The Basics of Genetics

by Betsey Dexter Dyer (Author, Narrator)

14 Lectures by Professor Betsey Dexter Dyer of Weaton College and presented by the Modern Scholar:

1) the long history of practical genetics
2) what did Gregor Mendel do?
3) what did Mendel do next?
4) a cookie factory in a black box designed by Rube Goldberg
5) how mamals get their colors
6) the importance of environment: in the short term
7) environment over the long term: the genetics of populations
8) DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
9) transcription and translation: the metaphor of an error-prone medieval monk in a scriptorium
10) chromosomes, mitosis, and meiosis: how DNA is packaged for moving
11) mutations
12) regulating the genes and the dramatic consequences of regulatory mutations
13) viruses, jumping genes, and symbionts: whose DNA is it and what are the new philosophical questions?
14) conclusions

Genres: Science, Genetics, Nonfiction, Audiobook

8 pages, Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely an entry level genetics course & it is from 2009, so a decade old which is kind of a big deal now. The field is moving incredibly fast. I still found it interesting, although her attempts to simplify the material were often irritating. Instead of just laying the info out, she kept putting it into metaphors & sometimes that made it more difficult to understand.

A good example is Lecture 4: A Cookie Factory in a Black Box Designed by Rube Goldberg. It's an apt description ONCE, but she used it continually & kept trying to keep the metaphor going. I kept getting distracted from the information with mixing machines & cookie package spellings, but I still found her explanation of animal coat color genetics fascinating. There's something like 8 genes that control it, but it's a cascade effect that can lead to different & pulsating colors which gives them stripes & patches. I hadn't realized that only a female cat can be a calico due to which X chromosome is turned on in a cell. I wish she'd gone into that in some more detail with other chromosomes, but I can see where that would get too advanced.

Her explanation of a Punnett square was tough to understand, IMO. My high school biology teacher was really good & I did do 2 term papers along with experiments breeding fruit flies, so maybe it was me. I think it just wasn't a very good presentation, though. Yes, it's audio, but it's not that tough to visualize the square & it's results.

She tends to back & fill a lot. There are many 'ums'. Not the greatest speaker, but she is enthusiastic & that helps. I've listened to another course by her, Unseen Diversity: The World of Bacteria. I reviewed it here & gave it 3 stars originally. I later bumped it up to 4 because I kept remembering & referring to it. I think her style puts me off, but her information is good. We'll see how it goes with this one, because it's also getting 3 stars out of the gate. It was good & if you want to learn basic genetics, this isn't a bad place to start. Definitely get the course guide & read it. It might be better than her lectures.

Here are the lectures:
1) the long history of practical genetics
2) what did Gregor Mendel do?
3) what did Mendel do next?
4) a cookie factory in a black box designed by Rube Goldberg
5) how mamals get their colors
6) the importance of environment: in the short term
7) environment over the long term: the genetics of populations
8) DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
9) transcription and translation: the metaphor of an error-prone medieval monk in a scriptorium
10) chromosomes, mitosis, and meiosis: how DNA is packaged for moving
11) mutations
12) regulating the genes and the dramatic consequences of regulatory mutations
13) viruses, jumping genes, and symbionts: whose DNA is it and what are the new philosophical questions?
14) conclusions

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audio program is not technically a book. Rather, it is a series of fourteen lectures by college professor Betsy Dexter Dyer on a wide range of topics in introductory genetics. Dyer eloquently brings the subject alive, effectively overcoming the lack of any visual input in an audio program by introducing a series of metaphors to represent complex genetic topics. For example, she introduces a “cookie factory in a black box designed by Rube Goldberg” to explain the concepts of gene sequencing. I found the lectures both fascinating and entertaining, and was sorry when I came to the end of them. I would be delighted if Professor Dyer would record a follow-up course with more advanced genetic topics.

[Vijay Barve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked the format of the book and since it read by author herself it was very clear and interesting.

[Yahia Aktham · Rating 2 out of 5]

very basic for a commoner reading does not suit a scientist looking for information.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Betsey Dexter Dyer examines the wide ranging field of genetics, which is the study of the hereditary information of organisms, how it is used, and how it is transferred through generations. These fascinating lectures also address DNA sequences and how they apply to "genetic engineering," viruses, and genetic diseases such as cancers and birth defects. In addition to examining why people look and act the way they do, the course also considers the philosophical issues associated with such controversial topics as cloning and genetic ID cards.

[Anne Hawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely fascinating book on genetics. The author used color of dogs as her example and I learned just how complex some colors of dogs are, especially white dogs. The most interesting part was how the genes have switches which activate them only under certain conditions...if the color is brown and if the hair length is ? then...
Ms. Dyer also has a way of explaining even the most complex concepts in ways that layman can understand. Not only will this book explain basic genetics to you, but you will never look at dogs the same way again.

[Pawel Dolega · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good entry level genetics course. No much (or not at all) background required in genetics or even biology.

I'd say that it would be pretty good for either teens in secondary school interested in biology (or tech) or for anyone without any technical experience. For people used to technical books - there might be not enough "juice" within this course. People with prior biology background should probably skip this altogether.

IMHO too many digressions and visualization, not enough juice. Still - it was kinda pleasant to go through this material.

[Lukas Lovas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always nice to return to basics...Nicely explained with lots of metaphors, the course was short, to the point and interesting. I especially liked the parts about explaining cloning and the common misconceptions about "identical" clones. Thanks to this book, I will be more critical of sci-fi with literature containing clones :)
Well worth a read :)

[- · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. It's a series of lectures read by the author and I found it to be a really wonderful intro to the topic. Great pacing, very clear explanations, and plenty of examples. I now have my eyes on Modern Scholar's courses and really hope the rest are the same quality.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profr. Betsey takes pains to "dumb down" genetics. Great way of teaching in a recording. I understood things about Mendel and genetics I did not since middle school. This can be due to other factors, but she can almost read minds in the sense that repeats and clarifies exactly where is needed.

[Carmen K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice bit of introduction to genetics, with plenty of ideas for other books to read on the subject.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent survey of current genetic studies.

[Ivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's just say that the "basics" in the title is not an understatement. This could be a relaxed high-school course.