Genetics For Dummies, 3rd Edition

**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. Genetics For Dummies Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Conventions Used in This Book Foolish Assumptions How This Book Is Organized Part 1: The Lowdown on Genetics: Just the Basics Part 2: DNA: The Genetic Material Part 3: Genetics and Your Health Part 4: Genetics and Your World Part 5: The Part of Tens Icons Used in This Book Beyond This Book Where to Go from Here Part 1 The Lowdown on Genetics: Just the Basics Chapter 1 Welcome to Genetics: What’s What and Who’s Who What Is Genetics? Classical genetics: Transmitting traits from generation to generation Molecular genetics: DNA and the chemistry of genes Population genetics: Genetics of groups Quantitative genetics: Getting a handle on heredity Genetics as a Career Exploring a genetics lab Sorting through jobs in genetics Chapter 2 Basic Cell Biology Looking Around Your Cell Cells without a nucleus Cells with a nucleus What’s in a nucleus? Examining the basics of chromosomes So Where Are My Genes? Mitosis: Splitting Up Step 1: Time to grow Step 2: Divvying up the chromosomes Step 3: The big divide Meiosis: Making Cells for Reproduction Meiosis I Meiosis II Mommy, where did I come from? Chapter 3 Visualize Peas: Discovering the Laws of Inheritance Gardening with Gregor Mendel Speaking the Language of Inheritance Simplifying Inheritance Establishing dominance Segregating alleles Declaring independence Finding Unknown Alleles Applying Basic Probability to the Likelihood of Inheritance Solving Simple Genetics Problems Deciphering a monohybrid cross Tackling a dihybrid cross Chapter 4 Law Enforcement: Mendel’s Laws Applied to Complex Traits Dominant Alleles Rule . . . Sometimes Wimping out with incomplete dominance Keeping it fair with codominance Dawdling with incomplete penetrance Alleles Causing Complications More than two alleles Lethal alleles Making Life More Complicated When genes interact Genes in hiding Genes linked together One gene with many phenotypes Uncovering More Exceptions to Mendel’s Laws Epigenetics Genomic imprinting Anticipation Environmental effects Part 2 DNA: The Genetic Material Chapter 5 DNA: The Basis of Life Chemical Ingredients of DNA Covering the bases Adding a spoonful of sugar and a little phosphate Assembling the Double Helix: The Structure of DNA Starting with one: Weaving a single strand Doubling up: Adding the second strand Examining Different Varieties of DNA Nuclear DNA Mitochondrial DNA Chloroplast DNA Digging into the History of DNA Discovering DNA Obeying Chargaff’s rules Hard feelings and the helix: Franklin, Wilkins, Watson, and Crick Chapter 6 Chromosomes: The Big Picture Deconstructing the Double Helix Anatomy of a Chromosome Two Chromosomes Are Better than One (or Three) Sex Chromosomes: Is It a Boy or Girl? Sex determination in humans Sex determination in other organisms Chapter 7 Replication: A Copy Machine for DNA Unzipped: Creating the Pattern for More DNA How DNA Copies Itself Meeting the replication crew Splitting the helix Priming the pump Leading and lagging Joining all the pieces Proofreading replication Replication in Eukaryotes Pulling up short: Telomeres Finishing the job How Circular DNAs Replicate Theta Rolling circle D-loop Chapter 8 DNA Sequencing: Decoding the Genome Sequencing: Reading the Language of DNA Identifying the players in DNA sequencing Finding the message in sequencing results Newer, cheaper, faster Sequencing Your Way to the Human Genome The Human Genome Project Trying on a Few Genomes The yeast genome The elegant roundworm genome The chicken genome Chapter 9 RNA: DNA’s Close Cousin You Already Know a Lot about RNA Using a slightly different sugar Meeting a new base: Uracil Stranded! Transcription: Copying DNA’s Message into RNA’s Language Getting ready to transcribe Initiation Elongation Termination Post-transcription Processing Adding cap and tail Editing the message Chapter 10 Translating the Genetic Code Discovering the Good in a Degenerate Considering the combinations Framed! Reading the code Not quite universal Meeting the Translating Team Taking the Translation Trip Initiation Elongation Termination Proteins Are Precious Polypeptides Recognizing radical groups Giving the protein its shape Chapter 11 Gene Expression: What a Cute Pair of Genes Getting Your Genes Under Control To Be Expressed or Not To Be Expressed? Regulating Gene Expression: A Time and Place for Everything Controlling Transcription Before It Starts Regulation of Gene Transcription: Flipping the Switch Sequences controlling genes Proteins controlling transcription Hormones controlling transcription Retroactive Control: Things That Happen after Transcription Nip and tuck: RNA splicing Shut up! mRNA silencing mRNA expiration dates Gene Control Lost in Translation Modifying where translation occurs Modifying when translation occurs Modifying the protein shape Prokaryotic Gene Expression Bacterial gene organization Bacterial gene expression Part 3 Genetics and Your Health Chapter 12 When Things Go Wrong: Changes in DNA Sequence Heritable or Not Heritable? Facing the Consequences of