genetics books

	"Investigations in Biology"- Cellular and Molecular Biology and Genetics
	By: Mary E. White, Frank M. Campo ISBN: 0073023795 Publisher: The McGrae-Hill Companies Release Date: 2004 Bioscience book rank: 1985815
	Risk Assessment and Management in Cancer Genetics
	By: Fiona Lalloo, Bronwyn Kerr, Jan M Friedman, D Gareth Evans ISBN: 0198529600 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Release Date: 24 November, 2005 Bioscience book rank: 1609933
	Quick Look Medicine: Genetics
	By: Patricia A. Hoffee ISBN: 1889325422 Publisher: Fence Creek Publishing Release Date: 15 March, 1999 Bioscience book rank: 1631060
	Genetics
	By: P.S. Verma, V.K. Agrawal, V.K. Agraual ISBN: 8121902622 Publisher: Chand (S.) & Co Ltd ,India Release Date: 31 October, 2001 Bioscience book rank: 2003079
	The Genetic Diversity of Cacao and Its Utilization
	By: B. G. D. Bartley ISBN: 0851996191 Publisher: CABI Release Date: 06 October, 2005 Bioscience book rank: 573614
	Hemochromatosis: Genetics, Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Treatment
	By: James C. Barton, Corwin Q. Edwards ISBN: 0521593808 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Release Date: 15 March, 2000 Bioscience book rank: 104638
	The Lives to Come: The Genetic Revolution and Human Possibilities
	By: Philip Kitcher ISBN: 0713991291 Publisher: Allen Lane Release Date: 04 April, 1996 Bioscience book rank: 1847598	Philip Kitcher's The Lives to Come is a thorough, nuanced look at the moral and social issues surrounding new genetic technologies. Kitcher starts the book with clear explanations of the basic science of genes and genetic technology, making the book accessible to non-scientists, and laying the groundwork for the rest of the book. He then addresses questions about uses and misuses of genetic technologies, including genetic profiling, forensics, and gene therapy. He discusses philosophical dilemmas around "playing god", the idea of human nature, and the fear that unveiling mysteries about human biology will diminish our sense of meaning and abolish the notion of freewill. The real heart of the book is his delve into the topic of eugenics, which he calls "inescapable" with our current technology. He disambiguates the general concept from previous eugenic practices in Europe and the US, and lays out guidelines for a system of "utopian eugenics". These guidelines include personal decision-making, health education and counseling, and equal access to technologies. Though Kitcher's book was published almost a decade ago, the issues it explores are just as relevant--and unresolved--today. It remains one of the best explorations of the vital moral and social issues brought up by our rapidly increasing biotechnological capabilities. This is a credible and sober work. Kitcher considers the expansion of gene- testing which is about to come , and its implications. He relates primarily to 'negative eugenics ' and the possibility of preventing disease and human suffering. He does not really speak about the more fantastic kinds of ' genetic engineering ' which would enhance humans. <br />The work was published ten years ago, and there has been great scientific progress in this time, including the mapping of the human genome. But most of the problems and questions here are still of great importance. And this book can provide valuable insight into them. Published approximately a decade ago, this book remains a clear, coherent discussion of the potential implications of genetic testing. Kitcher concentrates on genetic testing and 'negative eugenics,' the concept that prenatal testing can be used to reduce disease causing alleles. He also discusses other aspects of genetic knowledge, such as employment discrimination and similar topics. To his credit, Kitcher had a fairly realistic preception of the likely consequences of increased genetic knowledge and The Lives To Come avoids some of the more outre topics, such as enhancing human capacity, in favor of discussing more likely outcomes as increased prenatal testing. Kitcher also stresses that much genetic research is driven by the desire to understand disease processes with the hope of discovering non-eugenic, more traditionally medical interventions. <br />Because of the nature of the topic, he has to discuss emotionally loaded topics like abortion, fetal personhood, etc. He comes down on the side of a carefully qualified program of 'utopian' eugenics which permits access to abortion along with a strong commitment to aid families who decide to avoid abortion, and a good measure of careful public education. His discussions of a variety of topics are generally careful, thoughtful, consistent, and moderate in tone. <br />Its interesting to read this book in light of recent developments. Kitcher was conservative in terms of estimating what could would