The central dogma of biology is DNA -> RNA -> Proteins. The details are very interesting but maybe not so much for a 12 year old. Understanding the roles this plays in the functioning of the cell (the big picture) might be interesting at that age IMHO. So you have Biochemistry which deals with the chemical reactions and pathways and Cell Biology which deals with how these Proteins function in a living organism.
Not exactly textbook but a bigger picture of the role DNA plays in evolution. I enjoyed them and they definitely inspire a desire to understand more.
Climbing Mount Improbable - Richard Dawkins
The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins
The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins
Physics
A Brief History of Time. - Stephen Hawkins
Comments
The central dogma of biology is DNA -> RNA -> Proteins. The details are very interesting but maybe not so much for a 12 year old. Understanding the roles this plays in the functioning of the cell (the big picture) might be interesting at that age IMHO. So you have Biochemistry which deals with the chemical reactions and pathways and Cell Biology which deals with how these Proteins function in a living organism.
Not exactly textbook but a bigger picture of the role DNA plays in evolution. I enjoyed them and they definitely inspire a desire to understand more.
Climbing Mount Improbable - Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins
Physics A Brief History of Time. - Stephen Hawkins