The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA PDF

Rating: (21 reviews) Author: Mark Schultz ISBN : 9780809089468 New from $6.49 Format: PDF

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Let’s face it: From adenines to zygotes, from cytokinesis to parthenogenesis, even the basics of genetics can sound utterly alien. So who better than an alien to explain it all? Enter Bloort 183, a scientist from an asexual alien race threatened by disease, who’s been charged with researching the fundamentals of human DNA and evolution and laying it all out in clear, simple language so that even his slow-to-grasp-the-point leader can get it. In the hands of the award-winning writer Mark Schultz, Bloort’s predicament becomes the means of giving even the most science-phobic reader a complete introduction to the history and science of genetics that’s as easy to understand as it is entertaining to read.

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• Product Details
• Table of Contents
• Reviews

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Hill and Wang; First Edition edition (January 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809089467
• ISBN-13: 978-0809089468
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.9 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces

The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA PDF

It is no small task to explain how atoms form into chemicals, chromosomes, and the proteins which make up 'the stuff of life'. But Mark Shultz attempts to do that in just under 150 pages. Schultz uses a graphic novel format and copious illustrations to make this sometimes daunting topic accessible to the general reader. The book uses a visual learning style, mirroring each point with an illustrations as it drives through Shultz's text, which can sometimes be as dense in information as the coiled strands of DNA the book is attempting to explain.

The premise for the book is that an intelligent race of Squinch (similar to our sea cucumbers, but intelligent) are in peril as their species lacks genetic diversity. Coming to the rescue is Chief Scientist Bloort 183 who presents a galaxy-spanning report on the nature of Earth's DNA and genetics. Bloort must explain to his Supreme Highness how the reproductive strategy used by Earth's creatures brings about species diversity and why it is a winning strategy for life.

The text is written at a level suitable for high-school and college freshmen. My seventh-grader, who is studying genetics as a part of her curriculum said most of the book was over her head. I would recommend following up this book with a more in-depth exploration provided by MIT's OpenCoursware biology 700 series of video lectures, which are the lectures MIT provides its Freshmen.

The pace is very brisk and at times the terms and concept come fast and furious. Bloort does pause to make sure that the his Highness is able to recap one or two of the key points. The book does well when it uses the illustrations to explain some of the more difficult to grasp concepts, such as those related to molecular and cellar-level genetics.

This wonderful book uses the power of extensive, inventive graphics paired with well-chosen text to illustrate and explain many important aspects of genetics and DNA. It introduces concepts at a level basic enough for the general reader, but also includes material detailed and deep enough to interest an expert. The graphic style and panel layout are reminiscent of a comic book only in the best sense -- they make the reading experience rapid and effortless.

For entertainment value the factual content is woven into a story involving hyperintelligent invertebrates which inhabit the planet Glargal and vaguely resemble sea cucumbers. The Glargalians are plagued by a heritable disorder which threatens their existence, and they have launched an extensive study of Earth creatures in an effort to understand and perhaps cure their own genetic affliction. The narrator of the book is the interplanetary biologist Bloort 183, who is reporting on his findings to the Glargalian leadership council. The obsequious behavior of Bloort toward the supreme leader provides comic relief, but the background story is wisely kept exactly that -- it interferes not at all with with the book's main objective, which is to transmit Bloort 183's copiously illustrated report directly to the reader.

The story begins with a brief reprise of our planet's origin, the appearance of lightning-induced chemical compounds, their extension into self-reproducing molecules, and self-assembly of the first unicellular bacteria. More detail is added as the narrative progresses to multicellular organisms, prehistoric flora and fauna, and eventually hominids.