From genes to biochemistry

摘要

Genetics is a young science, having its roots just 100 or so years ago in the rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's work on inheritance in peas. These days, this history is left out of most textbooks and is rarely taught at university. Today's students learn only about what has happened in the past five years, not about the pioneering work that opened up their field ― they know nothing of the giants on whose shoulders they stand. If you ask today's advanced genetics students about George Beadle (1903-1989), you would be met with a deafening silence. So it is fortunate that Paul Berg and Maxine Singer took the time to write a book about this great pioneer.