Genetics, the most rapidly advancing of the life sciences, has stimulated more diverse disciplines in the natural and social sciences than any other field. The fact that it has encouraged scientists of varied backgrounds -- anthropologists, chemists, computer specialists, engineers, mathematicians, paleontologists, physicians, and physicists -- to contribute to its development is one reason for its prodigious growth. Such growth is accompanied by a proliferation in terminology, which creates a problem both to beginning students and scientists from other disciplines who read papers by geneticists. Various terms, especially in molecular and cell biology, are newly coined and thus not found in any collegiate or biology dictionaries; in some cases, the terms are unknown to students with little or no background in taxonomy.

This much-needed fifth edition of the Dictionary of Genetics has been organized to provide a quick understanding to students and non-geneticists. It includes over 6,500 definitions of terms and species names relevant to the study of genetics. Also featured are a chronology that spans 400 years of genetic study and an extensive bibliography. The entries are for both strictly genetic terms and also nongenetic terms that are often encountered in the literature. Thus the book is helpful not only to beginning geneticists, but to anyone involved in life sciences.