Books on 'genetics'
Total books: 30940 Page 4 of 3094
by: Riccardo Poli, William B. Langdon, Nicholas Freitag McPhee
publisher: Lulu Enterprises, UK Ltd, published: 2008-03-26
ISBN: 1409200736
sales rank: 146309
Product Description
Genetic programming (GP) is a systematic, domain-independent method for getting computers to solve problems automatically starting from a high-level statement of what needs to be done. Using ideas from natural evolution, GP starts from an ooze of random computer programs, and progressively refines them through processes of mutation and sexual recombination, until high-fitness solutions emerge. All this without the user having to know or specify the form or structure of solutions in advance. GP has generated a plethora of human-competitive results and applications, including novel scientific discoveries and patentable inventions. This unique overview of this exciting technique is written by three of the most active scientists in GP. See www.gp-field-guide.org.uk for more information on the book.
Review
Good quick intro. Clearly written. Code samples are in Java. [...]
[...] You can see the Authors website and download a free pdf version of this site. Its available via creative commons non-commercial. I studied this book and it gave me a great understanding of the material(from programming understanding). Very clear, concise and to the point. It gives great examples and gets you up to speed. I wish more books about software in general were written in this form of a field guide. These guys deserve a medal.
"A Field Guide to Genetic Programming" is the best introductory book about the growing research area of Genetic Programming (GP). Written by some of the leading researchers in the field, the book explains very well the basic concepts of GP and gives a condensed state of the art of the technology. For practitioners, the book offers free Java-based software, called TinyGP and examples of many successful applications. A big benefit of the book is the comprehensive bibliography. With its popular style and low price, "A Field Guide to Genetic Programming" can open the field to a very broad audience and create a breakthrough in GP applications.
by: Pamela C. Ronald, R. W. Adamchak
publisher: Oxford University Press, USA, published: 2010-01-08
ISBN: 0195393570
sales rank: 74257
Product Description
By the year 2050, Earth's population will double. If we continue with current farming practices, vast amounts of wilderness will be lost, millions of birds and billions of insects will die, and the public will lose billions of dollars as a consequence of environmental degradation. Clearly, there must be a better way to meet the need for increased food production. Written as part memoir, part instruction, and part contemplation, Tomorrow's Table argues that a judicious blend of two important strands of agriculture--genetic engineering and organic farming--is key to helping feed the world's growing population in an ecologically balanced manner. Pamela Ronald, a geneticist, and her husband, Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer, take the reader inside their lives for roughly a year, allowing us to look over their shoulders so that we can see what geneticists and organic farmers actually do. The reader sees the problems that farmers face, trying to provide larger yields without resorting to expensive or environmentally hazardous chemicals, a problem that will loom larger and larger as the century progresses. They learn how organic farmers and geneticists address these problems. This book is for consumers, farmers, and policy decision makers who want to make food choices and policy that will support ecologically responsible farming practices. It is also for anyone who wants accurate information about organic farming, genetic engineering, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment.
Review
I do not want to doubt the intentions behind the book's advocacy for marrying organic farming and genetic manipulation. The effort to raise yields while maintaining ecological balance is supposed to be a noble cause. The biggest concern I have on genetically manipulated crops is their effects on the immune systems of humans and the animals who ingest them. Since genetical engineering is a relatively new and cutting-edge technology, research on the long-term health ramifications on the individuals and their offspring remain scant. In other words, we really do not know how the GE crops are affecting our bodies, our reproductive cells, and our next generations' physiology. I'd stick with "purely" organic stuff as much as possible. My children may still come out weird and retarded, but I cannot blame it on the GE food I ate.
Authors Ronald and Adamchak are an odd couple: Ronald a Professor of Plant Pathology and a supporter of bioengineering; Adamchak is an organic farmer, and has served on the board, as President and an in-the-field inspector of the California Certified Organic Farmers organization. Together, this husband and wife team may provide one of the most balanced views of how genetic engineering can not only co-exist with organic farming, but make organic farming healthier, safer, and more efficient. By combining the best techniques of both, Ronald and Adamchak argue that transgenic crops will be able to help solve the growing problems of population and hunger. The first part of Tomorrow's Table is an excellent introduction to organic farming and biotech, not too technical for non-scientists, but deep enough for those who want to know more about the science involved. The second half digs into the arguments used by the organic community against genetically engineered crops, how they can be, or have been, answered, and make a compelling argument that biotech can benefit the world in a responsible and healthy way.
