Introduction to Genetics

Reviewed by Traci Stevens, Professor of Biology, Randolph-Macon College on 10/29/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book covers a broad range of topics related to transmission genetics, and includes all topics related to inheritance that would be discussed in most introductory genetics courses. This book does not cover molecular or population genetics, so few connections are not made between inheritance and molecular genetics.
Most topics contain a combination of written text and links to YouTube videos from various sources. There are many concepts within topics that are only covered in the YouTube videos, without an accompanying written explanation.
This book does not have a comprehensive set of practice problems. There are few solved problems within the text, and for topics in which there are solved problems, they are written out in paragraph form, with the math embedded within sentences, rather than in a format in which inheritance problems are typically solved. There are a limited set of practice problems, with answers, at the end of each chapter, and there “solved video questions – created by students, for students” in each chapter. In addition, the questions covered in the student-created videos are not provided, except in the video with the solution, so students do not have the opportunity to solve the problem before seeing the solution. Due to the overall limited number of practice problems, there are several concepts for which there are no practice problems.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The text of this book is generally accurate, although the inheritance of some human traits described as Y-linked is inaccurate. In addition, the embedded YouTube videos, which are from a variety of sources, contain some information and wording that is questionable at best. Furthermore, while the actual solutions in the student-created videos are generally correct, these videos include statements that are not accurate, and I would be uncomfortable using a textbook that includes these videos.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

This book contains a variety of examples related to inheritance, but many are outdated (including a reference to ear hair being a Y-linked trait). In addition, there are few examples describing the inheritance of human traits and health conditions, so this book misses opportunities to engage the large population of students who are interested in health care.
Some of the videos also include references to cultural events that were current at the time of recording, but are already outdated. Furthermore, the focus of some embedded videos is not relevant to its subsection topic.

Clarity rating: 3

The use of YouTube videos from various sources to cover many important concepts reduces the clarity of this text. In addition, some of the videos contain information irrelevant to the topic of that particular section, contain introductions that are too basic for a college course, and are quite long (30 minutes or more in some cases). I think that students would quickly conclude that watching the videos are not the best use of their time, and since much of the content is embedded in those videos and not written in text form, students would lack exposure to large chunks of content.

Consistency rating: 2

Again, the use of a variety of YouTube videos to deliver the content (rather than to supplement) means that consistency is lacking. The choice of wording, style, and content level are all over the map throughout the book. Even the symbols used vary greatly. For example, even though the text explains that shaded indicates an affected individual and unaffected individuals are not shaded, several of the pedigrees shown in the text use blue and red to indicate affected and not affected.
In addition, the chapter on Genes and COVID-19 Susceptibility in Humans seems to have been written at a much higher level and would require an understanding of molecular biology that is not included in the rest of the book.

Modularity rating: 5

This book is divided into fairly short chapters on specific topics, with multiple short sections in each chapter. It would be easy to assign specific portions of content from different areas of the book.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book is organized, and it is easy to find information. Each chapter follows a consistent format.
In some cases, it appears that perhaps some videos have been linked to the wrong sections because the content of the video more closely aligns with other headings.

Interface rating: 5

The interface is straight forward. However, I do have concerns that the selected YouTube videos could become inaccessible, which would greatly affect the usefulness of this book, as the book relies on those videos to deliver critical content that is not covered in the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The book was relatively free of grammatical errors, although there are a few typos and places where upper-case letters are used inappropriately and inconsistently.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Most genetic traits discussed in this book are not human traits or health conditions, so representing diversity in this way is not relevant to this book. However, some genetic conditions are referenced by a common name (such as “porcupine man”), rather than using medical terminology.

Reviewed by James Langeland, Professor, Kalamazoo College on 1/30/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text does what it claims to do. It provides an introductory overview of a broad swath of genetics.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

No glaring errors. One could always nitpick any text book.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The text is relevant, but not particularly unique in any sense. One could find virtually the same information in any number of genetics textbooks, presented in largely the same way. A major problem here is that the filed is presented more or less historically with many of the experiments and concepts being described having little to no relevance to genetics today. This is a problem with many texts so I do not single this one out.

Clarity rating: 4

As with many open source texts, this one suffers from substandard figures, which directly influences clarity. The words on the age are fine, but the adage is true-a picture can be worth a thousand words. The mainstream publishers spent a lot of money on figures and it shows--they can be really good.

Consistency rating: 4

No comments here.

Modularity rating: 4

There seem to be appropriate and logical chapter and section breaks.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

The flow is the same as nearly any other genetics textbook. It suffers from a rigid historical framework. Better than most at Muller's morphs however!

Interface rating: 5

No problems here. I do really like the integrated you tube links. I did not dive into the content of those videos (beyond the scope of my review), but the fact that they are there in abundance is a good use of the open source approach.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No problems here.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

No comment.

Comments

A very timely section on SARS-Cov-2 at the end! Rich with study questions and answers. Genetics is and should be very problem based, so this is good.
I appreciate what is being offered here and I understand the market. There is nothing "wrong" with this textbook. There is also no wow factor that would cause me to adopt it at this time.