Genetics and Randomness

With the revolutionary explosion of genetic information in recent decades, it is important to realize the underlying limitations of scientific predictions in genetics. Avoiding unnecessary technical details, this book helps readers accept and embrace a probabilistic view and understand the role of randomness in critical biological processes. It explores the nature of genetic uncertainty from different points of view and at different levels of biological organization. The book also traces the origin of some ideas of randomness starting from the basics of quantum mechanics and molecular genetics to modern evolutionary genetics and the philosophy of mathematics.

Preface	p. xi
Limits and uncertainty in nature and logic	p. 1
Limits of nature	p. 1
Quantum uncertainty principle	p. 4
Statistical mechanics and Brownian motion	p. 7
Randomness in mathematics	p. 10
Limits of reasoning: randomness and complexity as the general feature of nature and mind	p. 14
Summary	p. 16
Note	p. 16
References	p. 16
Quantum fluctuations, mutations, and "fixation" of uncertainty	p. 19
Nature of genes and mutations: the early attempts	p. 19
Mutations and repair	p. 29
Types of mutations	p. 29
Keto-enol transitions and quantum uncertainty	p. 30
Induced mutations and DNA repair	p. 34
How do random molecular events like mutations become facts of life?	p. 35
Somatic and germ cell mutations	p. 36
Quantum uncertainty and unpredictability of life	p. 37
Other quantum phenomena and life	p. 38
Summary	p. 38
References	p. 39
Recombination and randomness	p. 41
What is recombination?	p. 41
Crossing-over	p. 44
Molecular nature of recombination	p. 49
Distribution of cross-overs along chromosomes	p. 50
Meiotic recombination generates randomness	p. 51
Origin of meiosis and sex	p. 52
Recombination and chromosome rearrangements	p. 53
Genome transformations and speciation	p. 54
Intron-exon structure of eukaryotic genes: randomness again	p. 56
Arranged randomness and immune response	p. 57
Summary	p. 59
References	p. 60
Uncertainty of development	p. 63
Phenotype and genotype	p. 63
Stochasticity of development: clones and twins	p. 65
Mosaics and chimeras	p. 68
Alternative splicing and variety of proteins	p. 69
Stochastic nature of gene activity	p. 72
Epigenetic basis of developmental variability	p. 73
Random gene inactivation events	p. 77
Random X chromosome inactivation	p. 79
Gene networks and canalization	p. 81
Types of randomness	p. 84
Summary	p. 86
References	p. 88
Organized randomness	p. 93
Gregor Mendel's vision	p. 93
Random segregation, uncertainty, and combinatorial variability	p. 99
Genes and chromosomes that violate the law	p. 101
Why is the first Mendelian law so common?	p. 105
Randomness rules	p. 106
Summary	p. 108
References	p. 109
Random genetic drift and "deterministic" selection	p. 111
The discovery of genetic drift	p. 111
Neutral mutations in evolution	p. 122
Is natural selection deterministic?	p. 126
Adaptations and stochastic processes in evolution	p. 128
Summary	p. 131
References	p. 132
Life: Making uncertainty certain	p. 135
Order from chaos	p. 136
What is life?	p. 140
The old comparison: physics and biology	p. 142
Natural selection: biology and beyond	p. 145
Randomness: nuisance or essence?	p. 148
The reason and the consequence	p. 150
Summary	p. 155
References	p. 156
Index	p. 159
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Genetics and Randomness

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