, has noone noticed? The reason is that we no longer live in the Age of Darwinism, although the authors don't let on. Not here. After a head-on assault at genetic engineering, the author presents a clear, if brief, and perhaps transitional and incomplete, debunking of Neo-Darwinism, on the basis of the same material present though disguised in typical texts. The fallacies of genetic determinism, the misleading reductionism of the 'selfish gene' mythology, the fluid genome, Lamarckian evironmentally induced change in DNA, and much else, simply leaves the standard view in the dust. All this in between an aggressive, and quite controversial, attack on the alliance of biology and big business, accompanied by scorchers about the sources of Darwinism in nineteenth century ideology. A sock in the jaw. No doubt a number of statements here are open to challenge. But the basic thrust of the book puts the rest of the profession to shame. Noone can fool anyone anymore, and a more comprehensive and critical version of this type of book would help. But the current profession is not in the business of making biology clear to the public, in the reign of bad science and big business. ... Read more

Book Description

5 b/w photographs, 2 line illustrations, 1 table The overwhelming similarity of human and ape genes is one of the best-known facts of modern genetic science. But what does this similarity mean? Does it, as many have suggested, have profound implications for understanding human nature? Well-known molecular anthropologist Jonathan Marks uses the human-versus-ape controversy as a jumping-off point for a radical reassessment of a range of provocative issues--from the role of science in society to racism, animal rights, and cloning. Full of interesting facts, fascinating personalities, and vivid examples that capture times and places, this work explains and demystifies human genetic science--showing ultimately how it has always been subject to social and political influences and teaching us how to think critically about its modern findings.Marks presents the field of molecular anthropology--a synthesis of the holistic approach of anthropology with the reductive approach of molecular genetics--as a way of improving our understanding of the science of human evolution. As he explores the intellectual terrain of this field, he lays out its broad areas of interest with issues ranging from the differences between apes and humans to the biological and behavioral variations expressed in humans as a species. Marks confronts head-on the problems of racial classification in science. He describes current theories about race and uses work in primatology, comparative anatomy, and molecular anthropology to debunk them. He also sheds new light on the controversial Great Ape Project, the Human Genome Diversity Project, and much more. This iconoclastic, witty, and extremely readable book illuminates the deep background of human variation and asks us to reconsider the role of science in modern society. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

He's yet to meet Ishmael
A catchy and provocative title is now de-rigueur for popular science books on the subject of genetics. It's somewhat surprising then that the message of WHAT IT MEANS TO BE 98% CHIMPANZEE is that it doesn't really mean that much at all. Marks takes a distinctly middle-of-the-road position on most of the scientific debate that has spun off from the human versus ape discussion. Marks says that "the extent to which our DNA resembles an ape's predicts nothing about our genetic similarity to apes, much less about any moral or political consequences arising from it."

In chapters such as "The Ape in You", "How People Differ from One Another" "The Meaning of Human Variation" and "Human Nature" the author lays out his views on hot-button topics such as the biological reality of "races" and "nature vs nurture". Marks is not a believer in strict genetic determinism and therefore does not take a reductionist view of human nature - i.e genetics as a causal factor for everything. He's somewhat more of a humanist but this nod to a more environmentally deterministic view does not extend to an all embracing view of our fellow primates. The non-human primates - Chimpanzees, Bonobos, Gorillas, and Oranutans have an increasing number of human advocates who say that there are moral and ethical consequences that stem from the genetic similarity between apes and humans. Primatologists such as Jane Goodall argue that the higher intelligence and emotional awareness of apes demands a distinction in how we view them, and more importantly, how we treat them. In the chapter "Human Rights for Apes?" Marks discusses the Great Ape Project and the long term objective of getting an U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Apes. Marks will have none of this and sees such positions as pretentiousness on the part of scientists.

The science on animal consciousness is still inconclusive especially as it relates to the Great Apes. It's in the area of self-awareness and higher order thinking ("thinking about thoughts") where much of the debate takes place but this is not Marks' primary interest. Marks' main point is that there is a better approach to understanding these issues, one that is holistic rather than a binary "either/or" argument. Marks introduces us to his speciality in chapter one - "Molecular Anthropology" - and tells us that it combines the reductive power of genetics with the humanistic vision of anthropology. It thus allows practitioners to steer clear of ideologically influenced science.

