This informative new book presents an accessible account of the development of medical genetics over the past 70 years, one of the most important areas of 20th, and now 21st, century science and medicine. Based largely on the author’s personal involvement and career as a leader in the field over the last half century, both in the UK and internationally, it draws on his interest and involvement in documenting the history of medical genetics. Underpinning the content is a unique series of 10...

This comprehensive guide provides overviews of the key psychological processes affecting mental health, such as development, attachment, emotion regulation and attention, and draws out the implications for preventive measures and promotion of emotional well-being. The authors, from a range of professional disciplines, emphasise the importance of early intervention and prevention, exploring in particular how initiatives in parenting and education can promote children's emotional well-being....

Myotonic dystrophy is part of the group of muscular dystrophies. It is the commonest inherited muscular dystrophy and has a profound effect on individuals who are diagnosed with the disease and their families. It is present for many decades of a patient's life but, unlike the other dystrophies, it also affects the organs in the body, making this a very distinctive disorder, and a very troubling one for those close to it. When the first edition of Myotonic Dystropy: The Facts published in 2...

Why do we need sleep? How much sleep is enough? What is sleep? What happens when we don't get enough? We spend about a third of our lives asleep - it plays a crucial role in our health and wellbeing. References to sleep abound in literature and art, and sleep has been recognized as fundamental to the human condition for thousands of years. Over the past century, our knowledge of how sleep occurs, what it does, and what happens to our health if we do not have enough has developed h...

When is it better to induce labour than to let a woman’s body or baby decide the best time for birth? What are the pros and cons of waiting and of being induced? What about after the due date? When the baby is thought to be bigger than average? When the woman is older? If she had IVF? Or when her waters have broken earlier than usual?Induction of labour is an increasingly common recommendation and more and more women find themselves having to decide whether to let their body and ba...

From the author of the acclaimed The Epigenetics Revolution ('A book that would have had Darwin swooning' – Guardian) comes another thrilling exploration of the cutting edge of human science.For decades after the structure of DNA was identified, scientists focused purely on genes, the regions of the genome that contain codes for the production of proteins. Other regions – 98% of the human genome – were dismissed as 'junk'. But in recent years researchers have discovered that variati...

Pregnant women and maternity services are facing an induction epidemic. As medical guidelines include more “at risk” categories, women and our already overwhelmed and under resourced maternity systems are increasingly pressured to induce birth before labour begins spontaneously. Women are deemed to be too large and too old, while babies are estimated to be too big and too overdue. But is ‘better-out-than-in’ really a safer option than waiting to birth in your own time?Staggeringly,...

An "invaluable [and] highly readable" account of the quest to map our DNA, the blueprint for life—and what it means for our future ( The Philadelphia Inquirer).Genome tells the story of the most ambitious scientific adventure of our time. By gradually isolating and identifying all the genes in the human body—the blueprint for life—scientists are closing in on the ability to effectively treat and prevent nearly every disease that strikes man, from m...

The earth's daily rotation affects just about every living creature. From dawn through to dusk, there are changes in light, temperature, humidity, and rainfall. However, these changes are regular, rhythmic and, therefore, predictable. Thus, the near 24 hour circadian rhythm is innate: a genetically programmed clock that essentially ticks of its own accord. This Very Short Introduction explains how organisms can "know" the time and reveals what we now understand of the nature and o...

All of us have lurking in our DNA a most remarkable gene, which has a crucial job – it protects us from cancer. Known simply as p53, this gene constantly scans our cells to ensure that they grow and divide without mishap, as part of the routine maintenance of our bodies. If a cell makes a mistake in copying its DNA during the process of division, p53 stops it in its tracks, summoning a repair team before allowing the cell to carry on dividing. If the mistake is irreparable and the rogue ce...

Molecular Biology is the story of the molecules of life, their relationships, and how these interactions are controlled. It is an expanding field in life sciences, and its applications are wide and growing. We can now harness the power of molecular biology to treat diseases, solve crimes, map human history, and produce genetically modified organisms and crops, and these applications have sparked a multitude of fascinating legal and ethical debates. In this Very Short Introduction,...

Since the middle of the twentieth century, the development of plastics has been one of the main factors influencing the history of medicine. For example, an anaesthesiologist was formerly an expert in delivering drugs by inhalation. Today, this expert delivers drugs through plastic catheters, in particular via intravenous and epidural routes. Where obstetrics is concerned, a typical modern woman in labour is visualised as having one of her arms connected to a plastic bag through a plastic tub...