Abstract:
The World of Genetics is devoted to the study of the most intimate and fundamental mechanisms of life. Genetics is the study of heredity, of new and vigorous scientific explanations of how life arose and continues on Earth.
The World of Genetics is a collection of 800 entries on topics covering a range of interests, from biographies of the pioneers of genetics to explanations of the most current research. Despite the complexities of genetics, along with the fast pace of research and innovation, every effort has been made to set forth entries in everyday language and to provide generous explanations of the most important terms used by professional scientists.
World of Genetics articles are designed to instruct, challenge, and excite less experienced students, while providing a solid foundation and reference for more advanced students. Genetics is a dynamic field. Almost daily, new discoveries extend our understanding of genetics and new technologies arise to expand applications of those discoveries. The pace of change and innovation is challenging to all publications regarding genetics. For example, during the writing of World of Genetics, researchers announced the completion of the sequencing of the human genome and that the human genome contained far fewer genes that originally thought. Accordingly, although World of Genetics has attempted to incorporate the latest findings and applications, the emphasis is on providing students and readers with the basic information and insights into critical thinking that will enable a greater understanding of the news and current events related to genetics.
The "central dogma" of molecular biology (i.e., that the genetic information in DNA is transcribed into RNA, and that RNA conveys that genetic information to where it can be translated into protein structure) provides the common thread with which the tapestry of World of Genetics articles are woven. Whenever possible, we have attempted to explain the relationship of the central dogma to the specific topics included in World of Genetics. <read more>