Description
Book SynopsisCracking the Genome is the definitive, balanced account of how the code that holds the answer to the origin of life, the evolution of humanity, and the future of medicine was finally broken.
Trade Review"For an up-to-the-minute account of one of the most dramatic periods in present-day science, Cracking the Genome is an essential read. Sunday Times A superb job... A tantalizing glimpse of the ethical perils and technological possibilities awaiting humanity. Los Angeles Times A rollicking good tale about an enduring intellectual monument. American Scientist The race is over, and Davies was there, all along, providing the running commentary-and there, too, at the finish line. In Cracking the Genome, he hands out the prizes. The Independent Davies has tracked one of the most important stories ever to unfold. Davies helps readers understand how the deciphering of our genetic code will revolutionize our lives while posing serious ethical dilemmas. Science News An impressive job of contextualizing the science within a political, economic, and social framework, creating a lively tale as accessible to non-specialists as it is to scientists. Publishers Weekly Investors and others looking for a quick primer on the science and business of biotechnology will find this a useful guide. Business Week In Davies' prose, this story of molecular biology and the Human Genome Project is as compelling as any Arthurian legend. In a fast-moving approachable style, Davies captures the uncovering of biology's Holy Grail, relying on his own expertise in genetics and interviews with key players such as Collins and Venter. -- Margaret R. McLean History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 2004
Table of ContentsPreface to The Johns Hopkins Edition
Introduction
Chapter 1. Knights of the Double Helix: The Quest for Biology's Holy Grail
Chapter 2. Reading the Book of Life: A Quick Voyage around the Human Genome
Chapter 3. The Eye of the TIGR: J. Craig Venter—Maverick Sequencer
Chapter 4. Loading the Bases: Francis Collins and the DNA Detectives
Chapter 5. The Circle of Life: Decoding the First Free-Living Creatures
Chapter 6. Treasures of the Lost Worlds: The Keys to Human Disease from Tristan da Cunha to Iceland
Chapter 7. Prize Fight: The Creation of Celera Genomics
Chapter 8. The Story of Us: The Secrets of Who We Are
Chapter 9. The Croesus Code: Passion, Personality, and Profit
Chapter 10. The Eighth Day: Braving the New World of Designer Genes
Chapter 11. The Language of God: A Defining Moment in the History of the Human Race
Chapter 12. Genomania!
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
