Solving Problems in Genetics

Book excerpt: Helping undergraduates in the analysis of genetic problems, this work emphasizes solutions, not just answers. The strategy is to provide the student with the essential steps and the reasoning involved in conducting the analysis, and throughout the book, an attempt is made to present a balanced account of genetics. Topics, therefore, center about Mendelian, cytogenetic, molecular, quantitative, and population genetics, with a few more specialized areas. Whenever possible, the student is provided with the appropriate basic statistics necessary to make some the analyses. The book also builds on itself; that is, analytical methods learned in early parts of the book are subsequently revisited and used for later analyses. A deliberate attempt is made to make complex concepts simple, and sometimes to point out that apparently simple concepts are sometimes less so on further investigation. Any student taking a genetics course will find this an invaluable aid to achieving a good understanding of genetic principles and practice.