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  • Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters

  • What a fascinating read! I barely put down this book! Actually, I've read this book twice. Liked it that much! Although I am not a bench scientist per se, I'm a researcher at heart and by training. This book speaks perfectly to the <<Renaissance Researcher>> type in all of us.

    I f ... Continue

    What a fascinating read! I barely put down this book! Actually, I've read this book twice. Liked it that much! Although I am not a bench scientist per se, I'm a researcher at heart and by training. This book speaks perfectly to the <<Renaissance Researcher>> type in all of us.

    I find that the genetics courses I've taken would have been 'easier' had I read Matt Ridley's book "Genome" first. It's like a bedtime story -- chapter by chapter -- for adults who like to think. Who like to imagine. Who are visionaries in their own right and who see beyond the surface level of people and things and so much more. Matt writes efficiently and succinctly while captivating the reader... who walks away with a better grasp of what cannot be seen easily -- that being our genes and genetics. He is careful not to rule out the important role of the environment in genetics, as any number of us realize that genes need an environment in which to express themselves.

    I was especially intrigued by his discussion of male homosexuality. His work lends support to the idea that genetics play a significant part in determining one's sexuality. As a friend and acquaintance to any number of gay men, I deeply sympathize with this discussion. I've witnessed the struggles that some gay men experience, particularly those who are closeted. It's painful to watch, and all anyone can do is lend support while understanding that genes are expressing themselves within a given environment.

    With genomics and nanotechnology moving forward at the speed of light, Matt's book may be slightly outdated by some individuals' standards; however, the information is classic and, therefore, never goes out of style. Instead, we build on it. And we refer back to it. I would read this again in a nanosecond!

    

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• ― Kimberly Petrovic said on Oct 21, 2008 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • I used this book in my investigation for a project for the Franklin Institute.

    

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• ― Batona said on Jun 4, 2007 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

The human genome, the complete set of genes housed in twenty-three pairs of chromosomes, is nothing less than an autobiography of our species. Spelled out in a billion three-letter words using the four-letter alphabet of DNA, the genome has been edited, abridged, altered and added to as it has been handed down, generation to generation, over more than three billion years. With the first draft of the human genome due to be published in 2000, we, this lucky generation, are the first beings who are able to read this extraordinary book and to gain hitherto unimaginable insights into what it means to be alive, to be human, to be conscious or to be ill.

By picking one newly discovered gene from each of the twenty-three human 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. He finds genes that we share with bacteria, genes that distinguish us from chimpanzees, genes that can condemn us to cruel diseases, genes that may influence our intelligence, genes that enable us to use grammatical language, genes that guide the development of our bodies and our brains, genes that allow us to remember, genes that exhibit the strange alchemy of nature and nurture, genes that parasitise us for their own selfish ends, genes that battle with one another and genes that record the history of human migrations. From Huntington's disease to cancer, he explores the applications of genetics: the search for understanding and therapy, the horrors of eugenics and the philosophical implications for understanding the paradox of free will.

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• Non-FictionScienceBiologyEvolutionethics