Herding Hemingway's cats : understanding how our genes work / Kat Arney.
The language of genes has become common parlance. We know they make your eyes blue, your hair curly or your nose straight. The media tells us that our genes control the risk of cancer, heart disease, alcoholism or Alzheimer's. The cost of DNA sequencing has plummeted from billions of pounds to a few hundred, and gene-based advances in medicine hold huge promise.So we've all heard of genes, but how do they actually work?There are 2.2 metres of DNA inside every one of your cells, encoding roughly 20,000 genes. These are the 'recipes' that tell our cells how to make the building blocks of life, along with myriad control switches ensuring they're turned on and off at the right time and in the right place. But rather than a static string of genetic code, this is a dynamic, writhing biological library. Figuring out how it all works - how your genes build your body - is a major challenge for researchers around the world. And what they're discovering is that far from genes being a fixed, deterministic blueprint, things are much more random and wobbly than anyone expected.Drawing on stories ranging from six toed cats and stickleback hips to Mickey Mouse mice and zombie genes - told by researchers working at the cutting edge of genetics - Kat Arney explores the mysteries in our genomes with clarity, flair and wit, creating a companion reader to the book of life itself.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781472910042
- ISBN: 1472910044
- ISBN: 9781472910059
- ISBN: 1472910052
- Physical Description: 288 pages ; 22 cm.
- Publisher: London, UK ; Bloomsbury Sigma, 2016.
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-279) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | It's all about that base -- It's not what you've got, it's what you do with it that counts -- Taking out the garbage -- A bit of dogma -- Throwing the switch -- The secret's in the blend -- Cats with thumbs -- Fish with hips -- Mice and men and mole rats, oh my! -- Party town -- Pimp my genome -- Cut and paste -- Nature's red pen -- Ever-increasing circles -- Silence of the genes -- Night of the living dead -- On the hop -- Opening a can of wobbly worms -- Everyone's a little bit mutant -- Opening the black box -- Blame the parents -- Meet the Mickey Mouse mice -- In search of the 21st-century gene. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | DNA > Popular works. Genes > Popular works. |
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Available copies
- 9 of 9 copies available at Evergreen Indiana.
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- 0 current holds with 9 total copies.
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Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greensburg-Decatur Co PL - Greensburg | 572.861 ARNEY (Text) | 32826014006928 | Adult Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Hussey-Mayfield Mem. PL - Zionsville | 572.86 ARNEY (Text) | 33946003082653 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Indiana State Library - Indianapolis | ISLG 929 A748HE (Text) | 00000106721491 | Genealogy Circulating Collection | Available | - |
Indiana State Library - Indianapolis | ISLG 929 A748HE (Text) | 00000106915341 | Genealogy Circulating Collection | Available | - |
LaGrange Co PL - LaGrange Main Library | 572.861 ARN (Text) | 30477100914690 | Adult: Nonfiction | Available | - |
Morgan Co PL - Martinsville Main Library | 576.5 ARN (Text) | 78551000526033 | Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Putnam County Public Library - Main | 576.5 ARN (Text) | 30041002092789 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
West Lafayette PL - West Lafayette | 572.861 ARN (Text) | 31951004088776 | 2nd Floor - Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Whiting PL - Whiting | 572.86 AR62 (Text) | 51735011742623 | Adult department | Available | - |
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Kat Arney is a science writer and broadcaster working for Cancer Research UK, the Naked Scientists, the BBC and other outlets. Her work has been published in the Guardian, Science, New Scientist, BBC Online, and Al-Jazeera Online. This is her first book. She lives in London, England.