Your no-nonsense guide to genetics

With rapid advances in genomic technologies, genetic testing has become a key part of both clinical practice and research. Scientists are constantly discovering more about how genetics plays a role in health and disease, and healthcare providers are using this information to more accurately identify their patients' particular medical needs. Genetic information is also increasingly being used for a wide range of non-clinical purposes, such as exploring one's ancestry.

This new edition of Genetics For Dummies serves as a perfect course supplement for students pursuing degrees in the sciences. It also provides science-lovers of all skill levels with easy-to-follow and easy-to-understand information about this exciting and constantly evolving field. This edition includes recent developments and applications in the field of genetics, such as:

* Whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing

* Precision medicine and pharmacogenetics

* Direct-to-consumer genetic testing for health risks

* Ancestry testing

Featuring information on some of the hottest topics in genetics right now, this book makes it easier than ever to wrap your head around this fascinating subject.

Tara Rodden Robinson, PhD, was an instructor and Postdoctoral Fellow in Genetics in the Department of Biological Sciences at Auburn University. She has also been an instructor at Oregon State University. Lisa Cushman Spock, PhD, CGC, is a clinical genomics specialist and former genetics counselor at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Klappentext

• Understand cell biology basics
• Explore how genetics affects your health
• Grasp the laws of inheritance

Discover what genetics means for you!

Are you a student of the sciences? Into research? Curious about how genetics affects your life? Then this book is for you! Here's a no-nonsense guide to help you understand genetics without boggling your mind. Get an overview of the basics, including cell biology and how traits are inherited. Delve into DNA, explore how genetics affects your health, see how gene therapy works, and understand the ethical issues involved with the field. This updated edition covers recent developments, trends, applications, and much more.

Inside...

• How trait inheritance works
• Whole-genome sequencing
• Health risk genetic testing
• Precision medical applications
• DNA and ancestry
• Exploring chromosome disorders
• Possibilities of gene therapy
• Solving mysteries with DNA

Your no-nonsense guide to genetics

With rapid advances in genomic technologies, genetic testing has become a key part of both clinical practice and research. Scientists are constantly discovering more about how genetics plays a role in health and disease, and healthcare providers are using this information to more accurately identify their patients' particular medical needs. Genetic information is also increasingly being used for a wide range of non-clinical purposes, such as exploring one's ancestry.

This new edition of Genetics For Dummies serves as a perfect course supplement for students pursuing degrees in the sciences. It also provides science-lovers of all skill levels with easy-to-follow and easy-to-understand information about this exciting and constantly evolving field. This edition includes recent developments and applications in the field of genetics, such as:

• Whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing
• Precision medicine and pharmacogenetics
• Direct-to-consumer genetic testing for health risks
• Ancestry testing

Featuring information on some of the hottest topics in genetics right now, this book makes it easier than ever to wrap your head around this fascinating subject.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 2

How This Book is Organized 3

Part 1: The Lowdown on Genetics: Just the Basics 3

Part 2: DNA: The Genetic Material 3

Part 3: Genetics and Your Health 3

Part 4: Genetics and Your World 3

Part 5: The Part of Tens 4

Icons Used in This Book 4

Beyond This Book 4

Where to Go from Here 5

Part 1: The Lowdown on Genetics: Just the Basics 7

Chapter 1: Welcome to Genetics: What's What and Who's Who 9

What is Genetics? 9

Classical genetics: Transmitting traits from generation to generation 10

Molecular genetics: DNA and the chemistry of genes 11

Population genetics: Genetics of groups 12

Quantitative genetics: Getting a handle on heredity 13

Genetics as a Career 13

Exploring a genetics lab 14

Sorting through jobs in genetics 15

Chapter 2: Basic Cell Biology 21

Looking Around Your Cell 22

Cells without a nucleus 22

Cells with a nucleus 23

What's in a nucleus? 25

Examining the basics of chromosomes 25

So Where Are My Genes? 27

Mitosis: Splitting Up 29

Step 1: Time to grow 30

Step 2: Divvying up the chromosomes 31

Step 3: The big divide 33

Meiosis: Making Cells for Reproduction 34

Meiosis I 35

Meiosis II 37

Mommy, where did I come from? 38

Chapter 3: Visualize Peas: Discovering the Laws of Inheritance 41

Gardening with Gregor Mendel 42

Speaking the Language of Inheritance 44

Simplifying Inheritance 45

Establishing dominance 45

Segregating alleles 47

Declaring independence 48

Finding Unknown Alleles 50

Applying Basic Probability to the Likelihood of Inheritance 50

Solving Simple Genetics Problems 52

Deciphering a monohybrid cross 53

Tackling a dihybrid cross 53

Chapter 4: Law Enforcement: Mendel's Laws Applied to Complex Traits 57

Dominant Alleles Rule Sometimes 58

Wimping out with incomplete dominance 58

Keeping it fair with codominance 59

Dawdling with incomplete penetrance 60

Alleles Causing Complications 61

More than two alleles 61

Lethal alleles 63

Making Life More Complicated 63

When genes interact 63

Genes in hiding 65

Genes linked together 66

One gene with many phenotypes 69

Uncovering More Exceptions to Mendel's Laws 70

Epigenetics 70

Genomic imprinting 70

Anticipation 71

Environmental effects 72

Part 2: DNA: The Genetic Material 73

Chapter 5: DNA: The Basis of Life 75

Chemical Ingredients of DNA 76

Covering the bases 76

Adding a spoonful of sugar and a little phosphate 78

Assembling the Double Helix: The Structure of DNA 79

Starting with one: Weaving a single strand 79

Doubling up: Adding the second strand 81

Examining Different Varieties of DNA 85

Nuclear DNA 85

Mitochondrial DNA 85

Chloroplast DNA 86

Digging into the History of DNA 87

Discovering DNA 87

Obeying Chargaff's rules 88

Hard feelings and the helix: Franklin, Wilkins, Watson, and Crick 88

Chapter 6: Chromosomes: The Big Picture 91

Deconstructing the Double Helix 92

Anatomy of a Chromosome 93

Two Chromosomes Are Better than One (or Three) 95

Sex Chromosomes: Is It a Boy or Girl? 96

Sex determination ...