Human Heredity: Principles and Issues (with InfoTrac) - Softcover

Cummings, Michael

3.61

57 ratings by Goodreads

9780534394745: Human Heredity: Principles and Issues (with InfoTrac)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0534394744 ISBN 13: 9780534394745

Publisher: Brooks Cole, 2002

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The clear, readable, concise, highly polished and refined writing is a traditional strength of HUMAN HEREDITY: PRINCIPLES AND ISSUES. Complex topics and important concepts are presented with great clarity and precise logic, without oversimplifying the topic. In this beautifully illustrated and thoroughly revised new edition, Michael Cummings guides students toward understanding the hows and whys of genetic topics and new discoveries. Using an accessible writing style to explain complex concepts, Cummings includes the right balance of detail at the right level for nonscience students. In addition, he helps student see the social, cultural, and ethical implications associated with the use of genetic technology. In light of the recent developments in these fields (completion of the human genome), Cummings has incorporated such newly acquired "knowledge" and the resulting modern methods and& technology not only in Chapter 13, but also throughout the book, wherever applicable, as a kind of "thematic update." (Before, genetics was research/experiment-driven. Now, it has become data-driven, hence the term "data mining." This edition will also feature a significantly stronger Web integration, mostly built around providing students with the appropriate tools to master the thinking skills needed to learn human genetics. The earlier chapters will feature a web-based "toolbox" which will walk students through the process of understanding, analyzing, and working out problems, and which will in turn enable them to understand the various difficult genetics concepts in the later chapters.

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About the Author:

Michael Cummings is the author and coauthor of a number of widely used college textbooks, including BIOLOGY: SCIENCE AND LIFE; CONCEPTS OF GENETICS; GENETICS: A MOLECULAR PERSPECTIVE; ESSENTIALS OF GENETICS; HUMAN HEREDITY; and HUMAN GENETICS AND SOCIETY. He has also written articles on aspects of genetics for the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology and has published a newsletter on advances in human genetics for instructors and students. He received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Northwestern University. His doctoral work, conducted in the laboratory of Dr. R.C. King, centered on ovarian development in Drosophila melanogaster. After a year on the faculty at Northwestern, he moved to the University of Illinois at Chicago, where for many years he held teaching and research positions. In 2003, he joined the faculty in the Department of Biology at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and currently holds the title of Research Professor. His current research interests involve the organization of DNA sequences in the short-arm and centromere region of human chromosome 21. He is engaged in a collaborative effort to construct a physical map of this region of chromosome 21 for the purpose of exploring molecular mechanisms of chromosome interactions. At the undergraduate level, he has focused on teaching genetics, human genetics for non-majors, and general biology to majors and non-majors. He has received awards given by the university faculty for outstanding teaching, has twice been voted by graduating seniors as the best teacher in their years on campus, and has received several teaching awards from student organizations.

Review:

"Dr. Cummings has organized this text in a manner that carefully builds from fundamental topics and concepts to more complex modern genetics. His approach to the text is unbiased and balanced on controversial issues. This is the best non-majors genetics textbook available. As always, Michael Cummings writing is clear and precise, perfect for the audience to which it is written. The Cummings book continues to get better. It is carefully written and appropriate for non-majors."

"In this edition, Cummings does an excellent job of tackling how biotechnology is changing the way we look at the world through the creation of transgenic organisms and the way that we look at ourselves with new genetic testing procedures and human genomics...When using the sixth edition I had augmented the material on biotechnology and genomics. Now with chapters 14 and 15 in the new edition I will not have to do so. The current material is already there."

"My impression is quite good. The text is designed for students of a non-biology or non-genetics background, introducing them to the complexities of human genetics without overwhelming them with intense molecular terminology...The major strength of the manuscript is that it is very readable. Students with limited exposure to genetics should not be intimidated by the text."

"The strength of the text is that it begins at a simple level and gets more complex as the chapters proceed. All chapters allow areas for bioethical discussions relevant to the students. This keeps the course interesting for the student and allows for exciting discussions."

"I think that more than any other book of its kind, the text succeeds in bringing home the relevancy of the material and making connections with ethical issues that advances in genetics bring with them...The writing style is very accessible to most students. This is the single strongest attribute of the text...In many cases the author introduces a topic or concept and then presents an example that illustrates the topic clearly. This is VERY effective. In addition, the vignettes and "How Would You Vote?" features that have been added provide a nice conceptual framework for the student beginning the chapter. My students already found the book to be user-friendly, and I think the new edition will be an improvement."

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