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UBCx: UseGen.1x Useful Genetics - Part 1

The Useful Genetics Glossary (pdf)

  • Glossary. This is a living document; terms are added as students suggest them. If you think something deserves to be in the glossary, let Ali or one of the CTAs know!

Textbooks and Readings

Textbooks for background readings:

Background readings will be listed on the weekly Module Overview pdfs; use them for clarification if you need help understanding the lecture material.

  • Open Genetics, by Michael Deyholos. This freely downloadable text will be our primary source for recommended readings to accompany the lecture videos. (If the first link doesn't work for you, try this alternative link instead.)
  • OpenStax Biology. This is a big first year college textbook for students who are majoring in Biology. Its coverage of many genetics topics is quite detailed, and we will use it as another source of recommended readings. You can download the full pdf (~1500 pages) from their web site (get the low-resolution file).  Note that the page number references in the Module Info handouts refer to the pdf version, not the web version.
  • Introduction to Genetic Analysis. 10th edition, by Griffiths, Wessler, Carroll, and Doebley. We provide suggested background readings from this expensive book because UBC students taking the Genetics for Life course may have purchased it; Useful Genetics students do not need to purchase it.  (The new 11th Edition is now available, but we have not yet created an updated suggested readings list for it.)

Other recommended genetics textbooks

If you wish to purchase a hard-copy or electronic version of another Genetics textbook, the ones listed below are very good. They provide much more detailed information than will be presented in this course. The links are to the Amazon.com pages for the latest editions, but you may be able to find less expensive used copies through Amazon or other merchants, or on eBay. Older editions are also good value; any edition since about 2005 will have detailed coverage of all the topics we will consider.

  • Introduction to Genetic Analysis, by Griffiths, Wessler, Carroll, and Doebley. We often suggest background readings from the 10th edition.
  • Genetics: From Genes to Genomes, by Hartwell, Hood, Goldberg, Reynolds and Silver.
  • Human Genetics, by Ricki Lewis. This textbook is less detailed than the two above, but its focus on human genetics makes it particularly suitable for this course.

Free college biology textbooks

  • OpenStax Concepts of Biology. This is a first year college textbook for students who are not majoring in Biology. It provides quite good coverage of basic genetics concepts. You can download the full pdf from their website.

High School Biology Textbooks

The following free online high-school biology textbooks will help you improve your background in basic biology. You may need to create a free account to access these.

  • CK-12 Life Science Honors for Middle School. This free online biology book presents the material at a simple level. To get the most out of Useful Genetics, you should come into the course with a good understanding of the material in the chapters on cells and molecular biology (Chapters 3, 4 and 5). The understanding of evolution provided by Section 7.1 would also be valuable. The Preparation self-test (in the Introduction to the Course section) suggests specific readings appropriate for specific self-test questions.
  • CK-12 Biology
  • CK-12 Biology Concepts

These two online high school biology textbooks from CK-12 are very similar. They present material in greater detail than you need as background for Useful Genetics.

Other 'background' resources

The Bozeman Biology videos (recommended by students) present basic molecular and cell biology at an advanced high school level. We haven't watched them all and so can't guarantee that they're free from errors, but they're very clear and the level of background they provide is more than sufficient for this course.

Other Genetics Resources

Here we list only a few general resources. Extensive lists of 'enrichment' resources appropriate for specific modules will be provided on the individual Module Pages. Use these optional readings and videos to learn more about topics you find particularly interesting.