Life's Big Instruction Book

or

Molecular Genetics by Analogy

This site gives a taste of what genetic information is, what genetic information is like, and how living things use their genetic information. Along the way, this site describes how genetic information produces the features we see in living things around us, how living things pass on their genes to their offspring, and how (and why) genetic information changes over time. In doing so, the site describes the elegance and complexity of the methods living things use to act on and propagate their genes. The pages here lead up to discussing evolution and natural selection, and how they relate to man-made genetic changes through mass breeding/artificial selection and genetic engineering.

Although this site attempts to be scientifically precise, there are places where the analogy being used breaks down. These places are noted in the site with the phrase "In real life...". Since there are several very good sites that describe the details of genetics as we know them, this site won't repeat that information. People interested in the nitty-gritty of how living things really work should see the bibliography.

Where this site defines technical terms, they're written in bold letters, to help distinguish between terms used in the analogies and accepted scientific names. For example, the eye is commonly compared to a camera, and the "film" it uses to take pictures with is its retina.

While this site is organized into chapters, it isn't necessary to read them in order. Since terms are hyperlinked to their definitions, it's possible to start anywhere in the site, and simply click on unfamiliar terms or expressions to find out what they mean.

Let's get started...

An organism's genetic information (called its genome) is really just an instruction book telling it how to grow, act, respond to events in the outside world, and reproduce. Without an instruction book, an organism can't do anything. In fact, we don't believe it's possible for a living thing to exist without one. To emphasize the importance of life's instruction book, the name "Life's Instruction Book" will always appear capitalized in the rest of this site.

The phrase "In real life..." is also used to mark important or well known exceptions to the general descriptions this site makes. These exceptions, and other asides that are interesting but not vital to the main text, are placed in marginal notes like this one.

Part One: Reading the Book

Introduction Everything I needed to know, I learned from... Reading the Book Getting Organized Workers, Tools, and Materials How workers are organized Seeing the Unseen Book Binding The Anatomy of a Worker Making Workers Seeing the Unseen -- Double Vision

Part Two: Copying the Book

Part Three: Improving the Book

Table of Contents
Questions? Comments or Suggestions? Copyright Notice