It's ironic because in arguing about the merits of his field of study, Marks himself comes across as tunnel-visioned and obviously enamored with his own view of things. This is the only problem with this otherwise well written and wide-ranging discussion on some of the current debates in science. Although Marks wouldn't support it because it talks about a sentient Gorilla, for me, Daniel Quinn's book ISHMAEL provides the best overview on this whole debate. Our scientific beliefs give us a view of the world. Ishmael says it's going to be hard for us to give it up because what we're doing is "right" and "giving up would mean that all along [we've] been wrong. It would mean [we've] never known how to rule the world. It would mean relinquishing [our] pretensions to godhood." As if to prove the point, this book can't end without trying to tackle the "big" questions. Marks concludes with a chapter on "Science, Religion, and Worldview".

Enjoy the book for what it is: a good general introduction to genetics, with particular reference to apes and ourselves. Just remember that scientists - even iconoclasts such as Marks who does a great job of cutting through the debate - still are subject to their own biases and particular worldviews. Science itself is still undecided on much of what you read about here.

Post-modernist persiflage
Accepting the fallacy of Marks' title, let us start on a positive note. Marks wants to keep apes and humans separate. Fair enough. I don't want to live on termites on a stick, and it's doubtful chimps want to worry about traffic congestion, tax rates or political corruption. Marks wants scientists to do their job well. Who can argue? Marks has courage - he has the temerity to assault the venerable E. O. Wilson, the articulate Richard Dawkins and the revered Jane Goodall. Marks is against racism. Hardly debatable. Marks seems a pretty upstanding fellow. Why then, is this book such an insult to the intelligence?

Mostly because it is a froth of misleading statements, misdirected wrath, misconceptions and mistaken views of science. Marks goes to unusual lengths in dismissing the research achievements of many scientists in both field and laboratory. He blithely dismisses the disclosure that chimpanzee and human genes are nearly identical as "the most overly exposed factoid in modern science." It's not significant because it confuses precision with accuracy. From there, Marks goes on to castigate a legion of scientists for their failure to "get it right" the first time around. Few escape his lash - even Linneaus, who virtually invented classifying life, is a victim, and perpetrator, of cultural artifacts in naming species. This from a man who finds culture an unbridgeable chasm between humans and animals!

Marks spends much of the remainder of the book discussing racial/cultural undercurrents in science. He finds far too much of it in current anthropology. He's correct in this, but his case is "overblown"- a favourite phrase of his. In a welter of complaints, he finds but two scientists to exonerate of the charge: Richard Leowntin and - himself. He doesn't want any cultural or behavioural relationship between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom, a favourite plaint of Lewontin's. Any hint of sociobiology, which he incorrectly defines as the study of human behaviour, must be rejected. This attitude ignores the wealth of research published during the past generation.

Marks' shots against sociobiology would be amusing except that so many will accept them uncritically. Like his mentor, Marks wants humanity to evolve without any evolutionary baggage. Behavioural studies of modern animals are irrelevant according to Marks. Thus is cast aside the whole realm of Darwin's evolution by natural selection. At least as far as it concerns humans. This attitude fits adroitly with Marks' intended reader community. He blames science for many social attitudes, delving deeply into the history of science to build his case. His brief runs from Plato onward, ending with the efforts to map the human genome. Science has long suffered from its cultural roots. The case is flawed by Marks failure to recognize that all through history, science has sought to reveal natures' secrets. It's a process of fits and starts, each gain a limited success. That inability to "get it all right the first time" is inherent in the process. It accomplishes little to portray the process as invalid. If some people have not performed to his expectations doesn't mean science should give up trying.

The area that Marks clearly wants abandoned is understanding of what drives human beings. That some scientists want to look more deeply into the human genome he perceives as a wasted effort. Along with Lewontin, Marks rails against "genes for" this or that aspect of life - particularly human life. Are we to assume then that we should stop looking? Because faulty genes have been shown to invoke certain disorders but haven't been found for others, is the list now complete? He inveighs against looking for genes for criminal behaviour. We don't know enough about how DNA works to decide one way or another. Do we give up analysing how genes perform? And what exactly is criminal behaviour? Even Marks uses statistics of prison populations to build his case. But none of the Enron executives are in prison, nor are likely to be. Do we exclude them from genetic analysis to unravel what genes lead us to do?

