News Release

New edition of landmark textbook incorporates contemporary genome-based view of biology

From cutting-edge techniques to implications for modern society, Recombinant DNA conveys how genomics has revolutionized human biology and medicine

Book Announcement

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Recombinant DNA: Genes and Genomes -- A Short Course

image: Design concept by James D. Watson and Jan A. Witkowski; rendition by Michael Demaray of Dragonfly Media Group. view more 

Credit: W.H. Freeman and Company and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press

The third edition of a landmark genetics textbook--Recombinant DNA: Genes and Genomes--A Short Course--has just been released. Infused with descriptions of genome sequencing technologies, biological insights from sequencing projects, and practical applications of genetics and genomics research, the new edition of Recombinant DNA presents a modern, genome-centered view of biology.

In the book, Nobel laureate James D. Watson and Jan A. Witkowski join new coauthors Amy A. Caudy and Richard M. Myers to provide an authoritative yet accessible introduction to genetic and genomic research, methods, and applications. It is co-published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press and W.H. Freeman and Company.

"This volume presents what we think are the fundamental concepts of genetics and genomics that form the core of current molecular approaches to studying biological processes," write the authors in the preface to the book. "They should be familiar to everyone who, in some way, needs to understand the background to what they may learn in a class on molecular genetics, consider when moving from another science to biology, or read a newspaper story covering some new discovery in biomedical research."

The new edition of Recombinant DNA has had input from teaching faculty in many academic settings, and is designed for inquiry-based learning. It encourages students to think about the questions facing biologists in the laboratory, and consistently links fundamental concepts to the original experiments that have defined our understanding of DNA.

Written in a conversational style, the first 13 chapters provide a cohesive and comprehensive introduction to the fundamental concepts of genetics and genomics, as well as an inside look at the Human Genome Project, bioinformatic and experimental techniques for large-scale genomic and proteomic studies, a survey of the burgeoning epigenetics field, and RNA interference--the topic of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.

The final three chapters highlight topics of general interest: identifying disease-causing genes, the genetic basis of cancer, and DNA fingerprinting and forensics. Examples of practical applications in human medicine are provided, and the future of human genetics and genomics projects are discussed.

"We hope that the topics selected and our treatment of them will make this book suitable for a wide range of readers: undergraduates and graduate students in topics directly related to those in this book--molecular, cell, and developmental biology; biochemistry; genetics; and biotechnology," write the authors. "We also expect that others who wish to learn about the basics of molecular genetics and genomics will find the book useful, for example, medical students and physicians, forensic scientists, patent attorneys, and science journalists."

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Contacts:

Ingrid Benirschke (benirsch@cshl.edu, 619-275-6021)
Books Marketing Manager, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press

Debbie Clare (dclare@bfwpub.com, 212-576-9405)
Associate Director of Marketing, W.H. Freeman & Company/Worth Publishers

About the book: Recombinant DNA: Genes and Genomes--A Short Course
ISBN 0-7167-2866-4; © 2007, 474 pp., illus., index; paperback, $92.30

For more information, see http://www.cshlpress.com/link/recomdnas.htm and http://www.whfreeman.com/College/book.asp?2001002416.

About the authors:

James D. Watson, winner of a Nobel Prize for his central part in the discovery of the structure of the DNA double helix, is the Chancellor of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Amy A. Caudy is a Lewis-Sigler Fellow at the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University. Richard M. Myers is Chairman and Stanford W. Ascherman Professor in the Department of Genetics at Stanford University, and is Director of the Stanford Human Genome Center. Jan A. Witkowski is Executive Director of the Banbury Center and Professor in the Watson School of Biological Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press:

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press is an internationally renowned publisher of books, journals, and electronic media, located on Long Island, New York. It is a division of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, an innovator in life science research and the education of scientists, students, and the public. For more information, visit www.cshlpress.com.

About W.H. Freeman and Company:

W.H. Freeman and Company, publisher of textbooks in the sciences, is distinguished by a discerning editorial vision and a long-standing commitment to superior quality. Founded in 1946, Freeman's first book was General Chemistry by he late Nobel laureate Linus Pauling. That pioneering text revolutionized the chemistry curriculum and set the high standard of book production that established Freeman as the premier science publisher. Since then, the Company has published hundreds of groundbreaking books for students, including the previous editions of Recombinant DNA. Driven by a clear sense of its publishing mission, Freeman's success is built on four tenets: To produce innovative texts in dynamic areas of science; to work with authors of outstanding achievement; to produce books of exceptional quality; and to harness the power of educational technology to provide teaching and learning tools that are effective and easy to use.


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