Understanding DNA, Second Edition: The Molecule and How It Works

The Second Edition of Understanding DNA has been entirely revised and updated, and expanded by more than 50% to cover new advances. The book explains step-by-step how DNA forms specific structures, the nature of these structures, and how they fundamentally affect the biological processes of transcription and replication.

The functional properties of any molecule are directly related to and affected by its structure; this is especially true for DNA, the molecule that carries the code for all life on earth. Written in a clear, concise, and at times lively fashion, Understanding DNA is essential reading for all molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics students, for newcomers to the field from such areas as physics or chemistry, and for even the most seasoned researchers who really want to understand DNA.

New edition, expanded by more than 50%
Completely revised and updated
Includes many additional and updated references
Summarizes the recent studies of DNA in disease and medicine
Contains more than 110 illustrations, some in full color
Describes the basic units of DNA and how these form the double helix
Characterizes the various types of DNA double helix that have been found
Explains how and why DNA twists and curves
Discusses the mechanisms of DNA supercoiling
Summarizes the assembly of DNA and proteins into chromosomes
Outlines the methods used to study DNA structure
Describes the latest work on protein–DNA complexes
Contains simple exercises and further reading at the end of each chapter

Chris Calladine is Professor of Structural Mechanics at the University of Cambridge. In addition to researching aspects of structural engineering, he has applied the methods of structural mechanics to the study of flagella and DNA.

Horace Drew solved several of the first DNA crystal X-ray structures with Richard Dickerson at Caltech, and subsequently spent five years researching DNA and chromosome structures with Aaron Klug at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK He now lives in Australia and is a Principle Research Scientist at the CSIRO Division of Biomolecular Engineering in Sydney.