An A to Z of DNA Science: What Scientists Mean When They Talk About Genes and Genomes

Rating:
Summary: A good idea with mediocre execution
Review: An A to Z of DNA Science is an illustrated glossary coauthored by the Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Science Education at the National Human Genome Research Institute at NIH. (The third author created the illustrations). For each glossary term the authors provide a concise, one-sentence definition, a longer explanatory paragraph, and often an accompanying illustration.

Given the authors' respective credentials as science communicators and educators, I was surprised and disappointed by the ambiguity inherent to the writing style, inconsistencies among and within definitions, and the paucity of terms represented.

The lack of clarity in the writing was particularly striking given the following excerpt from Dr. W. French Anderson's preface to the book: "[This book's] core value...is the increased access into, and understanding of, the world of genetic research that it provides to the non-scientist through clear, well-defined terms."

For example, the definition of a "genotype" is listed as "the genetic identity of an individual that does not show as outward characteristics." The use of the word "that" instead of the word "which" implies that the authors are distinguishing "genotype" from some other genetic identity that does show as outward characteristics. Even as a neophyte in this arena, I am fairly certain that some portion of the genetic identity codes for outwardly identifiable traits. Clearly, this is simply a case of poor grammar. One would expect more from science educators, especially when the result is semantic ambiguity.

In some cases, poor writing results in apparent inconsistencies and tautologies within definitions. For example, the notion of "contig" is first defined as "a chromosome map", then as a "collection of overlapping clones", and finally, a "contig map" (a new term?) is described as "a physical map reflected by an overlapping series of clones". Thus, if we subscribe to the first definition, then a contig map is a map of a chromosome map. But from the second and third definitions, we can also infer that a contig map is a physical map reflected by a contig. Confused? So was I.

In a field that Dr. Anderson refers to as "exacting", it is unfortunate that this book seems to have inconsistencies also among its definitions. For example, "genome" (a fundamental term in DNA Science), is defined to include both the DNA in the nucleus of a cell as well as the DNA found in mitochondria. However, if one were to look up the term "mitochondrial DNA", one would find that it is "a complete and independent genome". If this is not contradictory, it certainly requires a modicum of elaboration in order to reconcile the seemingly incongruous definitions.

Finally, while brevity may be the soul of wit (to steal from Mr. Twain), in science, it leads to conceptual poverty. Though much of the explanatory text seemed to be of an appropriate length for this type of book, some key terms and their related concepts seemed to be missing. For example, the illustration for a "chromosome" depicts two "chromatids", which are also referenced in the explanation of a "centromere". However the "chromatid" is simply not included as a glossary term in this book.

On this basis of this review, one might expect to see a numerical rating lower than three. However, despite the shortcomings described above, I was sufficiently motivated by my interest in each definition to pursue other related definitions. Ultimately, I found myself flipping pages back and forth throughout the book in an effort to pursue various conceptual threads. If the book can stimulate such interest in me, then perhaps it will also be of interest to others - particularly in a second edition which has been embellished for completeness, and edited for clarity and consistency.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book For a Non-Scientist / WONDERFUL!
Review: Five wonderful stars and the highest rating for making DNA science understandable for me.

I am not a professional reviewer and not a scientist, and can only write about what this little book has meant to me.

I wanted to say, especially in light of the last review, that this is the only resource like this anywhere I could find. It has clearly and wonderfully explained all these interconnected terms to me in a way that is really insightful, valuable and I think quite remarkable. I now can say "I get it."

I carry this with me most of the time and use it to remind me or explain to me the fairly unique language that even television reporters (and especially writers in major magazines and newspapers) use to explain new DNA-based findings. I am surprised how technical these writers think we (the general public) are in this area. I use this book to decipher the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and even the CNN reports on genetics I am interested in.

This book is a blessing in that respect. I can find the term, see what other related words might further help define it for me, and see a drawing to help even more.

I don't think it was meant to do more than that, and it does that perfectly.

So when a review calls it less than magical, I think that is probably from someone with a lot more science in their personal life than the general public might have. I think writers and scientists really misunderstand how little "we" know about this area and they use so much technical jargon every time they speak or write.

I suspect that having a strong understanding of DNA might make a reader wonder why this book is important or needed. I just wanted to say that it is needed because most of us do not know a lot of this science, but we now find it in our daily lives and important and interesting.

This is the tool we were waiting for. The overly complete and technical textbooks have been out there for years. If you want to learn more, go there.

However, if you are just a regular person who wants to understand the vocabulary of this amazing science then this is perfect. I feel educated and empowered by this great little book.

Three cheers for all involved and my highest recommendations.