Tears of the cheetah : and other tales from the genetic frontier / Stephen J. O'Brien ; foreword by Ernst Mayr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Brien, Stephen J. (Stephen James), 1944-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animal genetics--Popular works.

Animal genetics.

Endangered species--Popular works.

Endangered species.

Genre:

Popular works.

Physical Description:

xiv, 287 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, [2003]

Summary:

Tears of the Cheetah is a collection of genetic detective stories that uncover the secret histories of exotic species such as the giant panda, the humpback whale, and the imperiled cheetah--the world's fastest animal who nonetheless cannot escape its own genetic weaknesses. And with each animal tale, the author draws a human parallel--how feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) has uncovered clues to a potential cure for HIV, how mapping the genome of the domestic cat solved a murder, how a mutation in brown mice might stave off leukemia, and other important animal research that has paved the way toward the future of gene therapy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [267]-272) and index.

ISBN:

0312272863

OCLC:

52341799