DNA: School Edition (Oberon Modern Plays)

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Throughout the entire play, Leah has been trying to gain Phil’s attention, and he is constantly ignoring her. Now Phil turns to her for approval and puts his arm round her. She pushes him away and runs off. Now Phil realises that even Leah is rejecting him, he begins to think about what he has done, and spends the rest of the play by himself, refusing to talk to anyone. Collins presents cutting-edge science for lay readers who want to take control of their medical lives. He discusses cancer, obesity, aging, racial differences, and a host ofother concerns, as well as the medical advances directly attributable to the Human Genome Project. He is also not shy about taking on large political issues: he points out problems with our current health-care system, discusses stem-cell research, and ina cogent commentary, recommends—with caveats—direct-to-consumer DNA testing. He does a superb job of humanizing a complex scientific and medical subject.

Mark and Jan are responsible for the events surrounding the bullying of Adam that lead to him falling into the grille. From p20 – 23 we are given a detailed description of the events that take place. Mark and Jan appear to be trying to justify their actions in this scene, Everyone has heard of DNA. But by itself, DNA is just an inert blueprint for life. It is the ribosome—an enormous molecular machine made up of a million atoms—that makes DNA come to life, turning our genetic code into proteins and therefore into us. This book is an insider account of the race for the structure of the ribosome, a fundamental discovery that both advances our knowledge of all life and could lead to the development of better antibiotics against life-threatening diseases. Presents a history of gene science that examines current debates about gene resequencing, tracing the author's family experiences with mental illness and the contributions of key scientists and philosophers. Mukherjee's other book (also phenomenal), The Emperor of All Maladies, focuses on cancer but also looks at the development of gene therapies as a possible treatment. A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Livedby Adam Rutherford

Molecular Biology of the Cell. 4th edition.

Had to read this for drama class in school. Thought that it was okay. I felt that the characters were very different and were all quite interesting, although were not developed very well (probably because the play itself was so short).

Dialogue: I like the vagueness of Jan and Mark's dialogues appearing at the beginning of every part. The cross-cutting will be fun to perform, though difficult. A group of teenagers do something bad, really bad, then panic and cover the whole thing up. But when they find that their cover-up unites them and brings harmony to their once fractious lives, where is the incentive to put things right. They all think that he’s dead, and go about making a plan to hide what they’ve done. Their plan goes slightly wrong when they frame an innocent postman for ‘kidnapping’ Adam. Brian, a member of their group, refuses to go to the police station and confirm that he saw the man alone with Adam. However, he ends up going because Phil threatens to throw him down the grate to ‘rot together’ with Adam. Although quiet for a long time, Phil clearly considers everyone’s words and actions before he speaks. He gives calm and considered instructions to each member of the group as he assigns roles and tasks for them to complete. This makes him appear callous and nihilistic. A key quote that justifies his actions:A portrait of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist explores the impact of James Watson's The Double Helix on her career and how her team's invention of CRISPR technology enabled revolutionary DNA-editing approaches to fighting disease. Adam wants to be part of the group and Mark and Jan see exactly what he will do to be part of their gang: Scene 3: Adam is alive and has been living in a hedge. He has survived by living off dead animals. He has clearly sustained a head injury. Phil instructs Jan, Mark and Lou to leave and not say anything. He shows Cathy how to kill Adam by tying a plastic bag around Brian’s head (who is by not on medication and is clearly losing his mind). Leah begs him not to do this. An exploration of human DNA and the stories it can tell describes how genes can explain why JFK's skin was bronze, Einstein was a genius, and why people with exceptional thumb flexibility can become world-class violinists. Kean's vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species' future. One in a Billion by Mark Johnson and Kathleen Gallagher