Principles of Genetics 6/e               Robert H. Tamarin
		Instructor Resources

Preface

The science of genetics includes the rules of inheritance in cells, individuals, and populations, and the molecular mechanisms by which genes control the growth, development, and appearance of an organism. No area of biology can be truly appreciated or understood without an understanding of genetics because genes control cellular processes, and thus determine the course of evolution. Genetics is an exciting basic science whose concepts provide the framework for the study of modern biology.

This text provides a balanced treatment of the major areas of genetics to prepare you for upper-level courses and to help you share in the excitement of research. Most readers of this text will have taken a general biology course and will have had some background in cell biology and organic chemistry. However, for an understanding of the concepts in this text, the motivated student will need to have completed only an introductory biology course and have had some chemistry and algebra in high school.

Genetics is commonly divided into three areas: classical, molecular, and population. Many genetics teachers feel that a historical approach provides a sound introduction to the field and that a thorough grounding in Mendelian genetics is necessary for an understanding of molecular and population genetics-an approach this text follows. Other teachers, however, may prefer to begin with molecular genetics. For this reason, the chapters have been grouped as units and allow for flexibility in their presentation. A comprehensive glossary and index help maintain continuity if the order of the chapters is changed from the original.

An understanding of genetics is crucial to advancements in medicine, agriculture, and animal breeding. Genetic controversies-such as the potential harm of recombinant DNA, the pros and cons of the Human Genome Project, and cloning of mammals-have captured the interest of the general public. Throughout this text, the implications for human health and welfare of the research conducted in laboratories and universities around the world are pointed out. Digressions, in the form of boxed material, give insights into genetic techniques, controversies, and breakthroughs.

Because genetics is the first analytical biology course for many students, you may have difficulty with its quantitative aspects. There is no substitute for work with pad and pencil. This text provides a larger number of problems to help you learn and retain the material. All problems within the body of the text and a selection at the end of the chapters should be worked through as they are encountered. After you have worked out the problems, you may want to refer to the answer section in Appendix A. We also provide solved problems at the end of each chapter for additional help.

In this text, we stress critical thinking, an approach that emphasizes understanding over memorization, experimental proof over the pronouncements of authorities, problem solving over passive reading, and active participation in lectures. The latter is best accomplished by reading the appropriate text chapter before coming to lecture rather than after. In that way you can use the lecture to gain insight into difficult material rather than spending the lecture hectically transcribing the lecturer's comments onto the notebook page.

For those who wish to pursue particular topics, a reference section at the back of the text provides chapter-by-chapter listings of review articles and articles in the original literature. Although some of these articles might be difficult for the beginner to follow, each is either a landmark paper, a comprehensive summary, or a paper with some valuable aspect to it. Some papers may contain an insightful photograph or diagram. Some magazines and journals are especially recommended for you to look at periodically, including Scientific American, Science, and Nature, because they contain nontechnical summaries as well as material at the cutting edge of genetics. Some articles are included to help the teacher with supplementary material or material from which concepts have been developed. Photographs of selected geneticists are also included. Perhaps the glimpse of a face from time to time will help add a human touch to this science.

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