Exons, Introns, and Talking Genes

Exons, Introns, and Talking Genes PDF Author: Christopher Wills
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
This book tells the story behind one of the most difficult--and ultimately rewarding--scientific endeavors in modern history: a multibillion-dollar international undertaking that will revolutionize our understanding of the human body. Exons, Introns, and Talking Genes is a scientist's view of the Human Genome Project. Wills explains the science as no layperson could, telling the story of the scientists involved in the project, the biomedical breakthroughs that led up to it, and how the new information it generates will change the way we understand and treat disease. Ever since Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA, scientists have been trying to "read" the human genetic code locked in the millions and millions of bases that make up DNA. But over the past thirty years, as many new questions have been raised as answered. Why, for example, do we carry long, repeating stretches of DNA that play no discernible role in heredity and that are currently referred to simply as "junk DNA"? Is it really true that much of human DNA is actually viral DNA-remnants, that is, of past infections? And why is most of the DNA that codes for genes quickly removed as useless "introns," leaving only the tiny but key "exons"? When completed in the next century, the Human Genome Project will have determined every gene sequence in the human body, illuminating for scientists some of the outstanding problems in human biology: the genesis of cancer, how embryos and fetuses develop, the mechanisms of aging, and the origin of mutations.

Exons, Introns, and Talking Genes

Exons, Introns, and Talking Genes PDF Author: Christopher Wills
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 392

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book tells the story behind one of the most difficult--and ultimately rewarding--scientific endeavors in modern history: a multibillion-dollar international undertaking that will revolutionize our understanding of the human body. Exons, Introns, and Talking Genes is a scientist's view of the Human Genome Project. Wills explains the science as no layperson could, telling the story of the scientists involved in the project, the biomedical breakthroughs that led up to it, and how the new information it generates will change the way we understand and treat disease. Ever since Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA, scientists have been trying to "read" the human genetic code locked in the millions and millions of bases that make up DNA. But over the past thirty years, as many new questions have been raised as answered. Why, for example, do we carry long, repeating stretches of DNA that play no discernible role in heredity and that are currently referred to simply as "junk DNA"? Is it really true that much of human DNA is actually viral DNA-remnants, that is, of past infections? And why is most of the DNA that codes for genes quickly removed as useless "introns," leaving only the tiny but key "exons"? When completed in the next century, the Human Genome Project will have determined every gene sequence in the human body, illuminating for scientists some of the outstanding problems in human biology: the genesis of cancer, how embryos and fetuses develop, the mechanisms of aging, and the origin of mutations.

Pre-mRNA Processing

Pre-mRNA Processing PDF Author: Angus I. Lamond
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783662223277
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
he past fifteen years have seen tremendous growth in our understanding of T the many post-transcriptional processing steps involved in producing func tional eukaryotic mRNA from primary gene transcripts (pre-mRNA). New processing reactions, such as splicing and RNA editing, have been discovered and detailed biochemical and genetic studies continue to yield important new insights into the reaction mechanisms and molecular interactions involved. It is now apparent that regulation of RNA processing plays a significant role in the control of gene expression and development. An increased understanding of RNA processing mechanisms has also proved to be of considerable clinical importance in the pathology of inherited disease and viral infection. This volume seeks to review the rapid progress being made in the study of how mRNA precursors are processed into mRNA and to convey the broad scope of the RNA field and its relevance to other areas of cell biology and medicine. Since one of the major themes of RNA processing is the recognition of specific RNA sequences and structures by protein factors, we begin with reviews of RNA-protein interactions. In chapter 1 David Lilley presents an overview of RNA structure and illustrates how the structural features of RNA molecules are exploited for specific recognition by protein, while in chapter 2 Maurice Swanson discusses the structure and function of the large family of hnRNP proteins that bind to pre-mRNA. The next four chapters focus on pre-mRNA splicing.

The Origins of Genome Architecture

The Origins of Genome Architecture PDF Author: Michael Lynch
Publisher: Sinauer
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 518

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Book Description
The availability of genomic blueprints for hundreds of species has led to a transformation in biology, encouraging the proliferation of adaptive arguments for the evolution of genomic features. This text explains why the details matter and presents a framework for how the architectural diversity of eukaryotic genomes and genes came to arise.

