Book excerpt: This book offers an introduction to the newest, fastest-growing field in laboratory science. Explaining and clarifying the molecular techniques used in diagnostic testing, this text provides both entry-level and advanced information. It covers the principles of molecular biology along with genomes and nucleic acid alterations, techniques and instrumentation, and applications of molecular diagnostics. Written by leading experts, including Patrick Bossuyt, Angela Caliendo, Rossa W.K. Chiu, Kojo S.J. Elenitoba-Johnson, Andrea Ferreira-Gonzalez, Amy Groszbach, Sultan Habeebu, Doris Haverstick, Malek Kamoun, Anthony Killeen, Noriko Kusukawa, Y.M. Dennis Lo, Elaine Lyon, Gwendolyn McMillin, Christopher Price, James Versalovic, Cindy Vnencak-Jones, Victor Weedn, Peter Wilding, Thomas Williams, and Carl Wittwer, this book includes illustrations, tables, and a colorful design to make information easy to find and easy to use. A full-color, 4-page insert shows realistic images of the output for many molecular tests. Learning Objectives open each chapter with an overview of what you should achieve. Key Words are listed and defined at the beginning of each chapter, and are bolded in the text. Review Questions at the end of every chapter let you measure your comprehension. Advanced Concepts are included, but set apart from the rest of the text, for students who want a higher level of learning. Ethics boxes address ethical issues, allowing you to apply your knowledge to real-life scenarios. A glossary of all key words may be easily accessed in the back of the book.