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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
One, [a:Siddhartha Mukherjee|3032451|Siddhartha Mukherjee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1461962032p2/3032451.jpg] knows what he is talking about, how intricate and delicate the matter is. He talks about how the discovery of genes affected societies and how new technologies in the field of genetic engineering might affect the future of the world. Two, It is an interesting work of non-fiction and the first that, I have read that has engaged me in a peculiar way. It made me understand the ethicality and its [gene engineering technology] ever fascinating usage as well as the seemingly possible consequences.
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
If the reader is a bit curious about how our bodies work, The Gene is a very accessible, highly interesting story of human life from the perspective of genes which build proteins: the chemistry of life. Mukherjee's writing style not only educates about genetic processes but weaves innumerable real life stories about how a genetic errors can create health challenges.
The book should be a must read for high school students or science survey courses where the mission is to provide a science prerequisite for graduation.
If you like Gene, Mukherjee just published Cell, the next step in biology to understanding life. Both books are fabulous. – Tom L.
The book should be a must read for high school students or science survey courses where the mission is to provide a science prerequisite for graduation.
If you like Gene, Mukherjee just published Cell, the next step in biology to understanding life. Both books are fabulous. – Tom L.
informative
medium-paced
Emperor of All Maladies was a deeply felt, emotional book. I don't know anyone who got through it with dry eyes. What an exciting thing, then, that Siddhartha Mukherjee's next book would be about biology and genetics. Most pop science is at best witty and entertaining and enlightening but it's rarely emotional, and the characters in them are usually thinly sketched and not particularly lived in.
The first two thirds of the book are a history of genetics and heredity, and it's fine but indistinguishable from, say Life's Greatest Secret or The Epigenetics Revolution, or hell, even parts of Emperor. Mukherjee stretches for the life-and-death gravity he wrote on previously, but doesn't get to it. He doesn't seem to give a shit, really. Or rather, it's like he assumed that merely writing on, say, gene editing or whatever would give it depth, but there's just nothing. It's shockingly by-the-numbers, with more than a few spots of eye-rolling faux-profundity. I'll give an example.
Towards the end of the book there's a section describing Yamanaka factors, which are four proteins that can be used to convert a non-stem cell into a stem cell. Stem cells are cells that all fully developed cells derive from, so in theory you could take a bunch of, say, skin cells, convert them to stem cells, and then convert those stem cells into brain cells which could be used to treat a stroke victim. Mukherjee pauses to note that one of those Yamanaka factors, c-Myc, can cause cancer. That something that may be used to treat disease could itself cause disease is, I guess, in and of itself profound. Yins are yanged, circles are completed, hands are waved, etc. Nevermind that the other three Yamanaka factors can also cause cancer. Or basically any protein you pick out of the air.
There are a few passages of gripping drama concerning mental illness in the author's family, but aside from the opening chapter and a few interpolations throughout, the promised intimacy never appears. For most of the book the stakes never rise above the kind of struggle --> success storyline you'd get in a C+ biopic.
If you're not familiar with the history of 20th century molecular biology, this book is fine. It won't kill you to read it, though it's long enough that you might feel like you're wasting your time. Or you could just read a biology textbook. Not much difference.
The first two thirds of the book are a history of genetics and heredity, and it's fine but indistinguishable from, say Life's Greatest Secret or The Epigenetics Revolution, or hell, even parts of Emperor. Mukherjee stretches for the life-and-death gravity he wrote on previously, but doesn't get to it. He doesn't seem to give a shit, really. Or rather, it's like he assumed that merely writing on, say, gene editing or whatever would give it depth, but there's just nothing. It's shockingly by-the-numbers, with more than a few spots of eye-rolling faux-profundity. I'll give an example.
Towards the end of the book there's a section describing Yamanaka factors, which are four proteins that can be used to convert a non-stem cell into a stem cell. Stem cells are cells that all fully developed cells derive from, so in theory you could take a bunch of, say, skin cells, convert them to stem cells, and then convert those stem cells into brain cells which could be used to treat a stroke victim. Mukherjee pauses to note that one of those Yamanaka factors, c-Myc, can cause cancer. That something that may be used to treat disease could itself cause disease is, I guess, in and of itself profound. Yins are yanged, circles are completed, hands are waved, etc. Nevermind that the other three Yamanaka factors can also cause cancer. Or basically any protein you pick out of the air.
There are a few passages of gripping drama concerning mental illness in the author's family, but aside from the opening chapter and a few interpolations throughout, the promised intimacy never appears. For most of the book the stakes never rise above the kind of struggle --> success storyline you'd get in a C+ biopic.
If you're not familiar with the history of 20th century molecular biology, this book is fine. It won't kill you to read it, though it's long enough that you might feel like you're wasting your time. Or you could just read a biology textbook. Not much difference.
This book makes me want to go get my PhD in biochemistry! I love the way the author writes about science and medicine, making it accessible for both those versed in the topic and those that aren't. I did like The Emperor of All Maladies better by a small margin but this book is still awesome.
Having read two previously written books by Mukherjee (Goodreads reviews here and here), I was once again predisposed to enjoy his writing and, once again, it did not disappoint. This book is exactly what the title implies – an intimate history of the discovery of genes in all their glory, and the people and processes involved along the journey.
I have written on my personal blog (1st post and 2nd post) about the topics of the book that made especial impressions on me, but all of the book is fascinating for the tales it tells about the essence of what makes us human on a biological and chemical level.
To read this book at my maximum time of alertness meant reading it during the day, which meant taking longer to read because work days precluded absorbent reading, thus relegating the book to weekends and days off.
Mukherjee's beautiful command of language, coupled with his earnestness in telling the many stories that comprise The Gene, left me with a renewed sense of appreciation and awe for the diversity that makes us human, both internally and externally, emotionally and cognitively. It is these very differences that likely ensure the survival of our species. If we were all identical, with no changes between us, then it would take just one interference from an external entity to throw our species off kilter. As it is, a single virus or bacteria can promulgate havoc, but there are so many humans that either due to geographic location or genetic differences our species will keep going, albeit with a slightly revised gene set.
I have written on my personal blog (1st post and 2nd post) about the topics of the book that made especial impressions on me, but all of the book is fascinating for the tales it tells about the essence of what makes us human on a biological and chemical level.
To read this book at my maximum time of alertness meant reading it during the day, which meant taking longer to read because work days precluded absorbent reading, thus relegating the book to weekends and days off.
Mukherjee's beautiful command of language, coupled with his earnestness in telling the many stories that comprise The Gene, left me with a renewed sense of appreciation and awe for the diversity that makes us human, both internally and externally, emotionally and cognitively. It is these very differences that likely ensure the survival of our species. If we were all identical, with no changes between us, then it would take just one interference from an external entity to throw our species off kilter. As it is, a single virus or bacteria can promulgate havoc, but there are so many humans that either due to geographic location or genetic differences our species will keep going, albeit with a slightly revised gene set.
A solid overview and history of our understanding of genes. There are some ugly truths presented that help emphasize the moral quandaries we face with our newest gene editing technologies. Some of the topics are clearly over simplified for a general audience, but the core message is good. Mukherjee does spend a lot of time talking about the genetics of intelligence and supposedly his understanding is a little out of date, but I can't confirm this without doing a little more research. He does attribute a little too much power to epigentics (most of which is reset between each generation), relying on a study of the Dutch famine where he fails to note strong alternative explanations.