Molecular Genetics and Human Disease.

The average practitioner, busy with the duties of daily clinical work, has probably become aware of the rumblings and excitement presently going on in the biochemical and genetic departments of whatever medical institution he contacts. Many of today's physicians had little training in the fundamentals of genetics and the influences of mutant genes on population variations. Recently, several books have been published as compilations of diseases of "inborn errors of metabolism" with detailed analyses of various heritable disorders. These volumes are impressive and serve the purpose of a lexicon, but previously no effort was made to acquaint the reader with the actual basic research as it has been carried out by the recent workers in this field, some of whom are Nobel laureates. For the physician interested in "catching up," this volume of 279 pages serves as a review of past accomplishments and opens the door into the research labs