Genetics dominate much of today's biology, from research projects to stories picked up by the press.
We hear about proposed genetic treatments for disease, and the discovery of genes for seemingly everything from acne
to zoophobia. To understand the foundation beneath these stories, today's general public needs a rather sophisticated
knowledge of genetics. But where do you get that knowledge? If you want to get the basics behind genetics or if you need
to brush up on a concept or two, then the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory recently opened
a site made just for you. It's called DNA from the Beginning.
This site (which requires Netscape Navigator 4.0 or better, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or better, and the Shockwave Flash and RealPlayer plug-ins)
will eventually consist of two parts: an online genetics primer, and an online encyclopedia of human genetic diseases and disorders. The site says this information will be "targeted at the level of a bright teenager and geared specifically towards people who do not have a scientific background." In addition, the primer will
cover essentially the whole field of genetics, from the pioneering work of Gregor Mendel to the most recent discoveries.
According to John Kruper, managing editor of this site, he and his colleagues designed it to "provide enough information to understand either what people hear in the news about genetics or what they face in terms of understanding what we call 'personal genetic dilemmas,' as we move into an increasingly genetic diagnostic world." In addition, this site was designed to accommodate everything from casual exploring to use as a textbook.
Kruper goes on to say: "Like a lot of things, this originated as an idea from James Watson, who is the president of the lab here." Watson was also codiscoverer, along with Francis Crick in 1953, of DNA's double-helix structure. "Having written textbooks, he is always interested in public education." Luckily, the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation saw potential in this project, too, and in 1997 it provided a three-year grant of $820,000.
That level of support allowed for a team of developers that included members of the teaching staff at Cold Spring Harbor, along with college professors, high school teachers, and designers. Kruper says, "We actually built a prototype - a fully functional, working prototype - that we showed to a variety of people. Then we ended up essentially throwing it out. We had built something that looked very much like a traditional textbook, but on the computer. But we had taken the textbook metaphor much too seriously and much too far, and people told us that. Because of that, we learned from that prototype and went on to build what has become the product that we have now."
Eventually, the primer will include five sections: classical genetics, which is online now; molecules of genetics; gene regulation; genetic manipulation; and genomic biology. The entire primer will consist of a series of 80 concepts. Right now, one can view the first 14 concepts in the classical genetics section.
Each concept page gives a general description of the topic. For example, the first such page, Children Resemble Their Parents, gives a brief description of Gregor Mendel's work. Visitors who want just an overview can read this concept and then move on to the next one by hitting a + button located in the upper right corner. Kruper says, "The idea is that the casual user - someone who just wants to get in, get the key concepts, and move on - can do that through these short little narratives and not get enmeshed into long, long pages of links and a web of additional information. But should users want a deeper understanding, each short concept explanation has supporting animations and other resources to let them go into that concept at a greater level of detail."
Visitors can access that extra detail through a series of buttons along the bottom of each concept page. For instance, hitting the Animation button at the bottom of the Children Resemble Their Parents page shows visitors that Gregor Mendel used peas because, for one thing, they were easy to grow. Visitors will even see an animated pea plant sprout, grow, and reproduce through self-fertilization. The animation goes on to show how Mendel cross-fertilized peas by removing the stamens, or male reproductive structures, from a plant before it could self-fertilize, and then brushing its pistil, or female reproductive structure, with pollen from another plant.
The Audio/Video button for the first concept takes viewers to two short movie clips of Robert Olby, professor of history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh. These clips give a look - with the benefit
of hindsight - at what made Mendel's research stand out, such as the fine experimental design behind his work. In a later concept, Olby addresses a common question about Mendel: were his results too perfect? Olby goes over several aspects of that question, including wondering if Mendel just stopped counting when his numbers seemed to fit his hypothesis. In the end, Olby concludes, "I can't see that this is such a big deal myself, I have to say."
Additional buttons at that bottom of each concept page lead to even more information on a topic. For example, the Links button puts a visitor in contact with other sites on the Web that include supporting information.
As you move through this primer, and especially if you follow the buttons to more information, you will soon see some of the benefits of a Web-based textbook. The animations of mitosis and meiosis alone make this site valuable for any beginning biology student. Another animation shows how to set up a Punnet square to keep track of alleles and the resulting phenotypes.
After your first jump into genetics at this site, be sure to keep coming back to look for updates. The development team hopes to add installments to the textbook every few months, until all five sections are available. As a biologist who took genetics quite some time ago, I know I'll come back to complete this refresher course and
update.
Mike May is the
contributing Web Resources editor of HMS Beagle.
Send us your comments and ideas for future
articles.
This site (which requires Netscape Navigator 4.0 or better, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or better, and the Shockwave Flash and RealPlayer plug-ins)
will eventually consist of two parts: an online genetics primer, and an online encyclopedia of human genetic diseases and disorders. The site says this information will be "targeted at the level of a bright teenager and geared specifically towards people who do not have a scientific background." In addition, the primer will
cover essentially the whole field of genetics, from the pioneering work of Gregor Mendel to the most recent discoveries.
Kruper goes on to say: "Like a lot of things, this originated as an idea from 
That level of support allowed for a team of developers that included members of the teaching staff at Cold Spring Harbor, along with college professors, high school teachers, and designers. Kruper says, "We actually built a prototype - a fully functional, working prototype - that we showed to a variety of people. Then we ended up essentially throwing it out. We had built something that looked very much like a traditional textbook, but on the computer. But we had taken the textbook metaphor much too seriously and much too far, and people told us that. Because of that, we learned from that prototype and went on to build what has become the product that we have now."
Each concept page gives a general description of the topic. For example, the first such page, Children Resemble Their Parents, gives a brief description of Gregor Mendel's work. Visitors who want just an overview can read this concept and then move on to the next one by hitting a + button located in the upper right corner. Kruper says, "The idea is that the casual user - someone who just wants to get in, get the key concepts, and move on - can do that through these short little narratives and not get enmeshed into long, long pages of links and a web of additional information. But should users want a deeper understanding, each short concept explanation has supporting animations and other resources to let them go into that concept at a greater level of detail."
The Audio/Video button for the first concept takes viewers to two short movie clips of Robert Olby, professor of history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh. These clips give a look - with the benefit
of hindsight - at what made Mendel's research stand out, such as the fine experimental design behind his work. In a later concept, Olby addresses a common question about Mendel: were his results too perfect? Olby goes over several aspects of that question, including wondering if Mendel just stopped counting when his numbers seemed to fit his hypothesis. In the end, Olby concludes, "I can't see that this is such a big deal myself, I have to say."
As you move through this primer, and especially if you follow the buttons to more information, you will soon see some of the benefits of a Web-based textbook. The animations of mitosis and meiosis alone make this site valuable for any beginning biology student. Another animation shows how to set up a Punnet square to keep track of alleles and the resulting phenotypes.