That this book was such an easy and interesting read by clearly intelligent and caring people does not negate it's chief problem. The authors of this book repeat yet again the misrepresentation that genetically engineered plants have been tested and proven safe. If something has been proven safe then tests would have been conducted and they would have been published, somewhere. To make the claim that something is safe because tests have not been conducted is absolute rubish. I scratch my head and remain aghast. I even know these people and like them. Has the entire world gone mad? Do we live in alternate universes? The plant genetic engineers have been repeating this mantra since the mid 1980's when the purging of all of the scientists who dared to question the safety of the products of this very complex and sophisticated technology began. With so few at the major universities left to question or test the products of the technology how could safety testing be conducted? One would think that they would be proud of the wizardry that they had mastered and thus share the products of their finesse with pride. The reported costs of developing a new open pollinated classically bred variety runs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars. The cost of developing a new genetically engineered variety starts in the millions. Now, if we need many new varieties worldwide suited to the very different environments that people farm, why would we use the most costly one? And why would anyone advocate using an untested technology to solve the massive problems of our times? I agree that we do need more varieties suitable for the super changing climate predicted. How to achieve this is where the authors and I disagree. What we need are local plant breeders who are funded and enabled to actually breed suitable varieties in an efficient way. And plant breeders can certainly muster adding a single gene from one rice line to another with something called back-crossing. But plant breeders are the very group of people who have been unfunded for over a decade thanks to what Reaganomics brought to us. The requirement that public university scientists secure private grants to pay for their research began the shift to more expensive, more propriety technologies. Along with that funding the knowledge gained became not the property of the public but the property of the corporation providing that money. Who have obligations to their shareholders to post profits. I am all for studying genetics and experimenting with and learning in a lab and greenhouse how genes express themselves and how we can use that knowledge. These folks should have been publicly funded and the new life forms developed should have had the chance to be properly tested before release. But these scientists were not fully funded by us. They had to go out and scrounge for money and lots of it as this was pricey cutting edge stuff at the time and still is. My belief is that it was the need for money that encouraged these gifted scientists to overstate the potential good and understate the potential harms inherent in releasing life forms so new and untested en masse out into the agricultural landscape of our farmlands. I do believe that if they had not been rushed to have some product to release for sale by corporations that they would have provided their new life forms to the public for proper testing. So, despite all the good intentions and potential sustainable uses of these new technologies, open and honest testing should still be a prerequisite to release. Until transparent safety testing has been published I do not think that you will find organic farmers clamoring to use the products of this technology.
by: John H. Gillespie
publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, published: 2004-07-02
ISBN: 0801880092
sales rank: 109608
Product Description
This concise introduction offers students and researchers an overview of the discipline that connects genetics and evolution. Addressing the theories behind population genetics and relevant empirical evidence, John Gillespie discusses genetic drift, natural selection, nonrandom mating, quantitative genetics, and the evolutionary advantage of sex. First published to wide acclaim in 1998, this brilliant primer has been updated to include new sections on molecular evolution, genetic drift, genetic load, the stationary distribution, and two-locus dynamics. This book is indispensable for students working in a laboratory setting or studying free-ranging populations.
Review
I am a retired professor of population genetics and I should like to keep myself in the mainstraim of population genetics. There are several recent good books on this topic, but they are quite expensive. Since much time I know the author as one of the best theoretician in population genetics, author of an excellent but hard to understand fully without serious efforts. The present book is in principle destined to students and the author is supposed to make an effort to render accessible his teaching. In this course, some parts are really very classical and easy to understand - actually, it was what I taught to my own students of "DEUG and "Maîtrise" level. Of course, it was not that which I looked for in this book. For instance I was interested by the concept of "coalescence" which is too recent for I am aware of it during my time of activity. And indeed, it is quite well explained by Gillespie. Frankly speakig, when it comes to the field of which the author is a leading specialist (and which is more familiar to me), things become of more difficult access. But I must confess that I have probably been less hungry of these subjects. This book will relly bring the students who use it to a high level and they will prepared to access to the most advanced developments of population genetics - provided that they make the necessary effort! Henri A Descimon Honorary Professor Université de Provence France
Theodosius Dobzhansky said, "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." Mike Lynch at Indiana University added, "Nothing in evolution makes sense except in the light of population genetics." (PNAS) If such is the case, Gillespie's book is an essential guide and workbook through the foundation of biology in terms of mathematics and probability. 1.) The book flows. It begins with the basics of Hardy-Weinberg, and makes the mathematics of population genetics easy by building on the basics slowly through the book's chapters. Important mathematical background is addressed in the appendices. 2.) Each chapter has questions at the end to help crystallize the material. 3.) Examples from the scientific literature are used judiciously. 4.) Lucid explanation of genetic drift, the coalescent, and neutral theory are all provided. I have nothing but the highest praise for this classic.
