Synopses & Reviews
The genome's been mapped.
But what does it mean?
Arguably the most significant scientific discovery of the new century, the mapping of the twenty-three pairs of chromosomes that make up the human genome raises almost as many questions as it answers. Questions that will profoundly impact the way we think about disease, about longevity, and about free will. Questions that will affect the rest of your life.
Genome offers extraordinary insight into the ramifications of this incredible breakthrough. By picking one newly discovered gene from each pair of chromosomes and telling its story, Matt Ridley recounts the history of our species and its ancestors from the dawn of life to the brink of future medicine. From Huntington's disease to cancer, from the applications of gene therapy to the horrors of eugenics, Matt Ridley probes the scientific, philosophical, and moral issues arising as a result of the mapping of the genome. It will help you understand what this scientific milestone means for you, for your children, and for humankind.
Synopsis
Following in the tradition of James Gleick' Chaos, Matt Ridly vividly explores the most profound scientific discovery of the century--the mapping of the human genome. But what does that mean? In witty, clear language, Ridley answers this question for your students. Genome helps them understand what the human genetic code is, how it works, and how discoveries in the field of genetics are revolutionizing medicine, pharmaceuticals, business, politics, and our own sense of what it means to be human.
By picking one newly discovered gene from each of the twenty-three human chromosomes and telling its story, Ridley recounts the history of our species and its ancestors from the dawn of life to the brink of future medicine. Your students will discover:
- genes they share with bacteria
- genes that distinguish them from chimpanzees
- genes that may influence their intelligence
- genes that enable them to use language
- genes that allow them to remember
- genes that bring about diseases
- genes that battle with one another
- and more fascinating insights into their genetic makeup
Cutting through complicated scientific jargon, Ridley engages your students' minds and imaginations, exploring and making clear to them the applications of genetics: the search for understanding of where we come from and where we are headed.
Examining a scientific achievement on a parwith the splitting of the atom--and with asmany far-reaching implications--Genome will help students understand who they are as humans--and where they may be going.
Synopsis
"Ridley leaps from chromosome to chromosome in a handy summation of our ever increasing understanding of the roles that genes play in disease, behavior, sexual differences, and even intelligence. . . . . He addresses not only the ethical quandaries faced by contemporary scientists but the reductionist danger in equating inheritability with inevitability." -- The New Yorker
The genome's been mapped. But what does it mean? Matt Ridley's Genome is the book that explains it all: what it is, how it works, and what it portends for the future
Arguably the most significant scientific discovery of the new century, the mapping of the twenty-three pairs of chromosomes that make up the human genome raises almost as many questions as it answers. Questions that will profoundly impact the way we think about disease, about longevity, and about free will. Questions that will affect the rest of your life.
Genome offers extraordinary insight into the ramifications of this incredible breakthrough. By picking one newly discovered gene from each pair of chromosomes and telling its story, Matt Ridley recounts the history of our species and its ancestors from the dawn of life to the brink of future medicine. From Huntington's disease to cancer, from the applications of gene therapy to the horrors of eugenics, Ridley probes the scientific, philosophical, and moral issues arising as a result of the mapping of the genome. It will help you understand what this scientific milestone means for you, for your children, and for humankind.
About the Author
Matt Ridley is the author of several award-winning books, including Genome, The Agile Gene, and The Red Queen, which have sold more than 800,000 copies in twenty-seven languages worldwide. He lives in England.