be learned about genetics of disease and human genetics in general. Sequencing of human and other species genomes, and the application of this knowledge has proceeded faster than he (and many others) anticipated. If anything, the development of better sequencing methods and other technologies will probably accelerate understanding of human genetic disorders in the next couple of decades. At the same time, there has been relatively little progress in converting this knowledge into more traditional medical approaches. With prenatal and other genetic testing gradually expanding, we are entering the era of eugenics that Kitcher (and many others) anticipated. <br />The social response, however, has not, at least in the USA, what Kitcher reasoned was appropriate. Kitcher argued well that just use of this technology would probably require some sort of universal health care guarantee, universal access to genetic testing, and a commitment to provision of services to families foregoing testing. Kitcher also had sensible prescriptions about employment and similar issues. <br />Kitcher probably wrote this book in hopes of kindling some public discussion and planning for the inevitable occurence of eugenics and widespread use of genetic information prior to its widespread implementation. This doesn't seem to have happened.
	Essential Fungal Genetics
	By: David Moore, LilyAnn Novak Frazer ISBN: 0387953671 Publisher: Springer Release Date: 31 May, 2002 Bioscience book rank: 1366955
	Governing Molecules: The Discursive Politics of Genetic Engineering in Europe and the United States (Inside Technology)
	By: Herbert Gottweis ISBN: 0262071894 Publisher: The MIT Press Release Date: 25 December, 1998 Bioscience book rank: 1602753
	Genetic Engineering, Food And Our Environment
	By: Luke Anderson ISBN: 1890132551 Publisher: CHELSEA GREEN PUBLISHING COMPANY Release Date: 1999 Bioscience book rank: 1271112	"Genetic Engineering, Food, & Our Environment" is crisply written, keenly argued, tightly and extensively researched. It presents a wealth of facts and possibilities, both an extremely disturbing side in and around the genetic engineering industry, and some encouraging information on potentially sustainable alternatives. <p>An excellent study for anyone considering GE-related issues, it makes a key handbook for the campaigner. It is a resource one can variously refer to in connection with environmental and other concerns, third world development possibilities, and underpinning issues in the background of global politics. <p>Luke Anderson's book entirely deserves the wide readership and serious attention gained by Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." Carson's book detailed impacts and threats of industrial chemicals in use forty years ago; Anderson's is an effective sequel, an update on the state of play today. Depressing how some of the villains in the story are the same - or rather, grander and more dangerous. Inspiring how voices will yet courageously emerge like those of Carson and Anderson, with the wits and the research base to point to the toxins dribbling down the Emperor's new clothes (or carcass) and explain where they came from. <p>Altogether a thoroughly useful, troubling and galvanising kind of book. If you haven't got it, get it. Here in North America the public generally hears very little about debates surrounding around GE foods, this 1999 book from a UK author is a quick read, easy to understand overview of GE food issues. It is strictly food & agriculture covered here, human GE areas are not touched on. Besides discussing safety & nutrition concerns, chapters cover such topics as control of farming & environmental pollution, patenting genes with a brief history of what's already taken place over the last 15 years, and how the world trade organization is used to force countries to accept these products or to outlaw product labeling. There is a chapter on 2 journalists in Florida who got into a lot of trouble with Monsanto for attempting to run a television series on a hormone injected into cows to increase milk production. <p>Some of the information in this book is quite shocking. The sheer amount of money Monsanto has used to bribe and "settle out of court" tells me there's got to be something very wrong in what they're doing. I enjoyed the "follow the money" advice this book offers - if an "expert" is saying there's no harm at all any of this try to find out who's paying the salary or funding the grant. This quote from pg. 106 is unforgettable, "We paid $3 billion for these television stations. We will decide what the news is......"