Vogel And Motulsky S Human Genetics

The first two editions of this book, published in 1979 and in 1986, were well re ceived by the scientific community. Translations into Italian, Japanese, and Rus sian suggest that this book was regarded useful in many parts of the world. Mean while, human genetics has seen dramatic developments, and the "molecular revo lution" has attracted thousands of scientists, including many molecular biologists, to this field. About 3700 human genes have already been mapped to chromosomal sites. Many such genes have been cloned, and the various mutations causing dis ease have been identified. Novel mutational mechanisms such as expanded trinu cleotide repeats have been discovered in conditions such as Huntington's disease and the fragile X syndrome of mental retardation. Gene action now can often be elucidated by studying the pathway from gene to phenotype following positional cloning rather than working in the opposite direction, as was customarily done be fore the tools of "new genetics" were available. In an increasing number of genetic diseases, the pathogenic mechanisms have been elucidated with positive conse quences for prevention and treatment. It therefore became necessary to rewrite al most completely major portions of this book. These developments are now making genetics arguably the leading basic science for medicine, as well as a recognized medical speciality. But all these changes do not mean that the entire framework of human genetics had to be reconstructed.

The fourth edition of this classical reference book can once again be relied upon to present a cohesive and up-to-date exposition of all aspects of human and medical genetics. Human genetics has become one of the main basic sciences in medicine, and molecular genetics is increasingly becoming a major part of this field. This new edition integrates a wealth of new information - mainly describing the influence of the "molecular revolution" - including the principles of epigenetic processes which together create the phenotype of a human being. Other revisions are an improved layout, sub-division into a larger number of chapters, as well as two-colour print throughout for ease of reference, and many of the figures are now in full colour. For graduates and those already working in medical genetics.

The fourth, completely revised edition of this classic reference and textbook presents a cohesive and up-to-date exposition of the concepts, results, and problems underlying theory and practice in human and medical genetics. In the 10 years since the appearance of the third edition, many new insights have emerged for understanding the genetic basis of development and function in human health and disease. Human genetics, with its emphasis on molecular concepts and techniques, has become a key discipline in medicine and the biomedical sciences. The fourth edition has been extensively expanded by new chapters on timely topics such as epigenetics, pharmacogenetics, gene therapy, cloning, and genetic epidemiology, and databases for basic and clinical genetics. In addition a multi/chapter section giving an overview on the main model organisms (mouse, dog, worm, fly, fish) used in human genetics research has been introduced. This book will be of interest to human and medical geneticists, scientists in all biomedical sciences, physicians and epidemiologists, as well as to graduate and postgraduate students who desire to learn the fundamentals of this fascinating field.

Provides information on the molecular basis of human genetics and outlines the principles of other epigenetic processes which together create the phenotype of a human being. This work also discusses the molecular basis for the concepts, methods and results in fields such as population genetics.

The essays in this collection examine how human heredity was understood between the end of the First World War and the early 1970s. The contributors explore the interaction of science, medicine and society in determining how heredity was viewed across the world during the politically turbulent years of the twentieth century.