genetics for dummies book

[Shpamme]

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hi,
i need a recommendation for a genetics book that is made for people who have NO background at all in genetics, and who seriously could not get a genetics question right on mcat practice tests even if their life depended on it. i never took a genetics class in college and i'm freaked out about taking it in med school. i looked up previous threads and most recommend board review series-type books, which i'm guessing would only be helpful AFTER i take genetics in med school. i'm no gunner, i don't want to study it intensely this summer or anything--everyone's told me that studying the summer before school starts is plain stupid, and i believe it. just want to get the bare basics down so that i'm not lost and freaking out about it next year. are there any genetics for dummies type books that would be good for me to glance through, so that i feel a little less scared about it?

thanks!

 

[shivasHeroLike]

you really don't need a background in it to do well in m.school genetics.

perhaps a general knowledge of cell cycle/phases & mode of inheritances wouldn't hurt.

high yield cell and molecular biology is a pretty good one. its small & easy to follow
& you can actually make sense out of some of the material before taking the class (which is what you're probably wondering )

 

[mendel121]

this book was written at least in part with the intention of using it to teach a group of math, stats and social science types genetics, so it was written to explain it to lay people. I did my PhD in genetics (actually genetic epidemiology but whose counting?) and had my middle school english teacher wife read it so that she could follow what I was talking about, it really helped her to at some level understand what I was doing

http://www.amazon.com/Human-Genome-...805107-6557640?ie=UTF8&qid=1183518212&sr=11-1

 

[Shpamme]

thanks guys! those are great suggestions. i guess the specific topics i'm worried about are things like pedigrees (i hope i have the terminology right.. i'm talking about the little circles and squares and what happens when you block some out, etc), and also how sex-linked inheritance works. i guess i also need some introduction to probability principles, etc. practice problems would be awesome too, provided there are detailed explanations. even websites would be good i suppose.

 

[Shpamme]

OH. MY. GOSH.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0764595547/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-2049807-6536163#reader-link