Intro
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1 The Lowdown on Genetics: Just the Basics
Chapter 1 Welcome to Genetics: Just About Everyone Loves a Good Pair of Genes
Unwrapping Life's Secrets
Classical Genetics: Studying How Traits Are Transmitted within Families
Molecular Genetics: Diving into DNA Science
Population Genetics: Studying the Genetics of Groups
Quantitative Genetics: Exploring the Heredity of Complex Traits

Chapter 2 Basic Cell Biology
Entering the World of the Cell
Cells without a nucleus
Cells with a nucleus
Exploring Your DNA, Chromosomes, and Genes
Examining the basics of chromosomes
Counting out chromosomes
Examining chromosome anatomy
Finding your genes
Mitosis: Splitting Up
Step 1: Time to grow
G1 phase
S phase
G2 phase
Step 2: Dividing up the chromosomes
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
Step 3: The big divide
Meiosis: Making Cells for Sexual Reproduction
Meiosis I
Find your partner
Recombining makes you unique

Partners divide
Meiosis II
Meiosis in the human body
Chapter 3 Visualize Peas: Discovering the Laws of Inheritance
Gardening with Gregor Mendel
Speaking the Language of Inheritance
Simplifying Inheritance
Establishing dominance
Segregating alleles
Declaring independence
Predicting with Punnetts
Finding Unknown Alleles
Applying Basic Probability to the Likelihood of Inheritance
Solving Genetics Problems
Deciphering a monohybrid cross
Tackling a dihybrid cross
Chapter 4 Law Enforcement: Mendel's Laws Applied to Complex Traits

Dominant Alleles Rule . . . Sometimes
Blending in with incomplete dominance
Keeping it fair with codominance
Hanging back with incomplete penetrance
Alleles Causing Complications
More than two alleles
Lethal alleles
Making Life More Complicated
When genes interact
Genes in hiding
One gene with many phenotypes
Genes linked together
Uncovering More Exceptions to Mendel's Laws
Epigenetics
Genomic imprinting
Anticipation
Environmental effects
Part 2 DNA: The Genetic Material
Chapter 5 DNA: The Pattern for Life
Chemical Ingredients of DNA

Covering the bases
Adding a spoonful of sugar and a little phosphate
Assembling the Double Helix: The Structure of DNA
Starting with one: Forming the backbone
Putting the double in double helix
Examining Different Varieties of DNA
Nuclear DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Chloroplast DNA
Digging into the History of DNA
Discovering DNA
Obeying Chargaff's rules
Hard feelings and the helix: Franklin, Wilkins, Watson, and Crick
Chapter 6 Chromosomes: The Big Picture
Packaging the Double Helix
Anatomy of a Chromosome
Two Chromosomes Are Better than One (or Three)