People have always sought medical care that is tailored to every individual patient. Alongside with the historical development of institutions of care, the vision of personal and 'holistic' care persisted. Patient-centred medicine, interpersonal communication and shared decision making have become central to medical practice and services. This evolving vision of 'personalized medicine' is in the forefront of medicine, creating debates among ethicists, philosophers and sociologists of medicine about the nature of disease and the definition of wellness, the impact on the daily life of patients, as well as its implications on low-income countries. Is increased 'precision' also an improvement on the personal aspects of care or erosion of privacy? Do 'precise' and 'personalized' approach marginalize public health, and can this care be personalized without attention to culture, economy and society? The book provides a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary discussion of the ethos and ethics of precision/personal medicine, involving scientists who have shaped the field, in dialogue with ethicists, social scientists and philosophers of science. The contributing scholars come from all over the world and from different cultural backgrounds providing reflective perspectives of history of ideas, critical theory and technology assessment, together with the actual work done by pioneers in the field. It explores issues such as global justice, gender, public health, pharmaceutical industry, international law and religion, and explores themes discussed in relation to personalized medicine such as new-born screening and disorders of consciousness. This book will be of interest to academicians in bioethics, history of medicine, social sciences of medicine as well as general educated readers.

There have been remarkable advances towards discovering agents that exhibit selectivity and sequence-specificity for DNA, as well as understanding the interactions that underlie its propensity to bind molecules. This progress has important applications in many areas of biotechnology and medicine, notably in cancer treatment as well as in future gene targeting therapies. The editor and contributing authors are leaders in their fields and provide useful perspectives from diverse and interdisciplinary backgrounds on the current status of this broad area. The role played by chemistry is a unifying theme. Early chapters cover methodologies to evaluate DNA-interactive agents and then the book provides examples of DNA-interactive molecules and technologies in development as therapeutic agents. DNA-binding metal complexes, peptide and polyamide–DNA interactions, and gene targeting tools are some of the most compelling topics treated in depth. This book will be a valuable resource for postgraduate students and researchers in chemical biology, biochemistry, structural biology and medicinal fields. It will also be of interest to supramolecular chemists and biophysicists.

Mapping and, ultimately, deciphering the human genome is a major human and scientific adventure that involves thousands of researchers world-wide and considerable funds. Bertrand Jordan, an active scientist in this field, became also a privileged observer through a sabbatical year devoted to visiting nearly a hundred participating laboratories around the world. This placed him in an ideal position to see, discuss, record and analyse progress and difficulties in this endeavour. These observations are the basis for a regular feature, "Chroniques Genomiques" (Tales of the Genome) published in the French periodical medecine/sciences. This book is an integrated, expanded and updated version of the 1990-1993 chronicles. It provides a technically detailed but accessible account of the "Genome World" from the viewpoint of a practising scientist. It describes the strategies implemented in settings that range from small laboratories to semi-industrial installations such as "Genethon", and the associated questions in terms of national policies, economic stakes and ethical issues.

John Butler, bestselling author of Forensic DNA Typing, now applies his expertise on the subject of DNA analysis into an introductory textbook. Fundamentals of Forensic DNA Typing walks students step-by-step through the DNA analysis process beginning with collection of evidence at a crime scene to the statistical interpretation of the results. Also included are brief discussions of such news worthy topics as victim identification from the September 11, 2001 attacks, the identification of the remains of the Romanovs, the last Russian Royal family, and the O.J. Simpson case. New applications, such as genetic genealogy and tracing domestic pet hairs to perpetrators, are also detailed. With its clear and understandable style and extensive list of online ancillaries and study aids, this textbook will make the subject accessible to students in forensic science courses worldwide.
Includes a glossary with over 400 terms for quick reference of unfamiliar terms as well as an acronym guide to decipher the DNA dialectContinues in the style of Forensic DNA Typing, 2e, with high-profile cases addressed in D.N.A.Boxes-- "Data, Notes & Applications" sections throughoutAncillaries include: instructor manual Web site, with tailored set of 1000+ PowerPoint slides (including figures), links to online training websites and a test bank with key