Molecular Biology of the Cell

Molecular Biology of the Cell PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780815332183
Category : Cells
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


The Century of the Gene

The Century of the Gene PDF Author: Evelyn Fox KELLER
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674039432
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
In a book that promises to change the way we think and talk about genes and genetic determinism, Evelyn Fox Keller, one of our most gifted historians and philosophers of science, provides a powerful, profound analysis of the achievements of genetics and molecular biology in the twentieth century, the century of the gene. Not just a chronicle of biology’s progress from gene to genome in one hundred years, The Century of the Gene also calls our attention to the surprising ways these advances challenge the familiar picture of the gene most of us still entertain. Keller shows us that the very successes that have stirred our imagination have also radically undermined the primacy of the gene—word and object—as the core explanatory concept of heredity and development. She argues that we need a new vocabulary that includes concepts such as robustness, fidelity, and evolvability. But more than a new vocabulary, a new awareness is absolutely crucial: that understanding the components of a system (be they individual genes, proteins, or even molecules) may tell us little about the interactions among these components. With the Human Genome Project nearing its first and most publicized goal, biologists are coming to realize that they have reached not the end of biology but the beginning of a new era. Indeed, Keller predicts that in the new century we will witness another Cambrian era, this time in new forms of biological thought rather than in new forms of biological life.

The Yeast Two-hybrid System

The Yeast Two-hybrid System PDF Author: Paul L. Bartel
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780195109382
Category : Carrier proteins
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
This volume, part of the Advances in Molecular Biology series, presents work by pioneers in the field and is the first publication devoted solely to the yeast two-hybrid system. It includes detailed protocols, practical advice on troubleshooting, and suggestions for future development. In addition, it illustrates how to construct an activation domain hybrid library, how to identify mutations that disrupt an interaction, and how to use the system in mammalian cells. Many of the contributors have developed new applications and variations of the technique.

Transcription and Splicing

Transcription and Splicing PDF Author: B. D. Hames
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
This book gives a co-ordinated review of our present knowledge of eukaryotic RNA synthesis.

C. Elegans II

C. Elegans II PDF Author: Donald L. Riddle
Publisher: Firefly Books
ISBN: 9780879695323
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 1252

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Book Description
Defines the current status of research in the genetics, anatomy, and development of the nematode C. elegans, providing a detailed molecular explanation of how development is regulated and how the nervous system specifies varied aspects of behavior. Contains sections on the genome, development, neural networks and behavior, and life history and evolution. Appendices offer genetic nomenclature, a list of laboratory strain and allele designations, skeleton genetic maps, a list of characterized genes, a table of neurotransmitter assignments for specific neurons, and information on codon usage. Includes bandw photos. For researchers in worm studies, as well as the wider community of researchers in cell and molecular biology. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Untranslated Gene Regions and Other Non-coding Elements

Untranslated Gene Regions and Other Non-coding Elements PDF Author: Lucy W. Barrett
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3034806795
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 63

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Book Description
There is now compelling evidence that the complexity of higher organisms correlates with the relative amount of non-coding RNA rather than the number of protein-coding genes. Previously dismissed as “junk DNA”, it is the non-coding regions of the genome that are responsible for regulation, facilitating complex temporal and spatial gene expression through the combinatorial effect of numerous mechanisms and interactions working together to fine-tune gene expression. The major regions involved in regulation of a particular gene are the 5’ and 3’ untranslated regions and introns. In addition, pervasive transcription of complex genomes produces a variety of non-coding transcripts that interact with these regions and contribute to regulation. This book discusses recent insights into the regulatory roles of the untranslated gene regions and non-coding RNAs in the control of complex gene expression, as well as the implications of this in terms of organism complexity and evolution.​

Spliceosomal Pre-mRNA Splicing

Spliceosomal Pre-mRNA Splicing PDF Author: Klemens J. Hertel
Publisher: Humana
ISBN: 9781627039796
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Providing a guide to classical experimental approaches to decipher splicing mechanisms and experimental strategies that rely on novel multi-disciplinary approaches, Spliceosomal Pre-mRNA Splicing: Methods and Protocols describes the theory of alternative pre-mRNA splicing in seven introductory chapters and then introduces protocols and their theoretical background relevant for a variety of experimental research. These protocol chapters cover basic methods to detect splicing events, analyses of alternative pre-mRNA splicing in vitro and in vivo manipulation of splicing events and high-throughput and bioinformatic analyses of alternative splicing. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Comprehensive and practical, Spliceosomal Pre-mRNA Splicing: Methods and Protocols will aid newcomers and seasoned molecular biologists in understanding the fascinating world of alternative splicing with the ultimate goal of paving the way for many new discoveries to come.