<p>Lots of information packed into a small book, also a guide to organizations and further information. Mr. Anderson succeeds admirably in eliciting shock and outrage in the reader with his clear, succinct, and fluid prose on the visible and invisible dangers of agricultural biotechnology. Modern day manipulation of the food chain and the ecosystems that provide humanity with its food (and other valuable services) has the potential to irreversibly affect both human beings and the environment. While the scientific and industrial cognoscenti exchange increasingly friendly repartee genetically modified foods, and governments turn a blind eye to `scientific progress', Mr. Anderson is right when he says that the human is being unwillingly and unwittingly subjected to an experiment whose long-term effects are difficult to assess.<p>Written shortly before scientists began to seriously question the effects of even minute quantities of hormone disrupting and cancer-causing, mutagenic chemicals and the potential effects of errant DNA in the greater environment, and shortly after genetically modified crops had been shown to sterilize insects and willy-nilly cross-pollinate with plants of the same species located either nearby or a great distance away, this handy little book introduces a considerable amount of information on genetic engineering and its dubious successes to readers who are not well versed in the sciences. In seven highly fluid and readable chapters, the book addresses a plethora of ethical, economic and technological issues associated with genetic engineering and agricultural biotechnology. The first chapter lucidly explains many of the key concepts underpinning genetic engineering as it applies to agriculture, and introduces most of the very real specters to health and the environment that the technology not only has caused, but also can and ultimately may cause in the future. The author devotes one chapter each to the thorny issues of genetic engineering and its effects on the environment, the way that agricultural biotechnology portents to and actually is transforming farming globally for the worse, and the attempts of individuals, universities and corporations, with all the zeal characteristic of a gold rush mentality, to patent every snippet of DNA they can get their hands on. Readers may find the book's fifth chapter to be truly shocking, as it describes in vivid detail the apparent disinterest of governments in industrialized nations to safeguard the best interests of its citizens- especially in the area of public health, from the bitter fruit of agricultural biotechnology. Chapter six presents a detailed case study of one particular biological abomination- the superfluous use of increasing amounts of biotech hormones to increase milk production, even in the face of persistent gluts year after year. The seventh and final details efforts by many groups to resist the onslaught of the adoption of such biotechnologies, and offers insight into the ways the poor in Third World countries are used as dupes and guinea pigs for these less than optimal technologies. The author also includes a detailed list of resources that concerned readers can tap into in their efforts to learn more or to protect themselves from most, but not all, of the spurious products of agricultural biotechnology.<p>In reading this book, one gets the feeling that the author wants us to share in his concern about the lingering effects of these overly hyped technologies of dubious merit. While the author clearly did his best to choose many of genetic engineering's most egregious examples, readers of this text should bear in mind that these examples merely represent the tip of the iceberg. As a scientist and engineer, it is hard for me come up with a suitable justification for many of the fruits of ag biotech, given that farmers in the industrialized countries are plagued with the onerous problem of oversupply. Furthermore, with slight modifications to current agricultural practices, and a shifting of inputs and plant resources, every single person on the planet could easily be fed, so the excuse of biotechnology feeding the world's hungry does not quite wash either. Basically, I find the motives of big biotech companies to be less than altruistic: if the biotech corporation controls the seeds and the larger food supply, then they control the people dependent upon them.<p>In this day and age of financial skullduggery and scientific chicanery, astute citizens must actively behoove themselves to exercise caution and awareness at all times. As Huff told us in his classic little book, How to Lie with Statistics, if the honest person wants to prevent oneself from being burglarized, then it pays to learn the ways of the criminally minded. As such, this book's disclosure of the aggressive foisting of these dubious scientific advances on an unsuspecting public by an unscrupulous gaggle of corporate, academic and government interests clearly demonstrates a most disturbing and peculiar case of criminal intent of the highest degree.