1. Biology: from analysis to synthesis
Jamie A. Davies
in Synthetic Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Synthetic biology—the creation of new living systems by design—is a rapidly growing area of science and technology that is attracting attention well beyond the laboratory and is provoking ...
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Conclusion: the varied concepts of the gene
Jonathan Slack
in Genes: A Very Short Introduction
There are many concepts of the gene. They range from defined sequences of DNA encoding proteins, to variant genes distinguishing individuals (markers), to unknown genes controlling ...
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7. Creating life
Jamie A. Davies
in Synthetic Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Synthetic biology has ‘two souls’, one focused on engineering new features into existing life, the other aiming to create life de novo. The goal of creating life is arguably far more ...
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8. Cultural impact
Jamie A. Davies
in Synthetic Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Science is not an isolated enterprise: it is affected by and affects broader society and culture. Synthetic biology has changed aspects of education; stimulated artists, writers, and ...
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5. Evolutionary genomics
John Archibald
in Genomics: A Very Short Introduction
We are still learning how to make sense of what genome sequences have to tell us. ‘Evolutionary genomics’ first considers the ‘molecular clock’, a bedrock concept underlying modern ...
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7. The future of genomics
John Archibald
in Genomics: A Very Short Introduction
‘The future of genomics’ explores some of the ways in which genome science will continue to expand the frontiers of human knowledge, as well as change our world and the way we interact with ...
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2. Genes as DNA
Jonathan Slack
in Genes: A Very Short Introduction
After 1944, a remarkable set of discoveries established the overall shape of modern molecular biology and most famous of all was the discovery of the three dimensional structure of DNA: the ...
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4. Genes as markers
Jonathan Slack
in Genes: A Very Short Introduction
‘Genes as markers’ shows that most genetic variation does not affect gene function or activity, but it is still of enormous interest. Notably it enables the identification of individual ...
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1. Genes before 1944
Jonathan Slack
in Genes: A Very Short Introduction
‘Genes before 1944’ outlines the development in our understanding of genes based on Gregor Mendel’s work carried out in 1866 on hereditary factors, to Oswald Avery’s paper on the chemical ...
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6. Genes in evolution
Jonathan Slack
in Genes: A Very Short Introduction
‘Genes in evolution’ illustrates that a great deal of change in the primary sequence of DNA was not adaptive at all. It was not natural selection, but ‘neutral evolution’, consisting of an ...
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5. Genes of small effect
Jonathan Slack
in Genes: A Very Short Introduction
‘Genes of small effect’ considers unidentified genes whose variants collectively affect some characteristic of interest. Many aspects of living organisms depend not on the action of a few ...
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6. Genomics and the microbial world
John Archibald
in Genomics: A Very Short Introduction
Together, molecular biology and genomics have made it possible to explore the diversity and ecology of the 99 per cent of microbes that cannot be cultured in laboratories. ‘Genomics and the ...
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5. Heredity in the 19th century
John Waller
in Heredity: A Very Short Introduction
The 19th century stands out in the history of ideas about heredity both for the striking progress made in the biological sciences and for the intensity of the conflict between competing ...
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3. Heredity in the early modern world, 1450–1700
John Waller
in Heredity: A Very Short Introduction
‘Heredity in the early modern world, 1450–1700’ outlines several factors that gave the concept of inheritance a new salience during this period. First, a period of renewed excitement about ...
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4. Heredity in the Enlightenment
John Waller
in Heredity: A Very Short Introduction
The concept of heredity came of age during the Enlightenment. Botanists and naturalists pioneered the systematic study of sex and inheritance; natural philosophers refined their ideas about ...
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2. How synthetic biology is done
Jamie A. Davies
in Synthetic Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Synthetic biology depends on technologies for reading and writing DNA sequences of genes. Modification is almost always done at the genetic level because genes are heritable, needing to be ...
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2. How to read the book of life
John Archibald
in Genomics: A Very Short Introduction
For all its biological importance, DNA is a fragile molecule so extracting it is a difficult process. ‘How to read the book of life’ explains the techniques required to sequence DNA. It ...
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4. The human genome in biology and medicine
John Archibald
in Genomics: A Very Short Introduction
The initial phase of human genome sequencing is often referred to as ‘the’ Human Genome Project. But there were two different projects, one publicly funded, the other supported by a private ...
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3. Making sense of genes and genomes
John Archibald
in Genomics: A Very Short Introduction
While DNA sequencing is faster and cheaper than ever before, genome assembly remains a significant challenge. ‘Making sense of genes and genomes’ explores how laboratory and computational ...
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6. Molecules and men
John Waller
in Heredity: A Very Short Introduction
‘Molecules and men’ describes the brilliance, ingenuity, and ugliness with which ideas about heredity were developed and deployed from 1900 into the 1960s. Within sixty years the new field ...
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