Describes the principles of molecular biology and genetics, including information on DNA, genetic engineering, sexual and asexual reproduction, and cloning.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Units of Life
• Inside the Nucleus
• Tracking Down Molecules
• Making the Message
• Passing on the Message
• Bacteria and Viruses
• Proteins and Amino Acids
• The Genetic Code
• Translating the Code
• Switching Genes On and Off
• Programming Development
• The Limits of Life
• Sexual Reproduction
• Determination of Sex
• Reproduction without Sex
• Mendel's Breakthrough
• Mixing the Genes
• Evolution by Natural Selection
• Genetic Drift
• Variation and Survival
• Strategies for Survival
• The Rise and Fall of Species
• Species and Other Kin
• Shared Evolution
• The Record in the Rocks
• The Earliest Life Forms
• An Explosion of Life
• Life Moves onto Land
• Winners and Losers
• The Evolution of Humankind
• Engineering New Life
• Finding the Genes
• The Human Genome Project
• Living Factories
• Cloning
• The New Farming Revolution
• Glossary
• Further Research