Sequence Variants Sorting Out Terminology The phenotypic effect of a DNA sequence change The type of DNA sequence change What Causes Sequence Variants? Spontaneous sequence variants Induced sequence variants Evaluating Options for DNA Repair Chapter 13 Chromosome Disorders: It’s All a Numbers Game Chromosome Numbers: No More and No Less Aneuploidy: Extra or missing chromosomes Aneuploidy of the Autosomal Chromosomes When chromosomes go missing When too many chromosomes are left in Aneuploidy of the Sex Chromosomes Extra Xs Extra Ys Monosomy X Exploring Variations in Chromosome Structure Duplications Deletions Inversions Translocations Reciprocal translocations Robertsonian translocations Other things that go awry with chromosomes How Chromosomes Are Studied Big enough to see Too small for the naked eye Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing for Aneuploidy Chapter 14 Taking a Closer Look at the Genetics of Cancer Defining Cancer Benign growths: Not always so harmless Malignancies: Seriously scary results Metastasis: Cancer on the move Recognizing Cancer as a DNA Disease Exploring the cell cycle and cancer Demystifying chromosome abnormalities Breaking Down the Types of Cancers Hereditary Breast Cancer Hereditary colorectal cancer Chapter 15 Genetic Counseling, Risk Assessment, and Genetic Testing Getting to Know Genetic Counselors Building and Analyzing a Family Tree Autosomal Inheritance: No Differences Among the Sexes Autosomal dominant traits and disorders Autosomal recessive traits and disorders Found on Sex Chromosomes: Sex-linked Inheritance X-linked recessive traits X-linked dominant traits Y-linked traits Sex-limited traits Sex-influenced traits Testing for Genetic Disorders Diagnostic testing Prenatal diagnosis Carrier testing Predictive and susceptibility testing Preimplantation genetic diagnosis Pharmacogenetic testing Chapter 16 Treating Genetic Disorders and Using Genetics to Tailor Treatment Alleviating Genetic Disease through Gene Therapy Inserting Healthy Genes into the Picture Finding Vehicles to Get Genes to Work Viruses that join right in Viruses that are a little standoffish Progress on the Gene Therapy Front Utilizing Genetic Information for Precision Medicine Pharmacogenetics (and pharmacogenomics) Cytochrome P450 and drug metabolism Decreasing the risk of side effects of treatment Increasing the effectiveness of treatment Part 4 Genetics and Your World Chapter 17 Tracing Human History and the Future of the Planet Genetic Variation Is Everywhere Allele frequencies Genotype frequencies Breaking Down the Hardy-Weinberg Law of Population Genetics Relating alleles to genotypes Violating the law Mapping the Gene Pool One big happy family Ancestry testing Uncovering the secret social lives of animals Changing Forms over Time: The Genetics of Evolution Genetic variation is key Where new species come from Growing the evolutionary tree Chapter 18 Solving Mysteries Using DNA Rooting through Your DNA to Find Your Identity Investigating the Scene: Where’s the DNA? Collecting biological evidence Moving to the lab Employing DNA to Catch Criminals (And Free the Innocent) Matching the evidence to the bad guy Taking a second look at guilty verdicts It’s All Relative: Finding Family Paternity testing Relatedness testing Chapter 19 Genetic Makeovers: Using Genetic Engineering to Change the Genome Genetically Modified Organisms Are Everywhere Old Genes in New Places Following the transgenesis process Making a transgene using recombinant DNA technology Modifying the gene to reside in its new home Looking at the GMO Menagerie Transgenic animals Transgenic insects Transgenic bacteria Transgenic plants Getting new genes into the plant Exploring commercial applications Weighing points of contention Changing the Blueprint: Gene Editing CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing Germline versus somatic gene editing Discussing the ethics of gene editing Chapter 20 Giving Ethical Considerations Their Due Profiling Genetic Discrimination Ordering Up Designer Babies Ethical Issues Surrounding Genetic Testing Informed Consent Patient Autonomy Privacy and Confidentiality Incidental Findings Direct-to-Consumer Testing Practicing Safe Genetic Treatments Genetic Property Rights Part 5 The Part of Tens Chapter 21 Ten Defining Events in Genetics The Publication of Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” The Rediscovery of Mendel’s Work DNA Transformation The Discovery of Jumping Genes The Birth of DNA Sequencing The Invention of PCR The Development of Recombinant DNA Technology The Invention of DNA Fingerprinting The Birth of Developmental Genetics The Work of Francis Collins and the Human Genome Project Chapter 22 Ten Hot Issues in Genetics Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Whole Exome Sequencing Whole Genome Sequencing Stem Cell Research The ENCODE Project Proteomics Gene Chips Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance Circumventing Mother Nature Genetics from Afar Glossary Index

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.

"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."-- Publisher's description