DNA. The double helix; the blueprint of life; and, during the early 1950s, a baffling enigma that could win a Nobel Prize. Everyone knows that James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix. In fact, they clicked into place the last piece of a huge jigsaw puzzle that other researchers had assembled over decades. Researchers like Maurice Wilkins (the 'Third Man of DNA') and Rosalind Franklin, famously demonised by Watson. Not forgetting the 'lost heroes' who fought to prove that DNA is the stuff of genes, only to be airbrushed out of history. In Unravelling the Double Helix, Professor Gareth Williams sets the record straight. He tells the story of DNA in the round, from its discovery in pus-soaked bandages in 1868 to the aftermath of Watson's best-seller The Double Helix a century later. You don't need to be a scientist to enjoy this book. It's a page-turner that unfolds like a detective story, with suspense, false leads and treachery, and a fabulous cast of noble heroes and back-stabbing villains. But beware: some of the science is dreadful, and the heroes and villains may not be the ones you expect.

The sequencing of the human genome was a pivotal event in science that opened the door to exploring the structure and function of genes and their regulation. The activation or suppression of transcribed genes is critical to the orchestration of everyday biological processes at the cellular, tissue, and physiological levels. The rapid advance of science and technology has yielded the development of the microarray technique, which has propelled a much deeper understanding of the genome. By combining these technological advances in microarrays with statistical and bioinformatics software, investigators are now able to perform scientific investigations geared towards answering unique biological problems that encompass many fields of research from genetics and evolution to molecular medicine, health, and disease. This book provides an overview of the use and application of microarrays throughout the life sciences to address diverse complex biological questions. In this collection, authors present information on using microarrays to unlock molecular mechanisms and gene expression patterns associated with research areas ranging from biodefense, pathological changes, and monitoring antimicrobial resistance genes to diagnostics, marine biodiversity, and dermal toxicology.

This thorough introductory volume presents the background, applications, and stepwise directions for standard DNA and RNA isolation techniques. Unlike a kit chemistry approach, this book provides a breadth of information necessary for junior or non-expert researchers to learn and apply these techniques in their work. An accessible, indispensable how-to guide for researchers in immunology, molecular biology, zoology, forensic science, genetics, botany, neuroscience, physiology, and others.

This book is the first to approach the fast developing field of wildlife forensics with a focus on the application of DNA profiling and analysis. Case studies throughout link theory and practice and highlight the use of DNA testing in species testing. The text assumes only a basic background knowledge of DNA, so offers information boxes clarifying technical information, step-by-step guidance on sequence comparisons, and a discussion of the different markers used in species testing. This produces a highly accessible introduction for both students and forensic professionals.

Applications of nucleic acids have developed recently to provide solutions for biosensors, diagnostic tools and as platforms for the assembly of complex structures. These developments have been possible as their base sequence can be used to assemble precise structures following simple and predictable rules. Self-assembled DNA can then be amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and this ultimately enables the preparation of synthetic nucleic acids. Their use as molecular tools or DNA-conjugates has recently been enhanced by the addition of other groups including enzymes, fluorophores and small molecules. Written by leaders in the field, this volume describes the preparation and application of these DNA-conjugates. Several have been used as sensors (aptamers, riboswitches and nanostructures) based on the ability of nucleic acids to adopt specific structures in the presence of ligands, whilst others link reporter groups such as proteins or fluorophores to RNA or DNA for detection, single molecule studies, and increasing the sensitivity of PCR. The book is relevant to researchers in areas related to analytical chemistry, chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, molecular pharmacology, and structural and molecular biology.

This textbook describes recent advances in genomics and bioinformatics and provides numerous examples of genome data analysis that illustrate its relevance to real world problems and will improve the reader's bioinformatics skills. Basic data preprocessing with normalization and filtering, primary pattern analysis, and machine learning algorithms using R and Python are demonstrated for gene-expression microarrays, genotyping microarrays, next-generation sequencing data, epigenomic data, and biological network and semantic analyses. In addition, detailed attention is devoted to integrative genomic data analysis, including multivariate data projection, gene-metabolic pathway mapping, automated biomolecular annotation, text mining of factual and literature databases, and integrated management of biomolecular databases. The textbook is primarily intended for life scientists, medical scientists, statisticians, data processing researchers, engineers, and other beginners in bioinformatics who are experiencing difficulty in approaching the field. However, it will also serve as a simple guideline for experts unfamiliar with the new, developing subfield of genomic analysis within bioinformatics.

