A plain-English guide to this fascinating topicWant to know more about genetics? This practical guide gets you up to speed on all the fundamentals and the most recent discoveries. From dominant and recessive inherited traits to the DNA double helix, you get clear explanations in easy-to-understand terms. Plus, you'll see how people are applying genetic science to fight disease, develop new products, solve crimes . . . and even clone cats.Jump into genetics - get the 411 on how genetic information is divvied up during cell division and how trait inheritance worksDig into DNA - discover how your DNA is put together, how it gets copied, and how the building plans for your body are encoded in the double helixToast to health - understand how genetics affects your health and get the lowdown on the latest developments in genetic counseling, inherited diseases, genetics and cancer, and chromosome disordersGet in the know - learn about the impact of genetics on hot topics like population genetics, evolution, forensics, cloning, ethical issues, and moreOpen the book and find:The basics of cell biologyThe laws of inheritanceA plain-English explanation of traitsThe genetics of sexHow DNA is replicatedA tour of the double helixThe genetics of diseasesHow gene therapy can treat genetic diseasesThe use of DNA to solve crimesControversial topics in geneticsLearn to:Grasp the latest developments in geneticsUnderstand the latest on stem cell researchGet up to speed on molecular genetics, genetic counseling, and moreExplore ethical issues as they apply to genetics