I bought this book because I thought it would be a straightforward introduction to population genetics. The first two reviews were written by people who already seem to understand population genetics fairly well; for someone who was genuinely just starting out, however, I cannot say I found it particularly digestible. Terms are used in this text without any definitions until much later on. Topics are also divided in such a way that they are introduced in one chapter in an advanced form, and then a basic form revealed later! A friend with ADHD attempted to explain a Monte Carlo simulation to me once, and reading this book kind of reminded of me of that. Also, the book is littered with complex formulae that students are intended to decypher for themselves, with random notes in the back of the book that may or may not assist with this - often, no verbal/written attempt is made to explain what they are for. Students require clear descriptions of what a formula does, and how it can be applied, and in what sort of circumstances long, long before they give a damn about the proofs. This was written by somebody very fond of navel gazing and showing off their 9th grade algebra and less about providing any instruction about population genetics. This needs to be a lot clearer and more concise in the future. More descriptions of when/where to use formulae, and what they are for. Use examples from actual organisms to make it interesting, and maybe somebody will actually read it.
by: Ricki Lewis
publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math, published: 2007-09-21
ISBN: 0077221273
sales rank: 286320
Product Description
"Human Genetics, Eighth Edition", is a non-science majors human genetics text that clearly explains what genes are, how they function, how they interact with the environment, and how our understanding of genetics has changed since completion of the human genome project. It is a clear, modern, and exciting book for citizens who will be responsible for evaluating new medical options, new foods, and new technologies in the age of genomics.
Review
ya this is my biology book the reason why i bought it its because it was cheaper. But ya its a good text book
The book reached me on the first day of class and was basically as describe. It was more than usable for class.
This was a great text book at a great price. I always shop at amazon for my text books and more.
by: William S. Klug, Michael R. Cummings, Charlotte Spencer, Michael A. Palladino
publisher: Benjamin Cummings, published: 2009-10-11
ISBN: 0321618696
sales rank: 216009
Product Description
Key Benefit: Known for its focus on problem-solving, conceptual understanding, and practical applications, this best-seller is 32 pages shorter than its previous edition. New features of the Seventh Edition include new ?Exploring Genomics? exercises for selected chapters, in-chapter summaries that follow concept introductions for efficient review, engaging case studies in each chapter, an expanded Companion Website with myeBook, and a new chapter on Behavioral Genetics. Key Topics: Introduction to Genetics, Mitosis and Meiosis, Mendelian Genetics, Modifications of Mendelian Ratios, Sex Determination and Sex Chromosomes, Chromosome Mutations: Variation in Number and Arrangement, Linkage and Mapping in Eukaryotes, Genetic Analysis and Mapping in Bacteria and Phage, DNA Structure and Analysis, DNA Replication and Recombination, Chromosome Structure and DNA Sequence Organization, The Genetic Code and Transcription, Translation and Proteins, Gene Mutation, DNA Repair, and Transposable, Regulation of Genetic Expression, Cancer and the Regulation of the Cell Cycle, Recombinant DNA Technology and Gene Cloning, Genomics and Proteomics, Applications and Ethics of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Developmental Genetics, Genetics and Behavior, Quantitative Genetics, Population and Evolutionary Genetics, Conservation Genetics Market: Intended for those interested in learning the basics of genetics
Review
I would not recommend this book to ANYBODY!!! It's VERY confusing and doesn't explain concepts well (i.e. the "fork method"). I may be wrong, but the majority of people who teach the chapter of Mendelian genetics that deals with assigning letters to dominant and recessive traits teach that the alleles are assigned according to the DOMINANT trait (e.g. rough is dominant to smooth: RR (rough) or rr (smooth) NOT SS or ss!!)...I don't know...maybe I missed something, but I just think this is wrong in SOOOO many ways.... NO ONE should invest in this confusing, erroneous book...
Seller sent the 6th Edition, but it doesn't look like the picture and it's the international edition. I don't think I would have bought the item if I knew it weren't the one being advertised.