The release of the complete version of the human genome sequence in 2003 has paved the way for defining gene function and genetic background for phenotypic variation in humans and allowed us to study the aging process in a new light. This new volume results from that research and focuses on the genetic and epigenetic process of aging. While the interpretation of the genome data is still in its initial stages, this new volume looks at the evolving understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in cellular processes, gene function associated with complex traits, epigenetic components involve in gene control and the creation of hypothesis-free genome-wide approaches. Longevity Genes: A Blueprint for Aging explores the genetic and genomic elements that can maintain a long life such as DNA damage mechanisms, epigenetics and the way we can use this knowledge to generate customized treatments. It touches on some of the multidisciplinary approaches as well as genomic-wide association technology used to analyze complex traits. This book describes the hunt for genes affecting complex traits using a high throughput technology, with adequate consideration for the selection of an appropriate population, applications of statistical genetics and computational biology, and most importantly, considering phenotype-genotype association studies. Longevity Genes provides coverage of not only established aspects of genetics and aging, but also new approaches and perceptions in this important area of research.

Fixing Your Damaged and Incorrect Genes is a book about a well-established biological process called DNA REPAIR. The book describes the multiple and varied biochemical strategies by which damaged or incorrect nucleotides are removed from DNA or are corrected. The book includes multiple figures of notable past and present scientists in the field. The book is uniquely focused on an audience of non-biologists and is written in simple language with minimal use of technical terms. It contains an extensive glossary that provides explanations of key words that readers are encouraged to refer to as they read. Fixing Your Damaged and Incorrect Genes is unique, there being no previously published books for non-biologists on the topic of DNA repair.

With over two hundred types of cancer diagnosed to date, researchers the world over have been forced to rapidly update their understanding of the biology of cancer. In fact, only the study of the basic cellular processes, and how these are altered in cancer cells, can ultimately provide a background for rational therapies. Bringing together the state-of-the-art contributions of international experts, Systems Biology of Cancer proposes an ultimate research goal for the whole scientific community: exploiting systems biology to generate in-depth knowledge based on blueprints that are unique to each type of cancer. Readers are provided with a realistic view of what is known and what is yet to be uncovered on the aberrations in the fundamental biological processes, deregulation of major signaling networks, alterations in major cancers and the strategies for using the scientific knowledge for effective diagnosis, prognosis and drug discovery to improve public health.

Everyday Biology #WHATSTHEPOINT is specifically designed for non-biology majors and will expose students to a wide array of topics such as microscopy, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, photosynthesis, cell chemistry, biotechnology, and animal diversity. Everyday Biology #WHATSTHEPOINT was written to specifically showcase how the lessons taught in lab can be used in our everyday lives.

Have you ever wondered about the origins of your ancestors? Are you curious about your ethnicity or race? Have you heard or told stories about your family's past? Would you like to know the science that can help to uncover some of these mysteries? In Who Am I? Identity in the Age of Consumer DNA Testing, communication scholars Anita Kathy Foeman and Bessie Lee Lawton present readers with the most comprehensive and cutting-edge research on DNA and identity construction. They investigate the modern trend of individuals using direct-to-consumer DNA test results to explore and negotiate their personal and social identities. This book explores the numerous misconceptions that exist with regard to race, culture, and ethnicity, and how DNA kits have changed the ways in which race and ethnicity are understood and acted upon in our everyday lives. Featuring groundbreaking research, illuminating case studies, and a compelling analysis of what makes us who we are, Who Am I? is an ideal book for courses in identity, diversity, and other social sciences, including intercultural communication, sociology, anthropology, and psychology.

The DNA of all organisms is constantly being damaged by endogenous and exogenous sources. Oxygen metabolism generates reactive species that can damage DNA, proteins and other organic compounds in living cells. Exogenous sources include ionizing and ultraviolet radiations, carcinogenic compounds and environmental toxins among others. The discovery of multiple DNA lesions and DNA repair mechanisms showed the involvement of DNA damage and DNA repair in the pathogenesis of many human diseases, most notably cancer. These books provide a comprehensive overview of the interdisciplinary area of DNA damage and DNA repair, and their relevance to disease pathology. Edited by recognised leaders in the field, this two-volume set is an appealing resource to a variety of readers including chemists, chemical biologists, geneticists, cancer researchers and drug discovery scientists.

