Molecular Biology Made Simple and Fun, Third Edition

This book was a Godsend for me. It is an easy read, filled with humor and drawings. But don't let that mislead you, it is also filled with a wealth of useful information, especially for a novice to the field. Reading this book will not make you a molecular biologist, but it will allow you to talk reasonably intelligently to one. I recomend this book very highly to anyone who has an interest in this field, but doesn't know much about it. It is a great stepping stone to more complex texts and papers.


Monkey see, monkey do   November 17, 2002
Susan Hinojoza (Union City, CA USA)
29 out of 29 found this review helpful

I am a high school science teacher starting up a new biotechnology program for our students. I have been looking for a text to supplement the curriculum that is informative, accurate and readable for high school students. This book is the best I've seen.

What makes this book so extrememly valuable is that it is eminently readable. Through humor, illustrations, examples and great graphics, the subject matter comes to life. Informative texts are worthless if no one reads them, or, if in reading them, cannot understand them! The authors have accomplished something great here and have indeed made the subject simple and fun.

I know that my high school students will be able to get something from this book. This does not mean, however, that the book is extremely basic or easy. The information presented is extensive and accurate. It is the way the book is written that will allow readers to absorb more information. Here is an example paragraph from the introduction to Chapter 9, Messing About with DNA:

"Suppose we want to create our very own monster by genetic engineering. How do we go about it? Frankenstein made his monster by sewing a brain into a body and then charging up his creation with a lightning bolt. Genetic engineers make patchwork organisms not by joining organs but by splicing genes together. So, let's get started on some basic operations."

You can see how friendly and readable the book is.

This book is for you if you are an undergraduate or high school student of biotechnology or if you are a layperson simply interested in the subject matter.


Accessible introduction to a complex field   July 14, 2006
calvinnme (Fredericksburg, Va)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This book is advertised as a text for the lay person that can also serve as a textbook for levels ranging from high school to graduate school. Unfortunately, this is a drawback, as the book tries to be all things to all people. The book is written in a conversational style and makes use of numerous cartoon drawings in its explanations. Most of the diagrams are very helpful. However, some drawings are somewhat juvenile and cheesy with faces drawn on enzymes, for example. Extra wide margins contain definitions of words used in the adjacent text as well as occasional jokes and anecdotes. Molecular terms are redefined whenever they are used, so you can skip around in the book with no problem understanding what is being presented.

The introductory chapter compares the molecular biology revolution with the industrial revolution. The next few chapters review bacteria, basic genetics, and the molecular basis of heredity. These are followed by chapters on the basics of DNA replication, transcription, and proteins. All these fundamentals are very well covered, and the diagrams illustrate the points well.

The next few chapters review various techniques including gene transfer in bacteria, with subjects such as transformation and plasmids being well covered. There is also coverage of DNA manipulation including purification, restriction enzymes, and agarose gel electrophoresis. Other chapters concerning methodology cover PCR and DNA sequencing. There is a very good chapter on transgenics that includes micro-injection, knock-outs, and reporter genes. One chapter is devoted specifically to the techniques of molecular biology. This contains a rather brief overview of a wide array of techniques such as bandshift assays, detection systems, FACS, and RFLP that could easily have been expanded. Other chapters focus on the applied side of molecular technology with discussions of topics such as biotechnology products and forensic medicine. The book also brings the subject matter home with very good chapters on inherited diseases as well as cancer and aging, and shows how biology at the molecular level comes into play in each of these matters.

Overall, there is a strong emphasis on DNA at the expense of RNA. Similarly, there is not much information on protein analysis. Even the authors cannot keep up with the speed of the molecular biology revolution, since a number of current popular techniques, such as differential display and quantitative PCR, are only briefly mentioned or are not even included.

Overall, Molecular Biology Made Simple and Fun contains" some useful information, especially with respect to DNA techniques and applications. This book would probably be most applicable as a supplementary textbook for an introductory college class on molecular biology or as a reference guide to look up unfamiliar molecular techniques, such as ones that might be encountered in journal articles. I think it might be too advanced for high school students. I found it a fairly accessible read and very informative, and my background is in engineering and computer science, not biology, other than what I took as a college undergraduate. I highly recommend it.

The table of contents is as folows:
1. Introduction.
2. Bacteria: The Molecular BIologists's Guinea Pigs
3. Basic Genetics
4. Required Reading: The Molecular Basis of Heredity
5. Duplicating the DNA: Replication.
6. Getting the Message Out: Transcription of Genes to Produce Messenger RNA
7. Proteins: The Buck Stops Here
8. Gene Transfer in Bacteria
9. Messing About with DNA
10. Products from BIotechnology
11. Genetic Organization in Higher Organisms
12. Mutations: Things That Go Bump in the Night
13. Inherited Human Disease
14. Cancer and Aging
15. Down on the Farm: Transgenic Plants and Animals
16. Just Do It! Techniques of Molecular BIology
17. PCR: The Polymerase Chain Reaction and Its Many Uses
18. Whodunit? Forensic Medicine and Molecular Biology
19. Gene Creatures, Part I: Viruses, Viroids and Plasmids
20. Gene Creatures, Part II: Jumping Genes and Junk DNA
21. Biological Warfare
22. The Molecular Defense Initiative: Your Immune System at Work
23. Sequencing DNA
24. Molecular Evolution: Memories of "The Way We Were"
25. Classification: BIology for the Neurotic and the Obsessive-Compulsive
26. A Brief History of Molecular Biology
27. Molecular Biology: A Millenial Update
28. What Was Said - What Was Meant: Understanding a Seminar in Molecular Biology.



STRONG BUY   November 15, 2005
Thal Ajoni (UK)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Just a witty book to introduce the foundations of molecular biology. Keeps you smiling while you learn. If you have to buy a book of this nature, then this is definitely the one to get. In fact, if I had enough money I'd buy you one, it's that good. You won't be disappointed.


Great Introduction to Molecular Biology   October 3, 2005
B. Wildman (Indianapolis, IN)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I was working with a team of non-scientists that were embarking on a market study focused on customers in the Molecular Biology field. This book (which we referred to as "The Monkey Book") has been a great introduction to provide an overview of the basics of Molecular Biology and common terms/techniques used in the industry.

The book has a lot of humor built in too...which makes its reading very enjoyable.

I would say this is a must-have for those looking to begin learning about Molecular Biology.