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The Stuff of Life gives readers a complete introduction to the history of genetics that's as easy to understand as it is entertaining to read.
- Sales Rank: #281107 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Hill and Wang
- Published on: 2009-01-23
- Released on: 2009-01-23
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 230.12" h x 11.30" w x 6.04" l, .50 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 150 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
Amazon.com Review
Let’s face it: From adenines to zygotes, from cytokinesis to parthenogenesis, even the basics of genetics can sound utterly alien. So who better than an alien to explain it all? Enter Bloort 183, a scientist from an asexual alien race threatened by disease, who's been charged with researching the fundamentals of human DNA and evolution and laying it all out in clear, simple language so that even his slow-to-grasp-the-point leader can get it. In the hands of the award-winning writer Mark Schultz, Bloort's explanations give even the most science-phobic reader a complete introduction to the history and science of genetics.
The Stuff of Life Revealed In the panels below, Bloort teaches his fellow alien about DNA.
From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up—The Squinch, an asexual race from the planet Glargal, are suffering from a genetic crisis. In an effort to save them, interplanetary biologist Bloort 183 was transmitted to Earth to study the evolutionary success of its life. He is now back and presenting his findings to his planet's leader. Much is packed into this book, which includes information on molecular and cellular life, the basic mechanics of genetics, key scientists who have made discoveries in genetics and DNA, and how they have been and are applying this knowledge. Touching on topics such as genetically altered foods and cloning, Schultz is careful to acknowledge controversial subjects while maintaining an unbiased view. His writing is informative, easy to follow, and infused with humor. The detailed black-and-white illustrations are a perfect match, offering images to enhance learning while adding to the humorous aspect of the book. If there is a fault with this volume, it is its physical size, which has resulted in various panels and pages seeming overcrowded—a potential turnoff for some readers. This title would do well as standard reading for science students.—Lara McAllister, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
It’s looking grim for life on the aquatic planet of the Squinch. A heritable disorder threatens the ruling family, indeed the whole asexual species that occupies the highest rung of the planet’s evolutionary ladder. Fortunately, the scientist Bloort is back from Earth, full of enthusiasm for the key to what will save the Squinch: sex. More fortunately, the sagacious and educable emperor wishes to know the full story of this “sex.” Bloort obliges, beginning with the emergence of life on Earth and an initial pitch for sex and proceeding to reveal how genetics works on the molecular and the cellular levels, how it facilitates inheritance, and how genetic knowledge has been applied in a panoply of scientific fields. Drawn with panache and great good humor by Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon, and scripted with exceptional clarity by Schultz, this is pretty much the best educational graphic novel in Hill & Wang’s new line of them, good enough for interested nonscientists to keep handy for whenever they need a refresher on its subject. It even has a happy—well, promising—ending. --Ray Olson
Most helpful customer reviews
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful.
Understanding Genetics Made (a little) Easier - The Graphic Treatment
By Scott
It is no small task to explain how atoms form into chemicals, chromosomes, and the proteins which make up 'the stuff of life'. But Mark Shultz attempts to do that in just under 150 pages. Schultz uses a graphic novel format and copious illustrations to make this sometimes daunting topic accessible to the general reader. The book uses a visual learning style, mirroring each point with an illustrations as it drives through Shultz's text, which can sometimes be as dense in information as the coiled strands of DNA the book is attempting to explain.
The premise for the book is that an intelligent race of Squinch (similar to our sea cucumbers, but intelligent) are in peril as their species lacks genetic diversity. Coming to the rescue is Chief Scientist Bloort 183 who presents a galaxy-spanning report on the nature of Earth's DNA and genetics. Bloort must explain to his Supreme Highness how the reproductive strategy used by Earth's creatures brings about species diversity and why it is a winning strategy for life.
The text is written at a level suitable for high-school and college freshmen. My seventh-grader, who is studying genetics as a part of her curriculum said most of the book was over her head. I would recommend following up this book with a more in-depth exploration provided by MIT's OpenCoursware biology 700 series of video lectures, which are the lectures MIT provides its Freshmen.
The pace is very brisk and at times the terms and concept come fast and furious. Bloort does pause to make sure that the his Highness is able to recap one or two of the key points. The book does well when it uses the illustrations to explain some of the more difficult to grasp concepts, such as those related to molecular and cellar-level genetics. And it is at its best when it slows down long enough to explain a particularly difficult concept using more than a single example to illustrate the point. For the most part the illustrations worked well to reinforce the point being discussed, but the illustrations are also used as a counterpoint, providing some light-hearted relief.
In trying to explain genetic diversity the book starts with atoms, shows how they self-assemble into DNA and RNA and explains the processes RNA uses to copy DNA or assemble amino acids and proteins. The book does an excellent job of explaining the workings of chromosomes and inheritance, illustrating how the shuffling of genes leads to dominant and recessive traits, such as eye color. Genetic mutations are explored, part of nature's arsenal for genetic diversity. The book also touches on the genetic relatedness of all Earth's species and delves into the latest efforts of the Human Genome Project to read the entire DNA code for our own species.
The book makes several brief stops to touch on topics of social interest, such as the politicization of science by the Soviet Union, cloning as it was used by vintners, and genetic counseling.