This book will go far in inflaming the already anti-scientific attitude prevalent in North American schools. Statements such as "science is not generally accurate" and "scientific statements are routinely falsified" [p. 279] aren't likely to entice anyone into the scientific fold. Students will not be encouraged to enter science disciplines when they're told "it is no easier to get the average scientist to accept responsibility than it is to get the average four-year-old to accept responsibility. After all, Marks is a scientist himself, his statements must be valid. We must assume, it is supposed, that he and Lewontin stand alone by having donned the mantle of responsibility. Yet his book is permeated with complaints that statements made by other scientists have been uncritically accepted. Marks owes the scientific community an apology. More importantly, he owes every young person interested in science an apology for describing them as likely to become irresponsible children instead of aspiring grown-ups. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

A good book with ideas which need to be expressed now.
Despite the author's raging anger and at times over the top invective, this is a very important book that at once demystifies genetic science and shows how genetic theories of human behavior have always been subject to cultural influence and in most cases in the absence of any hard evidence. Equipped with an arsenal of facts and historical case studies, Marks passionately warns us about the misuses of science. This is not to say he is any way anti-science or " Postmodern" as the armchair Sociobiologist Steven Haines implies. Opening on the offensive with a discussion on the genetic similarity between apes and humans Marks shows the similarity to be merely frivolous when we consider the we also share half our genes with fish and about a third with daffodils

Moving right along Marks addresses issues as diverse as the arbitrary nature of classifications, essentialism, not to mention worldview and religion. We learn that the classificatory schemes of the saintly Linneus perhaps had more to do with the man's views on breast-feeding that on
" how things are in selves" We also get a glimpse of how essentialist views of man have their origins in folk knowledge and societal prejudice which inevitability creeps into the conclusions we draw from empirical data.

While Marks can be overly critical of his field and his colleagues in general, it is a necessary antidote to the appalling bile and misinformation reported in the popular press in the name of science; which more often than not is accepted uncritically and taken as gospel in the pop science community.

From reports of the " Gay gene" to the genetic basis of female coyness and racial theories of intelligence, Marks shows there is simply no experimental evidence for any of these claims, and when there is, it is statistically spurious.

Simply interpreting social and psychological data in light of evolutionary theory and drawing vague inferences from physiology is not science. And Marks exposes it, again and again. This is Speculation and myth and the public should be under no obligation to take it as established science.

Politicized Science
Marks book is not about science in any real sense. It is about politics. Over the course of his examination of biological incursions into anthropology, ranging from sociobiology to genetic testing of ancient skeletons, the only unifying theme to the book is that any conclusion that does not support progressive causes must be wrong and that any research that might hurt someone's feelings should not be attempted. Marks states both tenets explicitly several times.

That is not to say that all of his discussions are bad. If you leave out the irrational political diatribes, his accounts of some of the conclusions of sociobiology, for example, are spot on. His discussion of sociobiology in general, however, is based wholly on his beliefs about the political motivations of sociobiologists.

He does not provide logical arguments against most of his targets, but rather uses examples that seem to be chosen for their ability to offend a modern audience without regard to their relevance. Nazi Germany is invoked continuously, for example, although modern work is not derived from 1930's and 40's continental scholarship. He also misrepresents not only the motivations but also the results and theses of other researchers with the express intent of comparing them to the Nazis. The reader is often left with the impression that Marks bases his discussion on hearsay instead of studying the work of the scientists whose work he examines.

This is why the tone of this book often makes it difficult to finish a section.

Marks inadvertently makes a good case for not listing anthropology among the sciences. Although he has great pretensions for the field--it is supposed to be both a link between the modern and the pre-modern worlds and a link between the sciences and the humanities, while remaining itself a science--, he defines anthropology politically. Its purpose is to help the oppressed, foreign and domestic, deal with their exploiters. Thus, anthropologist's conclusions must face a political test to be considered correct (or, "convincing," as he likes to put it). Any field so construed is not science; any anthropologist following his advice would not be a scientist.

Marks believes, and restates often, that science should be Hippocratic. All science should look at what possible harm, including psychic harm, a discovery could do before the inception of an experimental program. Some knowledge is bad knowledge.

Marks justifies his politicized stance childishly. To paraphrase, "they (e.g., the Nazis) politicized anthropology first, so I can, too."

He has similarly irrational restrictive requirements on experiments. Experiments that wouldn't yield enough data to be conclusive should begin. For experimental sciences physics, perhaps, this might be a good rule, but for forensic sciences like astronomy and biology this would be devastating. Data needs to be added as it comes in.

If you would like a good discussion of the issues Marks addresses, such as human intelligence, crime, and paleoanthropology, you should go elsewhere. If you would like some debating points that occasionally reference scientific work, then you should read this book.

Easy to Dismiss, but very Important
The easiest thing to do about Marks' work is to dismiss it. Maybe we can simply state that herein lies that 'lefty pinko commie propaganda' that tries hopelessly to be 'PC.' And that's all she wrote! But I am afraid it is not so simple...

Jonathan Marks is writing about _my_ field. I have done some similar work. He is fighting against a popular old force, which tries to ignore not only cultural influence, but also ecological and political, and other influences.

