Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Cloning - Softcover

Gralla, Jay D; Gralla, Preston

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1592571484 ISBN 13: 9781592571482

Publisher: Alpha, 2004

Synopsis

Ever since photographs of a rather ordinary looking lamb named Dolly made the front pages of newspapers around the world, people have debated both the viability and appropriateness of cloning. The debates that followed Dolly's birth, and recently her death, continue to rage on, fueled by scientific and genetic engineering progress and by ethicists, religious leaders, and everyday citizens who say that cloning is dangerous and involves unacceptable control over someone or something else's complete genetic makeup. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Understanding Cloning teaches consumers all they need to know about the most important technologies of the 21st century: cloning, bioengineering, and the underlying science of genetics and DNA. This century will most likely be known as the century of cloning and related technologies, and this book arms anyone with the necessary facts to understand it all. With no end in sight to either the progress or the debate, consumers need an unbiased and easy-to-understand guide to help with the countless issues, both scientific and ethical, which impact our very existence. In The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Understanding Cloning, readers will find comprehensive background information on the scientific underpinnings of cloning, bioengineering, and genetic engineering, along with evenhanded analysis of moral, political, and ethical issues surrounding these technologies. Topics covered include DNA, Bioengineering, and Genetic Engineering, The Human Genome Project, Therapeutic stem cell cloning, The role biotech and pharmaceutical companies play in cloning and bioengineering and the case for and against human cloning and genetic engineering. The American Government's current and possible future role in cloning is also examined along with what different religions say about cloning. The book also covers how transgenic animals and plants are created, and how they are used today, together with a discussion on the promise and perils of gene therapy, the pros and cons of biofoods and the rights of bioengineered animals.

About this title

About the Author

Jay D. Gralla, Ph.D., is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UCLA, in Los Angeles, California. Jay received his Ph.D. in Biophysics from Yale University, has been the Jane Coffin Childs Fellow in Molecular Biology at Harvard University, and also has been the EMBO Fellow in Biochemical Oncology, from the Pasteur Institute, in France. He did his post-doctoral work on DNA and molecular biology at Harvard University with Nobel Prize winner Walter Gilbert, publishes widely in scientific journals, and frequently lectures worldwide at scientific seminars and symposiums. Preston Gralla is the author of more than 20 books that have been translated into 15 languages and sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. He has written for numerous magazines and newspapers, including USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and the Dallas Morning News, where he was a technology columnist. As a well-known expert about technology, he has appeared on many television and radio networks and shows, including the CBS Early Show, National Public Radio's All Things Considered, ABC World News Now, CNN, and MSNBC.

Edition details

• Publisher: Alpha
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1592571484
• ISBN 13: 9781592571482
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352