The Language of Genetics

The Language of Genetics PDF Author: Denis R. Alexander
Publisher: Darton Longman and Todd
ISBN: 9780232528787
Category : Genetics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
The Language of Genetics: An Introduction is the seventh title published in the Templeton Science and Religion Series, in which scientists from a wide range of fields distill their experience and knowledge into brief tours of their respective specialties. In this volume, Dr. Denis R. Alexander offers readers a basic toolkit of information, explanations, and ideas that can help us grasp something of the fascination and the challenge of the language of genetics. Alexander surveys the big picture, covering such topics as the birth of the field; DNA: what it is, how it works, and how it was discovered; our genetic history; the role of genes in diseases, epigenetics, and genetic engineering. The book assumes the reader has little scientific background, least of all in genetics, and approaches these issues in a very accessible way, free of specialized or overly technical jargon. In the last chapter, Dr. Alexander explores some of the big questions raised by genetics: what are its implications for notions of human value and uniqueness? Is evolution consistent with religious belief? If we believe in a God of love, then how come the evolutionary process, utterly dependent upon the language of genetics, is so wasteful and involves so much pain and suffering? How far should we go in manipulating the human genome? Does genetics subvert the idea that life has some ultimate meaning and purpose? Genetics is a rapidly advancing field; it seems new discoveries make headlines every other week. The Language of Genetics is intended to give the general reader the knowledge he or she needs to assess and understand the next big story in genetics. -- Book Description.

The Language of Genetics

The Language of Genetics PDF Author: Denis R. Alexander
Publisher: Darton Longman and Todd
ISBN: 9780232528787
Category : Genetics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
The Language of Genetics: An Introduction is the seventh title published in the Templeton Science and Religion Series, in which scientists from a wide range of fields distill their experience and knowledge into brief tours of their respective specialties. In this volume, Dr. Denis R. Alexander offers readers a basic toolkit of information, explanations, and ideas that can help us grasp something of the fascination and the challenge of the language of genetics. Alexander surveys the big picture, covering such topics as the birth of the field; DNA: what it is, how it works, and how it was discovered; our genetic history; the role of genes in diseases, epigenetics, and genetic engineering. The book assumes the reader has little scientific background, least of all in genetics, and approaches these issues in a very accessible way, free of specialized or overly technical jargon. In the last chapter, Dr. Alexander explores some of the big questions raised by genetics: what are its implications for notions of human value and uniqueness? Is evolution consistent with religious belief? If we believe in a God of love, then how come the evolutionary process, utterly dependent upon the language of genetics, is so wasteful and involves so much pain and suffering? How far should we go in manipulating the human genome? Does genetics subvert the idea that life has some ultimate meaning and purpose? Genetics is a rapidly advancing field; it seems new discoveries make headlines every other week. The Language of Genetics is intended to give the general reader the knowledge he or she needs to assess and understand the next big story in genetics. -- Book Description.

Decoding the Language of Genetics

Decoding the Language of Genetics PDF Author: David Botstein
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781621820925
Category : SCIENCE
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
"This is a book about the conceptual language of genetics. There is a need for special words and terms to deal with some of the essential abstractions in genetics; these are the focus of this book. It is intended to help readers with diverse interests and experience to think about genetic analysis in a more sophisticated and creative way."--Publisher information.

Genes, peoples, and languages

Genes, peoples, and languages PDF Author: Luigi Luca Cavalli- Sforza
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 227

Get Book

Book Description


An Introduction to Genetics for Language Scientists

An Introduction to Genetics for Language Scientists PDF Author: Dan Dediu
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316239667
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Get Book

Book Description
During the last few decades we have discovered enormous amounts about our genomes, their evolution and, importantly for linguists and language scientists, the genetic foundations of language and speech. Accessible and readable, this introduction is designed specifically for students and researchers working in language and linguistics. It carefully focuses on the most relevant concepts, methods and findings in the genetics of language and speech, and covers a wide range of topics such as heritability, the molecular mechanisms through which genes influence our language, and the evolutionary forces affecting them. Filling a large gap in the literature, this essential guide explores relevant examples including hearing loss, stuttering, dyslexia, brain growth and development, as well as the normal range of variation. It also contains a helpful glossary of terms, and a wide range of references so the reader can pursue topics of interest in more depth.