The over all time to get the book was good and the condition was good. Just like in the the message said when I went to buy it.
by: Jeffrey S. Bland
publisher: McGraw-Hill, published: 1999-04-11
ISBN: 087983921X
sales rank: 307578
Product Description
The far-ranging Human Genome Project is producing a breathtaking revolution in health, raising the prospect of averting hereditary "destined" diseases by modifying the expression of genetic traits. Researchers have identified many genes implicated in specific diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and arthritis and have realized that unfavorable genetic messages can be improved by changes in lifestyle, diet, and environment. Genetic Nutrioneering uses detailed questionnaires to show how to "read" genetic characteristics and how specific foods and nutrients can be used to improve gene expression to slow biological aging and reduce the risk of age-related diseases. It covers the use of gene expression for preventing heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and hormone-related problems, and improving immune and nervous system function. A comprehensive nutritional program presents specific foods, supplements, and diet plans that apply these concepts to an individual's needs.
Review
This is simply the best book writen on this subject.Many books make bold claims, but DR Bland takes complicated subjects and makes them easily undestandable.This book makes sense andis backed with links to appropriate studies. He doesn't expect yo to leap blindly. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the latest in healthcare technology.
Large portions of the text are repetitive. The term 'Genetic Nutritioneering' is repeated a few time on every page. The material on genetics is highly simplified, and really has no impact on the nutritional advice. Bland suggests we take control of our genes, which isn't a bad idea. In Bland's terms, we need to learn to 'express' the genes for health. The genes that worked hard in youth can be encouraged to express themselves, again. While this is a nice slogan, its meaning is very vague. What isn't going to 'express' some gene? What is key step in a gene's expression? What causes a bad gene to be expressed? How does one deal with a race between two genes seeking expression? The pragmatist wants some process for quickly assessing what a specific food or supplement will do for their metabolism. Everyone has a somewhat different metabolism and somewhat different set of foods which are easy to digest. Most of the people reading 'nutrition' books are interested primarily because they see their digestive system as unique and special. Thus, it seems logical to look for advice that goes past 'population wide' recommendations. Towards these ends, Bland is vague. For example, at one point Bland advises the reader to stop eating tomatoes for a few days. This test will determine if tomatoes cause an unpleasant gene to be expressed, one that causes gastro-intestinal distress. Most people would have run this simple test long before they knew anything about genetics. At other times, Bland simply quotes the standard 'population wide' recommendation. In my view, the suggestions don't really rise above 'eat the right fruits and vegetables and you will feel better.'
this book is simply the best on the subject, and it shows how proper nutrition with suplements can control genetic diseases.in the past ,the world of medicine was sure that there is nothing to do with genetic-diseases,but no more!.this book explains these mecanisms in a realy wonderful way.you will have a better understanding on genetics wether you are an unhealthy person or a therapist of any kind(especialy natural-healer).we are not changing our genes,we are only give them a better nutrition in order to make them express themselves in the best healthy way.this book is highly recommanded!.
by: George A. Padgett
publisher: Howell Book House, published: 1998-10-26
ISBN: 0876050046
sales rank: 478971
Product Description
If you breed dogs for any reason, you must own this book. Genetic diseases are among the most serious hazards on the landscape of modern dog breeding and one of the most vexing challenges facing today's dog breeders. Is it appropriate to open the gene pool to unwanted conditions in the pursuit of physical perfection, or must breeding to the Standard take a back seat to producing healthy animals? In Control of Canine Genetic Diseases, renowned authority George A. Padgett, DVM, provides an expert road map to help dog breeders everywhere avoid the pitfalls they are almost destined to encounter. For anyone whose goal is to produce healthy, functional and beautiful dogs, this is the book they need. Dr. Padgett provides clear explanations of modes of inheritance, how to conduct and analyze test matings and how to lower the chances of producing affected animals. Numerous tables, diagrams and graphs further enhance the text to facilitate the breeder's understanding.A Howell Dog Book of Distinction
Review
This is a perfect resource for the serious breeder who wants more knowledge about genetic problems in their specific breed. I keep lending my copies out and this is another replacement copy. Invaluable!
Great reference book. It deserves a place on every breeder's bookshelf. The sections on genetics, pedigress, test matings etc are well written and easy to understand. There are practice questions at the end of each chapter (plus answers), reinforcing the material. The questions also teach how to apply the tables and charts. There are numerous charts and tables that take the harder math out of genetic calculations. Included is a list of diseases by breed.
