''Genetics for Beginners'', republished as ''Introducing Genetics'', is a 1993

graphic Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...

study guide Study guides can be broad based to facilitate learning in a number of areas, or be resources that foster comprehension of literature, research topics, history, and other subjects. General topics include study and testing strategies; reading, w ...

Genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar worki ...

written by

Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist *Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...

and illustrated by

Borin Van Loon Borin Van Loon (born 1951 in East Anglia) is a British illustrator and comic book artist, best known for his illustrations for the '' Introducing...'' series of graphic books on complex subjects. He is an author, collagist, and surrealist painte ...

. The volume, according to the publisher's website, "takes readers on a journey through this new science to the discovery of DNA and the heart of the human gene map," and, "gives us the information," to, "make moral decisions where genetics plays a part."

Publication history

This volume was originally published in the UK by Icon Books in 1993 as ''Genetics for Beginners'', and subsequently republished with different covers as ''Introducing Genetics'' and ''Introducing Genetics: A Graphic Guide''. The book was described, by illustrator Borin Van Loon, as a companion to ''

Darwin for Beginners ''Darwin for Beginners'', republished as ''Introducing Darwin'', is a 1982 graphic study guide to Charles Darwin and Evolution written by Dr. Jonathan Miller and illustrated by Borin Van Loon. The volume, according to the publisher's website, "unr ...

'' (1982), a previous volume in the series, and as a stand in for the long out-of-print ''

DNA for Beginners ''DNA for Beginners'', republished as ''DNA: A Graphic Guide to the Molecule that Shook the World'', is a 1983 graphic study guide to DNA written by Professor Israel Rosenfield from the City University of New York with Professor Edward Ziff from ...

'' (1983), both of which he illustrated. Editions: * * * Related volumes in the series: * * * *

Reception

Legacy

Van Loon's illustrations from this book provided the inspiration for his Health Matters Gallery mural at the

Science Museum, London The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019. Like other publicly funde ...

, which was opened on 9 June 1994 by Professor

James Watson James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. Watson, Crick and ...

, and were featured in the special exhibition, ''Representations of DNA'', at the

Whipple Museum of the History of Science Whipple may refer to: People * Whipple (surname) (including a list of people with the surname) * Whip Jones (1909–2001), American ski industry pioneer, founder, developer and original operator of the Aspen Highlands ski area in Aspen, Colorado * ...

in Cambridge in 2003.

References

{{Reflist 1993 in comics Books by Steve Jones (biologist) Educational comics Non-fiction graphic novels Popular science books