Genetics is the study of heredity, and reveals how the characteristics of living organisms are determined by the genes passed down the generations. The human genome was mapped in 2003, and this enhanced ability to study our genes is transforming medicine, from CRISPR, the gene editing technology that allows us to alter the course of hereditary disease, to using genetics to identify the types of bacteria that populate our bodies. Stripping the subject to its bare necessities, 30-Second Genetics charts the most extraordinary discoveries, from the fundamentals of cell biology to the almost unbelievable advances in DNA sequencing and stem cell technology.

Author Biography

Jonathan Weitzman is professor of genetics at the Universite Paris-Diderot, a founding director of the Centre Epigenetique et Destin Cellulaire, and a former faculty member at the Pasteur Institute, Paris. The research unit he founded and directs develops expertise in epigenetic mechanisms in stem cells and cellular differentiation.Mathew Weitzman is associate professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. His lab studies the intersection between virus infection and mechanisms that maintain genome integrity. He has authored over 80 research articles and reviews, and he serves on the editorial boards of several international journals.Jonathan & Matthew are identical twins.