This major new work is an invaluable laboratory manual for all scientists involved with computational genomics. Topics covered include database searches, sequence analysis and comparison, multiple sequence analysis, large-scale EST analysis, genome browsing, protein structure prediction, mircroarray data analysis, and proteomics. The book is also useful as a teaching reference for graduates and undergraduate students.

Phenotypic Switching: Implications in Biology and Medicine provides a comprehensive examination of phenotypic switching across biological systems, including underlying mechanisms, evolutionary significance, and its role in biomedical science. Contributions from international leaders discuss conceptual and theoretical aspects of phenotypic plasticity, its influence over biological development, differentiation, biodiversity, and potential applications in cancer therapy, regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy, among other treatments. Chapters discuss fundamental mechanisms of phenotypic switching, including transition states, cell fate decisions, epigenetic factors, stochasticity, protein-based inheritance, specific areas of human development and disease relevance, phenotypic plasticity in melanoma, prostate cancer, breast cancer, non-genetic heterogeneity in cancer, hepatitis C, and more. This book is essential for active researchers, basic and translational scientists, clinicians, postgraduates and students in genetics, human genomics, pathology, bioinformatics, developmental biology, evolutionary biology and adaptive opportunities in yeast.

This Microbiology Monographs volume covers the current and most recent advances in genomics and genetics, biochemistry, physiology, and molecular biology of C. reinhardtii. Expert international scientists contribute with reviews on the genome, post-genomic techniques, the genetic toolbox development as well as new insights in regulation of photosynthesis and acclimation strategies towards environmental stresses and other structural and genetic aspects, including applicable aspects in biotechnology and biomedicine. Advancement in Chlamydomonas biology allowed new understandings in biotechnological and biomedical related aspects.

This book provides an up-to-date review and analysis of the carrot's nuclear and organellar genome structure and evolution. In addition, it highlights applications of carrot genomic information to elucidate the carrot's natural and agricultural history, reproductive biology, and the genetic basis of traits important in agriculture and human health. The carrot genome was sequenced in 2016, and its relatively small diploid genome, combined with the fact that it is the most complete root crop genome released to date and the first-ever Euasterid II genome to be sequenced, mean the carrot has an important role in the study of plant development and evolution. In addition, the carrot is among the top ten vegetables grown worldwide, and the abundant orange provitamin A carotenoids that account for its familiar orange color make it the richest crop source of vitamin A in the US diet, and in much of the world. This book includes the latest genetic maps, genetic tools and resources, and covers advances in genetic engineering that are relevant for plant breeders and biologists alike.

The year 2001 marked the moment when scientists first read the 3 billion letters of DNA that make up the human genome. This breakthrough begged questions such as "What have we learned about evolution?""How has it changed the way we practice medicine, grow crops, and breed livestock?" and "Is the genomic revolution an overhyped flop?" Answering these and many other queries, this account covers revolutionary genetic developments in areas as diverse as medicine, agriculture, and evolution. From Botswana to Boston and from Australia to Mexico, the contributors to this work reveal what it means to be part of the genome generation.

Birds catch the public imagination like no other group of animals; in addition, birders are perhaps the largest non-professional naturalist community. Genomics and associated bioinformatics have revolutionised daily life in just a few decades. At the same time, this development has facilitated the application of genomics technology to ecological and evolutionary studies, including biodiversity and conservation at all levels. This book reveals how the exciting toolbox of genomics offers new opportunities in all areas of avian biology. It presents contributions from prominent experts at the intersection of avian biology and genomics, and offers an ideal introduction to the world of genomics for students, biologists and bird enthusiasts alike. The book begins with a historical perspective on how genomic technology was adopted by bird ecology and evolution research groups. This led, as the book explains, to a revised understanding of avian evolution, with exciting consequences for biodiversity research as a whole. Lastly, these impacts are illustrated using seminal examples and the latest discoveries from avian biology laboratories around the world.

