Concepts of Genetics (9th Edition)

Book Preface

It is essential that textbook authors step back and look with fresh eyes as each edition of their work goes into planning and preparation. In doing so, they always need to pose two main questions: (1) How has the body of information in their field—in this case genetics—shifted since the last edition? (2) What pedagogic innovations might they add that will unquestionably enhance students’ learning? The preparation of the 9th edition of Concepts of Genetics, now well into its third decade of providing support for students studying in this field, occasioned such a fresh look. And what we clearly saw is that in the past three years, the rapid expansion of the study of genomics, and the impact of that information at all levels in the field of genetics, represent the major advances in the field. In keeping with these observations, we have placed particular emphasis on genomics as we carefully revised and updated the entire text. This was accomplished not only by adding a new chapter related to genomics, but also by devising a new pedagogic feature that brings genomic information into each and every chapter in the text. Called Exploring Genomics, this innovation provides the information necessary for students to explore on the Web one or more databases closely related to the chapter topics being studied.We will discuss the details of our added coverage of genomic information as well as Exploring Genomics later in this preface.

The field of genetics has grown tremendously since our book was first published, both in what we know and what we want beginning students to comprehend. In creating this edition, we sought not only to continue to familiarize students with the most important discoveries of the past 150 years, but also to help them relate this information to the underlying genetic mechanisms that explain cellular processes, biological diversity, and evolution. We have also emphasized connections that link transmission genetics, molecular genetics, genomics, and proteomics.

In the first decade of this new millennium, discoveries in genetics continue to be numerous and profound. As students of genetics, the thrill of being part of this era must be balanced by a strong sense of responsibility and careful attention to the many scientific, social, and ethical issues that have already arisen, and others that will undoubtedly arise in the future. Policy makers, legislators, and an informed public will increasingly depend on knowledge of the details of genetics in order to address these issues. As a result, there has never been a greater need for a genetics textbook that clearly explains the principles of genetics. Goals In the 9th edition of Concepts of Genetics, as in all past editions, we had six major goals. Specifically, we sought to:

â–  Emphasize the basic concepts of genetics. xxvi
â–  Write clearly and directly to students in order to provide understandable explanations of complex, analytical topics.
â–  Establish a careful organization within and between chapters.
â–  Maintain constant emphasis on science as a way of illustrating how we know what we know.
â–  Propagate the rich history of genetics, which so beautifully illustrates how information is acquired during scientific investigation.
â–  Create inviting, engaging, and pedagogically useful full-color figures enhanced by equally helpful photographs to support concept development.

These goals collectively serve as the cornerstone of Concepts of Genetics. This pedagogic foundation allows the book to be used in courses with many different approaches and lecture formats.

Although the chapters are presented in a coherent order that represents one approach to offering a course in genetics, they are nevertheless written to be independent of one another, allowing instructors to utilize them in various sequences. We believe that the varied approaches embodied in these goals together provide students with optimal support for their study of genetics.

Writing a textbook that achieves these goals and having the opportunity to continually improve on each new edition has been a labor of love for us. The creation of each of the nine editions is a reflection not only of our passion for teaching genetics, but also of the constructive feedback and encouragement provided by adopters, reviewers, and our students over the past three decades.