Reading the Story in DNA: A Beginner's Guide to Molecular Evolution

I teach bioinformatics courses in a program that admits students with diverse backgrounds. This book is an excellent way to get students with little biology background up to speed in molecular evolution. It gives a practical context for commonly used algorithms. The examples are modern and relevant. I have handed my copy off to graduate students who need to do some self-education to catch up and those who have read it have found it very useful. I think it would also make a pretty decent textbook for an undergraduate course in molecular sequence analysis, especially because it includes concepts of population genetics and variation that are often left out of sequence analysis texts written from the algorithmic perspective.

This has been a great book for me since I am just starting out in learning about Genetics and Molecular Evolution. It explains it all without the math. I would recommend it to anyone who needs the explanation before applying the math

If, like me, your biology teaching stopped in late 1960s at GCE A-level, then you should read this book. So much about DNA has changed that I think any interested reader would find this useful. You do need to know something basic about DNA and the process of cell division (mitosis and meiosis) but otherwise the book should be great for a reader wanting to understand what is possible nowadays. There is a non-technical text. but for more technical detail you can refer to separate boxed sections and then there are the case studies that show you why this knowledge is important (for example in whale evolution or evolution of insecticide resistance). Illustrations are excellent and in full colour even in the Kindle edition. The writing style is really very straightforward to follow. There is no need to read it all at one go. Each chapter is quite self contained. I am really glad to have found it, but beware...knowledge advances so quickly here. For example the topic of epigenetics (where heritable changes in DNA function can be produced by environmental factors) is barely touched on. However, for current molecular genetics it should keep you up to date for a while yet.

"Reading the story in DNA" ist bis jetzt mit Abstabd das beste Lehrbuch, das ich mir für die Uni gekauft habe. Auf der einen Seite ist es wirklich außerordentlich informativ und auf der anderen Seite kann man durchaus länger am Stück lesen, ohne dass einem der Kopf raucht und man sich an Informationen und Fachausdrücken regelrecht "überfressen" hat.Der eigentliche Fließtext der Kapitel ist stilistisch und inhaltlich so gestaltet, dass er für interessierte Laien verständlich ist, aber auch einen Biologen nicht langweilt.Die Tech-Boxes, Case studies und "Heros" lockern den Text auf und geben gleichzeitig vertiefende Informationen.Was die ausgewählten Beispiele anbelangt: Top. Die dargestelletn Themen sind nicht nur wissenschaftlich relevant, sondern auch spannend.Ein weiteres Plus dieses Buches ist, dass der Autor sich nicht gescheut hat, den ein oder anderen Sachverhalt durchaus humorvoll darzustellen und damit der Tatsache Rechnung zu tragen, dass auch (angehende) Wissenschaftler nur Menschen sind, die nicht nur die Aminosäuresequenzen, sondern auch durchaus das Kuriose in der welt um sie herum sehen.Alles in allem wirklich ein ausgezeichnetes Buch, mit dem man sich eine solide Grundlage in Bioinformatik verschaffen, oder einfach nur Staunen kann.

I am happy with the book. Very cheap and in good condition. however, it did not arrived in time. That's why I did not give the five stars.