It's one of the hottest, most recent and most controversial topics in science, and for the next several weeks, the Eberly College of Science will present a series of lectures on "Decoding Life's Instruction Book: Genetics and Genomics."

This is the seventh year for the Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science. The lectures, which are free to the public and draw 300-350 people every Saturday morning, have tackled in the past everything from the evolution of the universe to astrobiology.

The six lectures this year, starting tomorrow and lasting until Feb. 17, deal with the exploding studies in the structure and function of the gene and genome.

Professors from University Park and the College of Medicine will conduct the lecture series.

"It's a truly timely issue to discuss," said Ken Weiss, one of this years lecturers and Evan Pugh Professor of Anthropology and Genetics. "Everyone has to have their head in a bag not to see the stories on genetics."

Genomics has made headlines all over the world, especially after scientists announced the mapping of the entire human genome — the DNA blueprint for human life.

"After we chose it (as the topic of the lecture series), Science magazine chose genomics as the breakthrough research of the year," said Barbara Kennedy, director of college public information for the Eberly College of Science and chair of the lecture committee.

Each lecture will deal with a different aspect of genetics and genomics.

Nina Fedoroff, professor of biology, will give the first lecture tomorrow, entitled "The Genomicist's Tool Kit: DNA Cloning and Sequencing, the Polymerase Chain Reaction, and DNA Microarrays."

Fedoroff said the impact of mapping the human genome is enormous.

"Having the human DNA sequence means that doctors will be able to diagnose many, many more diseases," she said.

Genomics' impact on agriculture is also a hot topic.

"It has the potential to revolutionize agriculture," she added. "There's an enormous amount of controversy over genetically modified plants."

DNA sequencing will also impact forensic science and help people know their risks for certain diseases, Fedoroff said.

This could potentially impact a person's insurance or ability to obtain a job.

Other lecture topics deal with the comparison of the human genome to other animals, societal and ethical issues of genomics and various research strategies.

The Lectures on the Frontiers of Science was a grassroots effort started by faculty in the physics department, Kennedy said. I

In the past years, the lectures have gained popularity, with the same people coming again and again to hear the professors talk.

"People really look forward to it. It's kind of bleak out here this time of year. They (the audience) approach it as a free mini-course," Kennedy said.

"I'm very encouraged by the intellectual curiosity among the audience members. It's clear to me that people are hungry for knowledge."