Preface
- Page ID
- 55535
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Narrowing the communication gap between scientists and the general public takes a concentrated effort on both sides. This book aims to reach across that gap, to the general public and to students who aren’t science majors. Many students who are apprehensive about taking science classes do so only to fulfill a core requirement. Most are interested in science, but are intimidated by the technical terms and the flood of details.
This book had its start 30+ years ago and was written specifically for a course that fulfills a general education requirement in life science. The course requires a textbook that blends nutrition, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, evolution, and chemistry; is organized by body systems (nutrition textbooks are typically organized by nutrients); includes the scientific method and issues of diversity; encourages critical thinking—and is compact enough to cover in a semester.
The challenge has been to select and present the required information in a timely and interesting— but not superficial—way. My hope is that readers will come to appreciate, if not share, the excitement that scientists have about their work. The book has been revised continually, reflecting what students teach me in conversation—and in their answers on exams. I’ve tried to make the presentation as informal and with as few technical terms as possible while retaining a depth of coverage.
In the brief “lifetime” of this book, there have been astonishing advances in the life sciences. The biggest biology project ever—the Human Genome Project (1990-2003)—took us deep into the genetics of our being and into new ethical dilemmas.
In 1962, Dr. James Watson shared a Nobel prize for discovering the structure of DNA. In 1992, I sat in as he took questions from a group of high school students. One memorable exchange:
Student: Where do you think DNA technology will be 50 years from now?
Dr Watson: That’s a stupid question
Student: But, Dr. Watson, we’re told that there’s no such thing as a stupid question.
Dr. Watson: There are a lot of stupid questions. I couldn’t even imagine that we’d be this far advanced today. How could I guess how far we’ll be in 50 years?
He was right-on (in his crotchety way). How far and fast we’ve advanced is astonishing. Today, the sequencing and identification of genes in all forms of life are not only commonplace, but we now have the astonishing capacity to precisely edit genes in any organism. This is both exciting and worrisome. All the more, we need that basic knowledge of life sciences to understand the new advances and ethical dilemmas that we face. There’s much to discuss.