A Dictionary of Genetics

By Robert C. KingWilliam StansfieldPamela Mulligan, et al.

Book Overview

Genetics, the most rapidly advancing of the life sciences, has stimulated more diverse disciplines in the natural and social sciences than any other field. Contributions from scientists of varied backgrounds--anthropologists, chemists, computer specialists, engineers, mathematicians, paleontologists, physicians, and physicists--to its development is one major reason for its prodigious growth. Such growth is accompanied by a proliferation in terminology, which creates a problem both to beginning students and scientists from other disciplines who read papers by geneticists. Various terms, especially in molecular and cell biology, are newly coined and thus not found in any collegiate or biology dictionaries; in some cases, species names are even unfamiliar to students with little or no background in taxonomy.
This fifth edition of the much-needed Dictionary of Genetics contains over 6,500 definitions of terms and species names relevant to the study of genetics. The entries include both strictly genetic and non-genetic terms often encountered in the literature. Also featured is a classification where all the species cited in the text are cross-referenced. There is a chronology covering the period from 1590 to 1996, and its 790 entries are cross-referenced in the appropriate definitions. The chronology is followed by an extensive bibliography and an index of the scientists cited. The final appendix lists Genetic Databases. Thus the book is helpful not only to beginning geneticists, but anyone involved in life sciences. Physicians for example will find at least 50 citations to human hereditary diseases, along with entries on the breast cancer susceptibility genes, cystic fibrosis, familial hypercholesterolemia, fragile X-associated mental retardation, and many other topics. The 250 illustrations and tables add to the unique value of this reference.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195094425
• ISBN13: 9780195094428
• Release Date: December 1996
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 456 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic! Just what I was looking for!

I am so glad I bought this book! I am a grad student whose preliminary exams are coming up and this book helps so much! For anyone who has come across a protocol or a term in a paper and has no idea what it means and has then tried to look it up, only to find the same unexplained protocol in other papers - THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU! Easier than searching through papers and more trustworthy than Wikipedia - this book is worth it!

a must for the biological graduate studentia

As a graduate student studying biochemistry/molecular biology, this book (on the PI's shelf) was a frequent read. Not only does it explain "old-school" genetic experiments with aplomb, it provides clear and concise examples. A fine reference for reviewing papers, and a must have for any PI (if only for your students to use as a reference!)