The Language of Genes

The Language of Genes PDF Author: Steve Jones
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385474288
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Get Book

Book Description
Did you know that two of every three people reading this book will die for reasons connected with the genes they carry? That our DNA gradually changes with age, which is why older parents are more likely to give birth to children with genetic defects than younger parents? That each individual is a kind of living fossil, carrying within a genetic record that goes back to the beginnings of humanity? In The Language of Genes, renowned geneticist Steve Jones explores the meanings and explodes the myths of human genetics, offering up an extraordinary picture of what we are, what we were, and what we may become. “An essential book for anyone interested in the development and possible future of our species.”—Kirkus Reviews “This is one of the most insightful books on genetics to date and certainly the most entertaining.”—The Wall Street Journal

Dealing with Genes

Dealing with Genes PDF Author: Paul Berg
Publisher: University Science Books
ISBN: 9780935702699
Category : Genes
Languages : en
Pages : 380

Get Book

Book Description
Those of us who read a daily newspaper or scan a weekly magazine have grown accustomed to being told that the science of genetics influences countless aspects of our existence, from human development, health, and disease to the ecological balance of our planet. We accept this, and yet most of us have only the faintest idea of what a gene really is or how it functions. This book, then, is a primer on modern genetics, and its aim is to teach any interested general reader all he or she needs to know about how genes work - and about how a detailed knowledge of their workings can be applied to some of the most pressing problems of our time. Written by two world-renowned researchers in molecular biology and illustrated with uncommon clarity and precision, Dealing with Genes will satisfy the interest of general readers, including those who have little formal background in biology. It will also serve admirably as an authoritative text for students taking nonmajors courses in biology, genetics, molecular biology, biotechnology, and related disciplines.

Human Language

Human Language PDF Author: Peter Hagoort
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262042630
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 753

Get Book

Book Description
A unique overview of the human language faculty at all levels of organization. Language is not only one of the most complex cognitive functions that we command, it is also the aspect of the mind that makes us uniquely human. Research suggests that the human brain exhibits a language readiness not found in the brains of other species. This volume brings together contributions from a range of fields to examine humans' language capacity from multiple perspectives, analyzing it at genetic, neurobiological, psychological, and linguistic levels. In recent decades, advances in computational modeling, neuroimaging, and genetic sequencing have made possible new approaches to the study of language, and the contributors draw on these developments. The book examines cognitive architectures, investigating the functional organization of the major language skills; learning and development trajectories, summarizing the current understanding of the steps and neurocognitive mechanisms in language processing; evolutionary and other preconditions for communication by means of natural language; computational tools for modeling language; cognitive neuroscientific methods that allow observations of the human brain in action, including fMRI, EEG/MEG, and others; the neural infrastructure of language capacity; the genome's role in building and maintaining the language-ready brain; and insights from studying such language-relevant behaviors in nonhuman animals as birdsong and primate vocalization. Section editors Christian F. Beckmann, Carel ten Cate, Simon E. Fisher, Peter Hagoort, Evan Kidd, Stephen C. Levinson, James M. McQueen, Antje S. Meyer, David Poeppel, Caroline F. Rowland, Constance Scharff, Ivan Toni, Willem Zuidema

The Language of the Genes

The Language of the Genes PDF Author: Steve Jones
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Get Book

Book Description
Commissioned by the BBC to deliver the Reith Lectures in 1991, Steve Jones has used them as the basis for this book which argues that the evolution of our genes may be compared to the evolution of language. This book shows readers how close we are to success in the search for our origins.

What's in Your Genes?

What's in Your Genes? PDF Author: Katie McKissick
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1440567646
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book

Book Description
Get the low-down on genetics with easy-to-understand terms and clear explanations. From interpreting dominant and recessive genes to learning about mutations, this book shows the different factors that can determine a person's DNA.

Genetics and the Unsettled Past

Genetics and the Unsettled Past PDF Author: Keith Wailoo
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813553369
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371

Get Book

Book Description
Our genetic markers have come to be regarded as portals to the past. Analysis of these markers is increasingly used to tell the story of human migration; to investigate and judge issues of social membership and kinship; to rewrite history and collective memory; to right past wrongs and to arbitrate legal claims and human rights controversies; and to open new thinking about health and well-being. At the same time, in many societies genetic evidence is being called upon to perform a kind of racially charged cultural work: to repair the racial past and to transform scholarly and popular opinion about the “nature” of identity in the present. Genetics and the Unsettled Past considers the alignment of genetic science with commercial genealogy, with legal and forensic developments, and with pharmaceutical innovation to examine how these trends lend renewed authority to biological understandings of race and history. This unique collection brings together scholars from a wide range of disciplines—biology, history, cultural studies, law, medicine, anthropology, ethnic studies, sociology—to explore the emerging and often contested connections among race, DNA, and history. Written for a general audience, the book’s essays touch upon a variety of topics, including the rise and implications of DNA in genealogy, law, and other fields; the cultural and political uses and misuses of genetic information; the way in which DNA testing is reshaping understandings of group identity for French Canadians, Native Americans, South Africans, and many others within and across cultural and national boundaries; and the sweeping implications of genetics for society today.