It's in Your DNA (eBook)

It's in Your DNA: From Discovery to Structure, Function and Role in Evolution, Cancer and Aging describes, in a clear, approachable manner, the progression of the experiments that eventually led to our current understanding of DNA. This fascinating work tells the whole story from the discovery of DNA and its structure, how it replicates, codes for proteins, and our current ability to analyze and manipulate it in genetic engineering to begin to understand the central role of DNA in evolution, cancer, and aging.

While telling the scientific story of DNA, this captivating treatise is further enhanced by brief sketches of the colorful lives and personalities of the key scientists and pioneers of DNA research. Major discoveries by Meischer, Darwin, and Mendel and their impacts are discussed, including the merging of the disciplines of genetics, evolutionary biology, and nucleic acid biochemistry, giving rise to molecular genetics.

After tracing development of the gene concept, critical experiments are described and a new biological paradigm, the hologenome concept of evolution, is introduced and described. The final two chapters of the work focus on DNA as it relates to cancer and gerontology.

This book provides readers with much-needed knowledge to help advance their understanding of the subject and stimulate further research. It will appeal to researchers, students, and others with diverse backgrounds within or beyond the life sciences, including those in biochemistry, genetics/molecular genetics, evolutionary biology, epidemiology, oncology, gerontology, cell biology, microbiology, and anyone interested in these mechanisms in life.

• Highlights the importance of DNA research to science and medicine
• Explains in a simple but scientifically correct manner the key experiments and concepts that led to the current knowledge of what DNA is, how it works, and the increasing impact it has on our lives
• Emphasizes the observations and reasoning behind each novel idea and the critical experiments that were performed to test them

Dr. Eugene Rosenberg has been a professor at UCLA and Tel Aviv University for more than 50 years, teaching and directing research in microbiology and biochemistry. After receiving his PhD in Biochemistry at Columbia University in 1961, he received a Postdoctoral Fellowship to work with the Nobel Prize Laureate Lord Todd in Cambridge, England. He was then appointed Asst. Professor in Molecular Biology at UCLA, where he taught and did research for eight years. Dr. Rosenberg then moved to Tel Aviv University and was appointed Professor and Chairman of the Department of Molecular Microbiology, where he is now an 'active” Professor Emeritus. He has published 260 scientific articles in professional journals, including Nature, Science and PNAS, 10 books and 18 patents, and he is known for his clear writing style. During his career, he has been awarded several prizes for his research including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fogarty International Scholarship in Residence at NIH, the PanLab Award, and the prestigious Proctor & Gamble Award from the American Society of Microbiology. He is a member of the American Academy of Microbiology and a founding member of the European Academy of Microbiology.

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It's in Your DNA: From Discovery to Structure, Function and Role in Evolution, Cancer and Aging describes, in a clear, approachable manner, the progression of the experiments that eventually led to our current understanding of DNA. This fascinating work tells the whole story from the discovery of DNA and its structure, how it replicates, codes for proteins, and our current ability to analyze and manipulate it in genetic engineering to begin to understand the central role of DNA in evolution, cancer, and aging. While telling the scientific story of DNA, this captivating treatise is further enhanced by brief sketches of the colorful lives and personalities of the key scientists and pioneers of DNA research. Major discoveries by Meischer, Darwin, and Mendel and their impacts are discussed, including the merging of the disciplines of genetics, evolutionary biology, and nucleic acid biochemistry, giving rise to molecular genetics. After tracing development of the gene concept, critical experiments are described and a new biological paradigm, the hologenome concept of evolution, is introduced and described. The final two chapters of the work focus on DNA as it relates to cancer and gerontology. This book provides readers with much-needed knowledge to help advance their understanding of the subject and stimulate further research. It will appeal to researchers, students, and others with diverse backgrounds within or beyond the life sciences, including those in biochemistry, genetics/molecular genetics, evolutionary biology, epidemiology, oncology, gerontology, cell biology, microbiology, and anyone interested in these mechanisms in life. Highlights the importance of DNA research to science and medicine Explains in a simple but scientifically correct manner the key experiments and concepts that led to the current knowledge of what DNA is, how it works, and the increasing impact it has on our lives Emphasizes the observations and reasoning behind each novel idea and the critical experiments that were performed to test them