The book is not without its blemishes, such as page 44 "DNA from a Human Perspective, Part 2," which appears twice, including once where p36 should be. Part 1 seems to be missing due to an editorial or printing error. Nevertheless, this page exists to redress the wrong done to Rosalind Franklin, a female scientist and co-discover of DNA's structure, who originally went uncredited for her work in helping to discover the double helix shape of DNA. James Watson and Francis Crick received the lion's share of credit (and a Nobel Prize) for the discovery of the shape of DNA, but their work was most likely aided by access to Franklin's fine X-ray photographs of DNA's structure. Perhaps because of the male-dominated times, and partially because Franklin died of breast cancer before the Nobel prizes were awarded, she receives prominent mention in this section, returning her to a place in history posthumously.
Another minor nit occurs on page 128, which shows the split with proto-humans and chimps from a common ancestor, but would be more correct if it depicted the split as being between proto-humans and proto-chimps, since chimps, as well as humans, continued to evolve genetically during the past 5-million years.
This slender volume packs in a good deal of information, and is a fine way to gain a better understanding of the subject of life and how it works under the covers. The graphic novel format draws readers in and I found myself rooting for Bloort as he makes his case for understanding the science behind our genetic success.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
An invitation to think pictorially
By Jeremy M. Harris
This wonderful book uses the power of extensive, inventive graphics paired with well-chosen text to illustrate and explain many important aspects of genetics and DNA. It introduces concepts at a level basic enough for the general reader, but also includes material detailed and deep enough to interest an expert. The graphic style and panel layout are reminiscent of a comic book only in the best sense -- they make the reading experience rapid and effortless.
For entertainment value the factual content is woven into a story involving hyperintelligent invertebrates which inhabit the planet Glargal and vaguely resemble sea cucumbers. The Glargalians are plagued by a heritable disorder which threatens their existence, and they have launched an extensive study of Earth creatures in an effort to understand and perhaps cure their own genetic affliction. The narrator of the book is the interplanetary biologist Bloort 183, who is reporting on his findings to the Glargalian leadership council. The obsequious behavior of Bloort toward the supreme leader provides comic relief, but the background story is wisely kept exactly that -- it interferes not at all with with the book's main objective, which is to transmit Bloort 183's copiously illustrated report directly to the reader.
The story begins with a brief reprise of our planet's origin, the appearance of lightning-induced chemical compounds, their extension into self-reproducing molecules, and self-assembly of the first unicellular bacteria. More detail is added as the narrative progresses to multicellular organisms, prehistoric flora and fauna, and eventually hominids. The remaining 90 percent of the book explains and illustrates in considerable depth the reproductive and genetic characteristics of modern animals and humans, both at the cellular level and as expressed in the resulting variety among individuals.
A primary source of the book's ability to sustain reader interest is the highly successful integration of text and graphics. An excellent script by Mark Schultz is ingeniously (and often humorously) rendered in a pictorial style that continuously illustrates why the bromide "a picture is worth a thousand words" has proved so durable. Mr. Schultz's job was to create a concise but comprehensive textual frame which allows the graphics to amplify the message with maximum impact and efficiency. In this he succeeds remarkably well, with interesting and significant points appearing on practically every page as the scientific framework of genetics and heredity unfolds logically (technical content was vetted for accuracy by David C. Bates).
Helpful coverage is given to historical context, including the personalities and scientific discoveries underlying molecular biology. A series of ten special "perspective pages," distributed throughout the book, covers relevant background topics such as personalities related to DNA, the structure of chromosomes, the mechanics of inheritance, the politics of genetics, and common misunderstandings about mutants. An illustrated glossary helps with many of the technical terms which inevitably arise in texts reaching explanatory levels beyond the trivial.
The artwork by Zander and Kevin Cannon (who are, incidentally, not related) is central to the ease with which the book clarifies difficult biological concepts. The clever graphical metaphors shamelessly anthropomorphize things like genes and proteins, but in such a broad and amusing way that no reader will be misled. Examples of outstanding graphical creativity abound, and one of the best is a portrait of the DNA molecule on page 26. I have seen many illustrative DNA schematics before, but this full-page portrait in extremely strong perspective, with well-chosen comments tucked in along the sides, is a virtuoso performance in vivid scientific communication. The base pair rungs and sugar-phosphate side chains stand out clearly without compromising the unavoidably complex spatial relationships enforced by the twisting dual helices.
Overall, I found reading "The Stuff of Life" a delightful and enlightening experience.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
So good I am teaching it
By Shawn Stewart
I bought this book because I am always looking for new ways to teach things to my high school students. After reading it, I went to my department head and (after he looked at the book) had little trouble convincing him to buy a classroom set to use to teach the basics of genetics. My class is now about half-way through the book and the students all seem to enjoy taking some time out to read (no mean feat in and of itself), and some have even said that seeing the pictures in the book has helped them with topics they were having trouble with.
One word of warning is that some of the words used that are unrelated to science are a bit advanced (a great opportunity to teach more vocabulary), but the terms related to genetics are well explained and there is even a glossary to help students still having trouble.
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