Genetic Variation and Human Disease: Principles and Evolutionary Approaches (Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology, Series Number 11) - Hardcover

Weiss, Kenneth M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521334217 ISBN 13: 9780521334211

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1993

Synopsis

Modern laboratory and computing advances have made it possible to identify which genes are responsible for a disease (or other biological traits) and to identify those genes. This book presents a survey of the methods that are being used to generate these successes, especially to study disease in families. The methods of epidemiology and genetics are surveyed, and related to molecular genetic data, with examples from both pediatric and chronic disease. The pattern of variation that has been found is best understood from the evolutionary perspective. Because these methods and ideas apply to any biological trait, not just to disease, this is a general book about the genetic control of biological traits.

About this title

Book Description

Modern laboratory and computing advances have made it possible to identify the genes responsible for a disease or other biological traits. The methods of epidemiology and genetics are surveyed and related to molecular genetic data, with examples from pediatric and chronic disease.

Review

"...a most useful reference for those who wish to familiarize themselves with the area in general and to gain some comprehension of its methodologies." Roger W. Melvold, Doody's Health Science Book Review Journal

"...provides an overview of the concepts and methods needed to understand the genetic basis of biological traits, including disease, in humans. Using examples of qualitative and quantitative phenotypes, Professor Weiss shows how genetic variation may be quantified, and how relationships between genotype and phenotype may be inferred....will appeal to a wide range of biologists and biological anthropologists interested in the genetic basis of biological traits, as well as to epidemiologists, biomedical scientists, human geneticists and molecular biologists." Human Genome Abstracts

"...provides a comprehensive yet readable account of concepts and methods new to genetic epidemiology and molecular biology, which allows examination of the genetic basis of biological traits." N. Krusko, Choice

"...well-documented, clearly written, scholarly text...will certainly be valuable to students of genetics, epidemiology, molecular biology and biological anthropology, and to all who are interested in solving the molecular etiology of disease phenotypes and in studying the human gene pool and its behavior throughout evolution." Trends in Genetics

"...the value of the book lies in the mixing of quantitative methods of empirical findings of modern biology." Jonathan Flint, Times Higher Education Supplement

"This is a very fine and rewarding work. We find here no less than an explanation of the current status of, and a means for understanding, the rising flood of information on human genetic variability." William Klitz, Quarterly Review of Biology

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521334217
• ISBN 13: 9780521334211
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 378