Science and Inquiry discussion

For March 2014, we will be reading The Epigenetics Revolution.

You can use this thread to post questions, comments, and reviews, at any time.

Hello everyone,

I read this book last year and enjoyed it. Here's a link to my review - Epigenetics Revolution.

Roger

I just finished this book--it is very engaging, and an excellent introduction to the topic of epigenetics. Here is my review.

I am currently reading this book. I am a plant geneticist and especially appreciate the historic perspective. The author does a good job of explaining g some complicated stuff (at least so far).

One third of the way into it I am experiencing what both Roger and David said in their reviews: you can get overwhelmed by the terminology. Usually she defines a new word when it comes up, but in the case of 'chromatin' she didn't. I later found it in the glossary but would have appreciated a short explanation where it first occurred. She also does not explain how genes, proteins and enzymes overlap and it can be confusing as in the case where in one sentence she refers to the gene MLL2 and then in the very next sentence calls it a protein.

Is anybody else reading this book? What do you think of it?

I am oscillating between fascination and zone-out, the former where the subtle effects of Epigenetics and the significant implications are well explained, the latter when gene-alphabet soup swamps my mediocre understanding of biology.

Angus wrote: "I am oscillating between fascination and zone-out, the former where the subtle effects of Epigenetics and the significant implications are well explained, the latter when gene-alphabet soup swamps ..."

Yes, indeed, Angus. Here was one of my favorite sentences:

"The 3' UTRs of both DNMT3A and DNMT3B mRNA contain binding sites for a family of miRNAs called miR-29."

What a mouthful! I agree, that the alphabet soup is not one of the book's better qualities.

Just finished, and haven't been so glad to finish a book in a long time. While it did have some fascinating insights it was, at times, painful reading for someone not already well-versed in genetics.

I would contrast it with an earlier group read, Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life, which was, for me, a relative fast and enjoyable read in a related field.

Perhaps the general science reader was not the author's primary target.

I have to admit only making it through the first couple of chapters, which I found quite interesting. But then the book seemed to be aiming at going into a lot of technical information that I wasn't that interested in. Perhaps I missed something interesting, not sure.

I think the difficulty with a book on epigenetics is that you have to understand genetics first. And understanding molecular genetics (eg 3'UTR and miRNA binding) requires a background in cell and molecular biology. Happily for me, this stuff is my bread and butter.

My reading time got hijacked by house remodeling but I am trying to finish this book. I find the twin studies fascinating.

Steve wrote: "One third of the way into it I am experiencing what both Roger and David said in their reviews: you can get overwhelmed by the terminology. Usually she defines a new word when it comes up, but in t..."

Agreed. It's nice to see I wasn't the only one she left behind with the complexity & abbreviations. Still, as both Roger & David noted, I got the gist if not all the details.