Who's Afraid of Genetics in Medicine

About the Book

Chapter summaries-Each chapter summary gives a short overview of what the chapter is about and a short excerpt of the writing.

Introduction- Explains the authors reasons for writing the book, as well as some brief biographical material.

“…point is that anyone can move into the scientific arena. It doesn’t have to be left to those other people, those nerds, those smart people, those wealthy, those with a financial jump start on us. In whatever way you view other people, remember, statistics alone tell us it is very unlikely that they are any smarter than you are. Most of us fall in the big bell part of the bell-shaped curve. Genetics is something anyone can learn, and it is far too important to leave it all to the traditional scientist and to leave our physicians woefully uneducated about this subject.

As another example, most people would be amazed to learn how little physicians actually learn about pharmacology. Prescribing errors are no small problem and much of it has to do with the fact that physicians get their information from the drug salesman…who is a salesman, who has a vested interest in convincing your doctor any way he can to prescribe that particular brand name. Genetics will be no different if we, the public, do not step in and demand a few changes in the entire medical system. Yes, the entire system.

Strong words? You bet...but it is something I believe anyone can learn and understand no matter what your station in life might be, no matter your age, no matter your background. If you can play cribbage you can understand genetics. Don’t be intimidated by science. It may seem like a world shrouded in mystery and complexity, but if you can build a house, you can understand genetics. What seems a monumental task (learning it all) isn’t so hard when it is broken down into smaller tasks.

Why should you be interested in learning it?

Why, indeed.

The DNA-RNA-PROTEIN machinery possessed by your mom was a life process, and if she is still alive it still is. In other words it was her machine, her machine-ness, made of a given set of cogs, wheels etc.  This machinery is what she passed on to you; it is your body, your physiology, all of your biochemical processes.

Your biochemical/biogenetic machinery works for you 24/7. It doesn’t just give you the trivial traits of blue eyes and blond hair. Your cells are making hormones, enzymes and proteins that carry out your cell’s life functions on a minute by minute basis. This working machinery is what you inherited. Your mom gave you her “life process” the system by which her life exists. Your dad also had a life process that he passed on to you. It may be somewhat different from your mom’s, it may contain what some people call mutations, but it is a process that you inherited.

And at some point science and religion do come together, and I believe we are closer to that day than ever before in our history. After all, what is the genome if it is not the book of life?

Chapter one- This chapter will cover Mendel’s laws of unit inheritance, equal segregation and independent assortment, the cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis...

Chapter seven- Will include a discussion of heme formation, the hemoglobinopathies, Sickle Cell Anemia, Beta Thalassemia, Thalassemia Major.

Chapter eight-Covers metabolic disorders related to altered hormone levels including natriuretic hormones, hypothalamic hormones and feedback mechanisms, pituitary hormones, epinephrine as a hormone, insulin as a hormone.

Chapter nine- Discusses the relevence of genetics to the use of antibiotics, the way antibiotics work in the human and the biochemical activities of other drugs and antitumor drugs.

Chapter ten-Covers aspects of the genetic influence on immunologic and hypersensitivity reactions, includes an overview of leukocyte function, margination, rolling, adhesion and transmigration, phagocytosis and degradation, T cells, B cells, Natural killer cells type I, II, III, IV

About the Author

Debbie Dean was born in 1953, the year Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA. She spent 25 years as a US Army medical officer living and working all over the world. She is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam era as well as having served in Panama and the Gulf War. Educated as a PA, MD and Ph.D., she has always had a keen interest in DNA. Today she is retired and lives on the beach in Belize with her dog, Perla.