I was advised by a breeder to get this book if I was interesting in breeding in the future. As there is such a small gene pool here in Australia, I felt that I needed to get as much information as possible about possible genetic diseases and if they can be bred out. Whilest I have not really started to read this book as yet, will start soon, I have been told that it is fantastic for new people who are looking to enter the breeding ring.
by: Matthew Hamilton
publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, published: 2009-04-13
ISBN: 1405132779
sales rank: 176230
Product Description
This book aims to make population genetics approachable, logical and easily understood. To achieve these goals, the book?s design emphasizes well explained introductions to key principles and predictions. These are augmented with case studies as well as illustrations along with introductions to classical hypotheses and debates. Pedagogical features in the text include: Interact boxes that guide readers step-by-step through computer simulations using public domain software. Math boxes that fully explain mathematical derivations. Methods boxes that give insight into the use of actual genetic data. Numerous Problem boxes are integrated into the text to reinforce concepts as they are encountered. Dedicated website at www.wiley.com/go/hamiltongenetics This text also offers a highly accessible introduction to coalescent theory, the major conceptual advance in population genetics of the last two decades.
Review
by: William S. Klug, Michael R. Cummings, Charlotte Spencer, Michael A. Palladino, Harry Nickla
publisher: Benjamin Cummings, published: 2008-04-17
ISBN: 0321544609
sales rank: 315219
Review
by: David Shenk
publisher: Doubleday, published: 2010-03-09
ISBN: 0385523653
sales rank: 77
Review
Worth reading for a perspective on the debate BUT I call this the Gladwell effect (as in Malcolm). Choose an alluring thesis and ram it home with historical anecdote and a study or two. It makes for an entertaining reading but I couldn't help feel manipulated and skeptical about the writer's fervor. Back in the day, writers felt compelled to present all sides. NOw everything feels so one sided in the service of entertainment. Plus, the book was very short. More like an magazine piece. Also, if he's going to cite a few scientists over and over, couldn't he have gone to interview them in person? I want to know where they live, who they are, what they look like, how they came to think the way they do....
I loved the Genius in All of Us. It gives hope that most things can be learned and practised and it is not only those with exceptional IQs. "Talents are not innate gifts but the result of a slow, invisible accretion of skills developed over time." Few are genetically handed greatness, fully formed, and 100% gift wrapped. Even fewer are biologically restricted from attaining greatness. Intelligence is more a process than a fixed given. The critical difference between success and failure, between achievers and non-achievers, lies with a broken link in their process: "...non-achievers seem to be missing something in their process--one or more aspects of style of - intensity of practice, or technique, or - mindset, or - response to failure." Anders Ericsson's powerful concept of deliberate practice** is covered, as well as Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours (from "Outliers": It takes 10,000 hours of work/practice/effort to become good at anything). "The Genius in All of Us" makes the important point that developing talent should not be left to parents alone, that every society that wishes to strive should foster values that bring out the best in people. The down side of our culture of entitlement is obvious. We promote lottery tickets as the path to prosperity and somehow it has become the unspoken birthright of every American to experience freedom from poverty or want without the responsibility of work. Sort of like the "right" to good health via expensive health care without having to exercise or practice good nutrition habits.
Sometimes journalists can make sense of complex scientific topics and sometimes they can't. Unfortunately, in this book, David Shenk falls into the latter category. "The Genius in All of Us" is another example of the romantic fantasy that is gripping some realms of popular psychology and all of public education at the moment (think No Child Left Behind). Yes, human nature is plastic, but it is not as yielding as Shenk would like us to believe. In the real world, our genomes impose tighter constraints. For instance, I doubt that David Shenk has an IQ of 85 which he has re-worked through 10,000 hours of writing practice culminating in the publication of a book. To be sure, every person can learn and as a result become "smarter." And this process can be optimized through some of the environmental methods Shenk promotes. But the impact of environmental interventions are not nearly as powerful as he implies. The creation of unrealisitcally high expectations can be just as damaging as low expectations to the extent that they result in a mis-match between the individual and the learning strategies that yield the best long-term results. One size does not fit all in the pursuit of maximum potential. Mr. Shenk's attempt to link epigenetic proccesses to learning capacity is weak, as even he seems to admit. "No one can yet measure the precise implications of these (epigenetic) discoveries, because so little is known (p.129)." Yet, he seems content to generalize like crazy as if the epigenetics knowledge base was robust. He tries to connect the biological dots in his story line with very long, faint, serpentine, dashed lines. For those of you who read and agree with the general tenor of this book, I urge you to also read Steven Pinker's book on the same topic, "The Blank Slate." Pinker, a Ph.D. psychologist and professor at Harvard, does a much better job of assembling the relevant research and reaching defensible conclusions. Read both books and decide for yourself which is more accurate. Or simply take a pass on "The Genius in All of Us" as it doesn't offer a realistic or useful perspective on human potential.
USMLE board exam test books, board review series, physiology textbook, pathology textbook, human anatomy textbook, embryology textbook, biochemistry textbook, immunology textbook, microbiology textbook, Genetics textbook
Total 30940 books of 3094 pages