Unraveling Dna: The Most Important Molecule Of Life, Revised And Updated Edition

by Maxim D. Frank-Kamenetskii

Overview

With elegant simplicity, Maxim D. Frank-Kamenetskii elucidates the essential history and inner workings of DNA—a tiny molecule that holds within it the deepest mysteries of life. As Frank-Kamenetskii explains, DNA will undoubtedly shape our future, too, as we call upon it to convict criminals, clone creatures, and ultimately, cure cancer. This definitive guide to DNA, a previous version of which sold over 300,000 copies in the author's native Russia, promises to both inform and inspire.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780201155846
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	10/14/1997
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1240L (what's this?)

About the Author

Maxim D. Frank-Kamenetskii is a professor at Boston University's Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Department of Biomedical Engineering. Best known for his contribution in the field of DNA topology, supercoiling, and unusual structures, Frank-Kamenetskii was a founding member of “Moscow Tribune,” the Russian intellectual club organized by Andrei Sakharov.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. From Modern Physics to Modern Biology
The 1930s
The Phage Group
Erwin Schroedinger
X-ray Crystallography
Watson and Crick
Chapter 2. From DNA to Protein
How Protein Is Made
The Genetic Code
Is the Code Universal?
Chapter 3. Meet the Most Important Molecule
It Is Like … a Corkscrew
It Is Like a Window Pane
It Melts, but Not Like Ice
It Is Like the Trail of a Man Lost in the Woods
Chapter 4. Under the Sign of DNA
The Crisis of Molecular Biology
The Breakthrough
Chapter 5. We Can Reshuffle the Genes!
Humanity's Age-Old Dream
Plasmids
Bacteria Produce the Protein We Need
Chapter 6. DNA Texts
More About the Crisis
Gel Electrophoresis
How DNA Texts Are Read
The First Surprises
The Code of Mitochondria
Chapter 7. Where Do Genes Come From?
The Theory of Evolution and Genetics
Genes in Pieces
Jumping Genes
Chapter 8. Circular DNA
DNA Rings
Superhelicity and Topoisomerases
Why Superhelical?
Physicists and Mathematicians at Work
Chapter 9. Knotted DNA
About Knots
Knots in Polymers
Knots in Single-Stranded DNA
Knotted Double Helix
Chapter 10. Genetic Engineering: Hazards and Hopes
Science and Invention
Is Genetic Engineering Dangerous?
Genetic-Engineering Pharmacology
The Coming of the Golden Age
Chapter 11. The Controversy Around the Double Helix
Are Watson and Crick Right?
The Z form
The H form
Chapter 12. Frontier Prospecting
Protein Engineering
Selection According to Genotype
DNA and Cancer
DNA and the Heart
Changing Heredity
Guide to Further Reading
Glossary