A new textbook on molecular medicine offers undergraduate students five books in one. The Springer textbook Molecular Medicine: How Science Works written by Professor Carsten Carlberg is an updated fusion of his five earlier undergraduate textbooks based on his popular lecture courses at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF).
The new “big book” fuses together the textbooks Mechanisms of Gene Regulation: How Science Works, Human Epigenetics: How Science Works, Molecular Immunology: How Science Works, Cancer Biology: How Science Works, and Nutrigenomics: How Science Works. “For the moment, this book represents all the knowledge that I try to spread in my lectures and also apply in my research projects,” Carlberg says.
Molecular Medicine – How Science Works describes health and disease on a molecular and cellular level combined with clinical examples. First, the focus is on gene regulation and epigenetics – changes in gene function that do not involve changes in the DNA sequence and that can be affected by external factors, such as our lifestyle choices and environmental factors. Next, the book presents the principles of molecular immunology, from the body’s defence against infectious diseases and cancer to allergic reactions and autoimmune diseases.
“Epigenetics and immunity serve as fundaments in order to understand many processes in human biology, ranging from embryogenesis to homeostasis and aging,” Carlberg writes.
In this context, the book covers the molecular basis of most common diseases, such as cancer, insulin resistance and diabetes, heart disease and the metabolic syndrome, the role of obesity and chronic inflammation, as well as immune disorders. The role of nutrition in epigenetics and diseases is also explained.
Carlberg points out that many common diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, can be explained to less than 20% by a genetic predisposition, whereas the remaining 80% is primarily based on our epigenome. “We cannot change the genes that we are born with, but we can modulate our epigenome via our lifestyle choices. Therefore, there is a high level of individual responsibility for staying healthy. For this reason, not only biologists and biochemists, but all students of biomedical disciplines should be aware of this topic.”
Students and researchers at institutions that have a Springer Nature subscription can download the book for free.
The book’s 42 chapters are linked to lecture courses in Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Molecular Immunology, Cancer Biology, and Nutrigenomics that have been given yearly in different forms since 2002 by Professor Carlberg at the UEF. The figures for the book were provided by Associate Professor Ferdinand Molnar and Dr Eunike Velleuer who have contributed to some of the earlier textbooks as well.
Carsten Carlberg is Professor of Biochemistry at the Institute of Biomedicine at the UEF. His work focuses on mechanisms of gene regulation by nuclear hormones, in particular on vitamin D. At present he has projects on epigenome-wide effects of vitamin D on the human immune system. Ferdinand Molnár has done research at the UEF for over 10 years and is currently Associate Professor at the Department of Biology at the Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. Eunike Velleuer serves as senior physician at the Helios Children’s Clinic Krefeld as well as a research associate at the University of Düsseldorf.
For further information, please contact:
Professor Carsten Carlberg, Carsten.carlberg (a) uef.fi, +358 403553062, https://uefconnect.uef.fi/en/person/carsten.carlberg/
Carlberg, Carsten, Molnár, Ferdinand & Velleuer, Eunike. Molecular Medicine: How Science works. Springer 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27133-5
