Synopses & Reviews
FROM THE PUBLISHER (Alfred A. Knopf): Immediately following the revolutionary discovery of the structure of DNA by James D. Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, the world of molecular biology was caught up in a gold rush. The goal: to uncover the secrets of life that the newly elucidated molecule promised to reveal. Genes, Girls, and Gamow is James Watson's report on the amazing aftermath of the DNA breakthrough, picking up where his now classic memoir, The Double Helix, leaves off.
Here are the collaborations and collisions of giants, not only Watson and Crick themselves, but also legions of others, including Linus Pauling (the greatest chemist of the day), Richard Feynman (the bongoplaying cynosure of Caltech), and especially George Gamow, the bearlike, whiskeywielding Russian physicist, who had turned his formidable intellect to the field of genetics; with Gamowan irrepressible prankster to bootWatson would found the legendary RNA Tie Club.
But Watsonat twentyfive already the winner of genetic research's greatest jackpotis obsessed with another goal as well: to find love, and a wife equal to his unexpected fame. As he and an international cast of roguish young colleagues do important research they also compare notes and share complaints on the scarcity of eligible mates. And amid the feverish search for the role of the then still mysterious RNA molecule, Watson's thoughts are seldom far from the supreme object of his desire, an enthralling Swarthmore coed who also happens to be the daughter of Harvard's most eminent biologist.
Part scientific apprenticeship, part sentimental education, Genes, Girls, and Gamow is a penetrating revelation of how great science is accomplished. It is also a charmingly candid account of one young man's full range of ambitions.
Review
"Watson says in his preface that he's trying to capture the spirit of his youth and to avoid being reflective. He succeeds. This is very raw stuff: daily life trivia, snapshots of his friends and letters to and fro. But it strikes me that this material belongs in a dusty old box in an archive somewhere, not in a book....reading it feels very much like being trapped in an old folks' home with Uncle James and his box of mementos as he hoots about his randy boyhood." Alison Motluk, Salon.com
Review
"Watson is at it again....Part memoir, part love story, part homage to the brilliant physicist George Gamow, Genes, Girls, and Gamow is another tell-all tale in the tradition of The Double Helix." Kirkus, starred review
Synopsis
Immediately following the revolutionary discovery of the structure of DNA by James D. Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, the world of molecular biology was caught up in a gold rush. The goal: to uncover the secrets of life that the newly elucidated molecule promised to reveal.
Genes, Girls, and Gamow is James Watson's report on the amazing aftermath of the DNA breakthrough, picking up where his now-classic memoir,
The Double Helix, left off.
Here are the collaborations and collisions of giants, not only of Watson and Crick themselves but also of coutless others, including Linus Pauling (the greatest chemist of the day); Richard Feynman (the bongo-playing cynosure of Caltech); and, especially, George Gamow, the bearlike Russian physicist and prankster who, with Watson, founded the legendary RNA-Tie Club.
But Watson, at 25 already the winner of genetic research's greatest jackpot is obsessed with another goal as well: to find love, and a wife equal to his unexpected fame. As he and an international cast of roguish young colleagues do important research they also compare notes and share complaints on the scarcity of eligible mates. And amid the feverish search for the role of the then still mysterious RNA molecule, Watson's thoughts are seldom far from the supreme object of his desire, an enthralling Swathmore coed who also happens to be the daughter of Harvard's most eminent biologist.
Part scientific apprenticeship, part sentimental education, Genes, Girls, and Gamow is a penetrating revelation of how great science is accomplished, and a candid account of one man's full range of ambitions.
Synopsis
Genetic Variation: A Laboratory Manual is the first compendium of protocols specifically geared towards genetic variation studies, and includes thorough discussions on their applications for human and model organism studies. Intended for graduate students and professional scientists in clinical and research settings, it covers the complete spectrum of genetic variationfrom SNPs and microsatellites to more complex DNA alterations, including copy number variation. Written and edited by leading scientists in the field, the early sections of the manual are devoted to study design and generating genotype data, the use of resources such as HapMap and dbSNP, as well as experimental, statistical, and bioinformatic approaches for analyzing the data. The final sections include descriptions of genetic variation in model organisms and discussions of recent insights into human genetic ancestry, forensics, and human variation.
About the Author
James D. Watson, co-founder of the structure of DNA, is president of Gold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society, he has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, and, with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1962.