Sports, Exercise, and Nutritional Genomics: Current Status and Future Directions is the first reference volume to offer a holistic examination of omics-driven advances across different aspects of exercise and sports physiology, biochemistry, sports medicine, psychology, anthropology, and sports nutrition; and highlighting the opportunities towards advance personalized training and athlete health management. More than 70 international experts from 14 countries have discussed key exercise and sport-related themes through the prism of genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, telomere biology, talent in sport, individual differences in response to regular physical activity, that in the future may empower coaches, sports physicians, fitness experts, genetic counselors, and translational scientists to employ various omics data and approaches in improving health and physical performance of people participating in sports and exercise activities. Contributors address current knowledge of genetic influence on athletic performance, individual responses to exercise training, as well as the genetics of musculoskeletal phenotypes, exercise-related injuries, flexibility, and neurodegenerative disorders in athletes. Finally, performance-related and psychological traits associated with epigenetic, transcriptomic and metagenomic biomarkers are also considered, along with nutritional and pharmacogenomic aids in sports medicine and personalized nutrition.

Population genomics has revolutionized various disciplines of biology including population, evolutionary, ecological and conservation genetics, plant and animal breeding, human health, medicine and pharmacology by allowing to address novel and long-standing questions with unprecedented power and accuracy. It employs large-scale or genome-wide genetic information and bioinformatics to address various fundamental and applied aspects in biology and related disciplines, and provides a comprehensive genome-wide perspective and new insights that were not possible before. These advances have become possible due to the development of new and low-cost sequencing and genotyping technologies and novel statistical approaches and software, bioinformatics tools, and models. Population genomics is tremendously advancing our understanding the roles of evolutionary processes, such as mutation, genetic drift, gene flow, and natural selection, in shaping up genetic variation at individual loci and across the genome and populations; improving the assessment of population genetic parameters or processes such as adaptive evolution, effective population size, gene flow, admixture, inbreeding and outbreeding depression, demography, and biogeography; resolving evolutionary histories and phylogenetic relationships of extant, ancient and extinct species; understanding the genomic basis of fitness, adaptation, speciation, complex ecological and economically important traits, and disease and insect resistance; facilitating forensics, genetic medicine and pharmacology; delineating conservation genetic units; and understanding the genetic effects of resource management practices, and assisting conservation and sustainable management of genetic resources. This Population Genomics book discusses the concepts, approaches, applications and promises of population genomics in addressing most of the above fundamental and applied crucial aspects in a variety of organisms from microorganisms to humans. The book provides insights into a range of emerging population genomics topics including population epigenomics, landscape genomics, seascape genomics, paleogenomics, ecological and evolutionary genomics, biogeography, demography, speciation, admixture, colonization and invasion, genomic selection, and plant and animal domestication. This book fills a vacuum in the field and is expected to become a primary reference in Population Genomics world-wide.

This book reflects more than three decades of research on Cellular Automata (CA), and nearly a decade of work on the application of CA to model biological strings, which forms the foundation of 'A New Kind of Computational Biology' pioneered by the start-up, CARLBio. After a brief introduction on Cellular Automata (CA) theory and functional biology, it reports on the modeling of basic biological strings with CA, starting with the basic nucleotides leading to codon and anti-codon CA models. It derives a more involved CA model of DNA, RNA, the entire translation process for amino acid formation and the evolution of protein to its unique structure and function. In subsequent chapters the interaction of Proteins with other bio-molecules is also modeled. The only prior knowledge assumed necessary is an undergraduate knowledge of computer programming and biology. The book adopts a hands-on, "do-it-yourself" approach to enable readers to apply the method provided to derive the CA rules and comprehend how these are related to the physical 'rules' observed in biology. In a single framework, the authors have presented two branches of science - Computation and Biology. Instead of rigorous molecular dynamics modeling, which the authors describe as a Bottoms-Up model, or relying on the Top-Down new age Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Language (ML) that depends on extensive availability of quality data, this book takes the best from both the Top-Down and Bottoms-up approaches and establishes how the behavior of complex molecules is represented in CA. The CA rules are derived from the basic knowledge of molecular interaction and construction observed in biological world but mapped to a few subset of known results to derive and predict results. This book is useful for students, researchers and industry practitioners who want to explore modeling and simulation of the physical world complex systems from a different perspective. It raises the inevitable the question - 'Are life and the universe nothing but a collection of continuous systems processing information'.