The insights following the wake of the Human Genome project are radically influencing our understanding of the molecular basis of life, health and disease. The improved accuracy and precision of clinical diagnostics is also beginning to have an impact on therapeutics in a fundamental way. This book is suitable for undergraduate medical students, as part of their basic sciences training, but is also relevant to interested under- and postgraduate science and engineering students. It serves as an introductory text for medical registrars in virtually all specialties, and is also of value to the General Practitioner wishing to keep up to date, especially in view of the growing, internet-assisted public knowledge of the field. There is a special focus on the application of molecular medicine in Africa and in developing countries elsewhere.

Foreword Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction Barry V Mendelow and Penny Keene KEYNOTE ESSAY 1: Defining Who We Are: DNA in Forensics, Genealogy and Human Origins Himla Soodyall SECTION 1 PRINCIPLES OF CELLULAR AND 13 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY Chapter 2 Digital Concepts in Molecular Medicine Barry V Mendelow Chapter 3 The Anatomy and Physiology of the Genome Marc S Weinberg, Natalie A Whalley and Michèle Ramsay Chapter 4 Molecular Cell Biology Natalie A Whalley, Sarah Walters and Kate Hammond Chapter 5 Genetic Variation Silke Arndt and Anthony B Lane Chapter 6 Genes in Development Lillian A Ouko and Michèle Ramsay Chapter 7 Tools of Molecular Medicine (a) Nucleic Acid Methods Natela Rekhviashvili and Gwynneth Stevens (b) Protein Methods Alexio Capovilla (c) Cellular Phenotyping and Flow Cytometry Lesley E Scott and Debbie K Glencross (d) Molecular Cytogenetics Pascale Willem and Jacqueline Brown KEYNOTE ESSAY 2: The Human Genome Michèle Ramsay SECTION 2 MOLECULAR PATHOLOGY Chapter 8 Genomes and the Environment: An Overview of Molecular Pathology Barry V Mendelow Chapter 9 Genetics, Genomics, Health and Disease: General Considerations Arnold L Christianson Chapter 10 Chromosome Disorders Sarah Walters and Nerine E Gregersen Chapter 11 Mendelian Inheritance Anthony B Lane Chapter 12 Unusual Molecular Processes that Impact on Disease Tabitha Haw and Amanda Krause Chapter 13 Population Genetics Anthony B Lane and Himla Soodyall Chapter 14 Complex Multifactorial Inheritance Zané Lombard Molecular Medicine Chapter 15 Molecular Basis for Phenotypic Variation Nerine E Gregersen and Amanda Krause Chapter 16 Medical Genetics Nerine E Gregersen and Amanda Krause KEYNOTE ESSAY 3: Human Cloning: Should We Go There? Barry V Mendelow Chapter 17 Neoplasia: General Considerations Alan C Paterson and Leandra Cronjé Chapter 18 Oncogenes Natalie A Whalley and Kate Hammond Chapter 19 Mammalian DNA Repair Alexio Capovilla Chapter 20 Tumour Suppressor Genes and Inherited Susceptibility to Cancer Kate Hammond Chapter 21 Carcinoma Alan C Paterson and Leandra Cronjé Chapter 22 Leukaemias and Lymphomas Tracey M Wiggill, Nicole S Holland, Pascale Willem and Lindsay Earlam Chapter 23 Molecular Approaches to the Diagnosis, Prognostication and Monitoring of Cancer Wendy Stevens KEYNOTE ESSAY 4: Microbes, Molecules, Maladies and Man Adriano G Duse Chapter 24 Molecular Basis of Infectious Diseases: General Considerations Wendy Stevens Chapter 25 Immunology Wolfgang Prinz, Mieneke Smit van Dixhoorn, Elizabeth Mayne and Ahmed A Wadee Chapter 26 Human Immunodeficiency Virus Wendy Stevens and Maria A Papathanasopoulos Chapter 27 Tuberculosis Gerrit Coetzee and Hendrik J Koornhof Chapter 28 Malaria Theresa L Coetzer Chapter 29 Influenza Barry D Schoub Chapter 30 Oncogenic Viruses Patrick Arbuthnot Chapter 31 Vaccines and Immunisation Maria A Papathanasopoulos KEYNOTE ESSAY 5: Drugs and the 21st Century Nicole Holland SECTION 3 MOLECULAR THERAPEUTICS Chapter 32 Targets for Molecular Therapy: The Biology of Haemostasis Marion Münster and Nanthakumarn Chetty Chapter 33 Cellular Targets of Antiplatelet Agents Nanthakumarn Chetty and Marion Münster Chapter 34 Rational Drug Design Grant B Napier Chapter 35 Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia Nerina Savage Chapter 36 Gene Therapy Marc S Weinberg and Patrick Arbuthnot Chapter 37 Diabetes Mellitus Nigel J Crowther Chapter 38 Pharmacogenetics Chrisna Durandt, Sahle M Asfaha and Michael S Pepper Chapter 39 Basic Molecular Biology of Blood Groups Wolfgang Prinz KEYNOTE ESSAY 6: Molecular Research Case Study: Developing Novel RNA Interference-based Therapy Patrick Arbuthnot and Marc S Weinberg SECTION 4 RESEARCH AND THE CONTINUING EVOLUTION OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE Chapter 40 Approaches to Research in Molecular Medicine Michèle Ramsay Chapter 41 Bioinformatics and Molecular Medicine Andries J Oelofse and Michèle Ramsay Chapter 42 Personalised Medicine: Dream or Reality? Wendy Stevens GLOSSARY CONTRIBUTORS' BIOGRAPHIES SOURCE MATERIAL AND RECOMMENDED READING PERMISSIONS AND CREDITS INDEX