Marks is an expert in his field, and this is very evident. It is interesting that one of the reviewers of this book, Mr. Haines, cites research from past ten years as diminishing to this book. I would like to see this research, not published in a newspaper, please. Genetic determinism, for all its promises, has _failed_ to live up to its expectations. It tries to solve _grand_ answers, and this is pretty hard. Marks is right to question evolutionary psychology, as the field has brought almost _nothing_ but the so-called 'just-so' stories. This is not science, this is myth. And Marks exposes it, as he should. I am also at a loss to observe how Marks wants no Darwinist baggage. This is false; he notes in his work that these explanations can contribute--but again, grand theories based on this kind of 'science' avoid about 150 years of anthropology, which has gone through many of the same pitfalls, by the way.

He is right to question the silliness of invoking the 98% chimpanzee argument, as it is a ridiculous one. He is right to note that folk knowledge manages to mingle in with what is supposed to be science. This is easily the best part of the book, and the dripping sarcasm and the molten anger with which Marks writes is immensely entertaining. However, it is also tragic to observe.

While I do not usually attack a particular Amazon review, I will point that Mr. Haines would benefit from a second reading of the book. Science is generally inaccurate in behavioral sciences (but also elsewhere): this is a simple truth, not an extreme claim. It is also _not_ an attack on science. As a matter of fact, as Marks points out rightly, science is accurate _OVER TIME_, but may be hopelessly misguided sometimes even in the long term. IF this was not the case, there would be no need for new paradigms; but, these do happen, I am afraid. This book is in no way trying to disparage science. If this was the case, Marks would not continue his work. But let me stress this: Marks simply notes that scientists should not put their noses where there is no place for them, or where scientific truth cannot be derived. I do not quite understand why this is a preposterous claim.

Linneus is demonized?! No, Marks simply notes the amount of folk knowledge inherited in this supposedly natural classifying system--what is found 'out there,' in nature. This is a clear point, not demonization. He is showing the arbitrary nature of classification. EVERY biologist should know this, but doesn't. Nor did I, before I got my MA in Physical Anthropology after studying Biology as an undergrad

Particularly, I would like to reply to this comment: "[i]nability to 'get it all right the first time' is inherent in the process. It accomplishes little to portray the process as invalid." Marks _does not_ expect science to get it right the first time. As a matter of fact, a careful reading of his book will indicate that he does not want genetics to fall into the same trap for the _SECOND_ time. Furthermore, far from arguing for abandonment of genetics as a whole, Marks asks geneticists to stop making grand claims when small results are observed: if that is not reasonable I am not sure what is.

Overall, Marks has presented an immensely readable work. Not everyone is going to like it, especially sociobiologists. There is actually nothing terribly revolutionary here. However, Marks' prose and his dripping sarcasm make this a book to read. I have yet to see how it is post-Modern or deconstructionist, for that matter. Marks is interested in science, but wants to see that it does not make mistakes it has so often made in the past. Is that really so controversial? ... Read more

Book Description

The second edition of Horizontal Gene Transfer has been organized to provide a concise and up-to-date coverage of the most important discoveries in this fascinating field. Written by the most prominent gene transfer and genome analytical scientists, this book details experimental evidence for the phenomenon of horizontal gene transfer and discusses further evidence provided by the recent completion of genomic sequences from Archea, Bacteria, and Eucarya members. The relevance of horizontal gene transfer to plant and metazoan taxonomy, GM foods, antibiotic resistance, paleontology, and phylogenetic reconstruction is also explored. Horizontal Gene Transfer is essential for microbiologists, geneticists, biochemists, evolutionary biologists, infectious disease specialists, paleontologists, ecologists, and researchers working in plant/animal systematics and agriculture with an interest in gene transfer. This includes scientific researchers from government and industry concerned with the release of genetically modified organisms.

Up-to-the-minute reviews, maps, conclusions, urls to relevant websites and colour figures.
Unique chapters, for example one written by paleontologists presents data for horizontal gene transfer from fingerprints form the fossil record. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Traditional Darwinists will be astounded by this book.
One of Darwinism's favorite demonstrations of contemporary evolution is the development of resistance to antibiotics by bacteria. In this book we learn that the most frequent mechanism for this development is the uptakeof resistance plasmids, not mutations in genes the bacteria already posess.Even more startling, resistance plasmids often come from dead cells, wherethey can remain viable. This finding strengthens the likelihood that lifefrom space could play a role in evolution.

With dozens of otherwell-documented examples, the book confirms the importance of horizontalgene transfer in evolution. The range and the capability of knownmechanisms are expanding rapidly. If you're interested in whereevolutionary science is headed, check it out! ... Read more