Historical Genetics’ Introductions

by Janet Chan

The Cartoon Guide to Genetics (Updated Edition)

The cartoon guide to genetics by Larry Gonick and Mark Wheelis takes the reader through the history and explanation of genetic knowledge. The first half of the book starts with history and the authors’ speculation of early human’s thinking about reproduction and living things. From there, they explore discoveries and events from the ancient history of the Chinese, Hindus, Greeks, Romans, and Christians related to our understanding of genetics. Next, we traverse the early experiments of Francesco Redi, Anton Van Leeukenhoek, and William Harvey. These science pioneers helped shape our understanding of genetics and reproduction. Francesco Redi helped disprove the notion of spontaneous generation using a controlled experiment to demonstrate that flies do not spontaneously generate from decaying meat but are instead born from tiny eggs laid on the meat. Anton Van Leeukenhoek (aka “the Father of Microbiology”) constructed a single lens microscope and discovered bacteria and sperm cells. William Harvey coined the phrase “ex ovo omnia” (everything from the egg) to further refute the idea of spontaneous generation and supported this theory with evidence from his chicken egg experiments. The book gets more in depth with the pioneering work of Gregor Mendel. The subsequent pages explore genes, gene mutations, mitosis and meiosis. There are examples of genetic conditions like Kleinfelter syndrome and Turner syndrome (p.87). Kleinfelter syndrome is a genetic condition where a male has an extra X chromosome (Mayo Clinic, 2024) while Turner syndrome is a condition where a female has a missing or partially missing X chromosome (Mayo Clinic, 2022). The explanation of X-rated genes (91) informs the reader about sex linked traits like color blindness, balding, and hemophilia.

The second half of the book expands on these concepts with an explanation of cells. The simple E. coli is presented and from there the authors launch into macromolecules, proteins, and enzymes. James Watson and Francis Crick are featured along with the double helix. The modern history of genetics is presented in all its complexity from junk DNA to genetic engineering. The book ends with some prominent ethical questions related to gene editing and cloning along with the applications that were current at its publication time.

Gonick’s illustrations are reminiscent of the style of the School House Rock cartoon series. While some of the illustrations are helpful to the understanding of genetics, many are there for entertainment value. All the illustrations are black and white. The use of color illustrations may have added to the understanding of some of the concepts in the book like the components of a cell.

Although the book has good basic knowledge of history and genetic knowledge, it was published in 1991 and is a little dated toward the end where it is describing the current landscape and ethics in the field of genetics. Although we have not yet cloned a human, scientists have successfully cloned mammals like Dolly the sheep from adult cells (Bucklin, 2017). Not surprisingly, some of the ethical questions presented like how far is too far in genetic engineering are some of the same questions that we are still grappling with today (Joseph et al, 2022).

Bucklin, S. (2017). 8 Mammals that have been cloned since Dolly the sheep. Live Science.  https://www.livescience.com/57971-mammals-that-have-been-cloned.html

Joseph, A. M., Karas, M., Ramadan, Y., Joubran, E., & Jacobs, R. J. (2022). Ethical perspectives of therapeutic human genome editing from multiple and diverse viewpoints: A scoping review. Cureus, 14(11), Article e31927. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.31927

Mayo Clinic. (2022). Turner syndrome. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/turner-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20360782

Mayo Clinic. (2024). Klinefelter syndrome. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/klinefelter-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353949

Introducing Epigenetics: A graphic guide

Introducing epigenetics: A graphic guide by Cath Ennis familiarizes readers with this interesting topic. Epigenetics is the study of how genes are regulated and interact with their environment (Cleveland Clinic, 2024). Ennis starts with the foundational information about the relationship between genes, RNA, and proteins then reviews mitosis and meiosis. She then explores the history of epigenetics starting with Conrad Waddington who introduced the term epigenetics. American geneticists and Nobel prize winners Craig Mello and Andrew Fire’s work with RNA therapeutics is featured. Ennis links foundational epigenetic knowledge with real world cases like the famine that occurred during the Dutch Hunger Winter of World War II. Epigeneticist Bertie Lumey studied the effects of this famine through three generations of survivors to determine the far-reaching health consequences of this event. The book wraps up with information on stem cell therapies and ethical considerations like patient privacy and discrimination.

Illustrated by Oliver Pugh, the visuals are a combination of black and white photos and drawings that both entertain and highlight information throughout the book. On page 9, photographs of all 23 chromosomes pairs are presented. The table on page 130 breaks down the information on genetic mutation The writing style is engaging and the witty comments in the visuals add entertainment value. The book was published in 2017 and is up to date through that time. The breakthroughs of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines that contemporary readers may be familiar with had not yet happened and are not presented.

Cleveland Clinic. (2024). Epigenetics. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/epigenetics

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Introducing Genetics: A graphic guide

Introducing genetics: A graphic guide by Steve Jones is a trip through the history of genetic knowledge accompanied by entertaining illustrations by Borin Van Loon. Jones introduces the topic of genetics with Darwin and Mendel’s early thinking. The book moves through time as discoveries are made presenting foundational concepts to the reader in a scaffolded fashion which allows the reader to build knowledge of the topic. He traverses the early 1900’s exploring not only the accumulation of genetic knowledge and understanding but also of political discourse and world events happening at the same time. Jones discusses how Trofim Lysenko stymied research in the field of genetics because it did not align with the Communist party thought in Russia (p. 42-43). He also highlights how the use of mustard gas in World War 1 led to the association of poison gases with genetic mutations (46).

The book goes on to document the evolution of genetic knowledge from mutations, the discovery of DNA and RNA, and genetic engineering. Several genetic diseases are mentioned including cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, and sickle cell disease. Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common inherited diseases which affect the respiratory and digestive systems (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, n.d.) Neurofibromatosis is an inherited disorder which primarily affects the nervous system (Neurofibromatosis Network, 2021). Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder which leads to abnormally shaped red blood cells (WHO, 2025). Most are mentioned briefly without in-depth information. The book touches on subjects that may be sensitive for some readers such as Hitler’s views on producing a pure civilization through extermination (28).

The illustrations are black and white and mostly for entertainment value. Some of the illustrations carry a satirical tone and style which create an entertaining element. A few of the graphics, such as the “Cell, genes, and jargon – A summary” (74-75) do serve to further clarify and augment the reader’s understanding of genetic knowledge. The use of color could have helped enhance the understanding of the material. The book was originally published in 1993 and although the historical knowledge is accurate the state of the science at the end of the book feels outdated.

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. (n.d.) Intro to CF. https://www.cff.org/intro-cf

Neurofibromatosis Network. (2021). What is NF. https://www.nfnetwork.org/understand-nf/what-is-nf/

World Health Organization. (2025) Sickle cell disease. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sickle-cell-disease

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Janet Chan, MLIS, AHIP, RN is a research and education librarian at the University of South Florida Health Libraries. Her research areas include bibliotherapy, graphic medicine, and digital health.