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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
Captivating story about the founding and rise of one of the biggest scientific disciplines of our times.
The biggest takeaway was that we have only fairly recently developed adequate tools to research genes and discover how the genotype, environment and epigenetic factors together decide the phenotype. There is a lot left to discover, and whatever we find out will surely have a big impact on our society. Genetics has had a bad reputation and various misuses throughout the years (nazis, eugenics). Recently there have been a lot of positive breakthroughs such as genetic testing during pregnancy. It is however the case, as noted by the author of the book, that deciding which genes are bad and which are good purely depends on the context in which they are judged. A disorder that causes one to make works of genius can also cause madness in another person. If the genetic composition of a human becomes a choice, then there will be a lot of deep philosophical questions we need to answer about what we find important in life. The future of human genomics is thus exciting, but also a bit worrying.
The biggest takeaway was that we have only fairly recently developed adequate tools to research genes and discover how the genotype, environment and epigenetic factors together decide the phenotype. There is a lot left to discover, and whatever we find out will surely have a big impact on our society. Genetics has had a bad reputation and various misuses throughout the years (nazis, eugenics). Recently there have been a lot of positive breakthroughs such as genetic testing during pregnancy. It is however the case, as noted by the author of the book, that deciding which genes are bad and which are good purely depends on the context in which they are judged. A disorder that causes one to make works of genius can also cause madness in another person. If the genetic composition of a human becomes a choice, then there will be a lot of deep philosophical questions we need to answer about what we find important in life. The future of human genomics is thus exciting, but also a bit worrying.
Brilliant book for the biologically undereducated. I think I learned more from this book than I did from my entire high school science curriculum.
An excellent read, and nowhere near as heavy-going as you would imagine a ~600-page book on genes to be. I admit to being confused at points, but overall I found this fascinating.
Really excellent history of the science and medicine and social impact of genetics and heredity. As a practicing oncologist (a discipline being revolutionized by recent advances in the genetics of cancer) Mukherjee brings a novel perspective to this subject. He also does not avoid the darker aspects of the field including our shameful history of eugenics.
An absolutely fantastic author who knows how to capture the magnitude of the topic.
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A physician-scientist is faced with the risk of inherited schizophrenia, which prompts him to write this novelized history on The Gene.
Incredible storytelling, taking us from the 1800s until the 2010s through all the landmark scientific studies and technological advancements related to the gene.
Educational, with the right balance of jargon and explanation that makes it enjoyable for scientists and non-scientists alike.
Incredible storytelling, taking us from the 1800s until the 2010s through all the landmark scientific studies and technological advancements related to the gene.
Educational, with the right balance of jargon and explanation that makes it enjoyable for scientists and non-scientists alike.
I really enjoy this very dense text. I think that it did a lot of coverage of things that one should have learned in high school. I assume that that is for those who didn’t learn it in high school the first time round? It was highly informative and covered not only the science of it, but also the history and political context.
informative
slow-paced
It pains me to give up on this book. Mukherjee's first book, The Emperor of All Maladies, was a revelation to me; an insightful and eye-opening look at the history of cancer and the advancements we have made to cure it. It was written and constructed almost like a thriller, with cancer as the serial killer and the scientists being the detectives. The Gene, on the other hand, is a slow exploration of how it was discovered and the many ways it can be manipulated, recombined and clones -- in many ways, it is about how far we have come and where we can go in the future.
In short, it's a slog, and it reads like a textbook. If you are into biochemistry, I believe there is no better resource to learn about genes. This is as good as it gets, with every page packed with information. On the other hand, because most of the chapters feature scientists working on problems in their labs, its difficult to gain a wider perspective. That is, do these revelations have real world impacts? It does touch on these topics, sure, but it is a little too late.
I was particularly interested in the eugenics section of the book, as well as how early philosophers theorised about the nature of hereditary. Beyond that, though, this book is a well written encyclopedia. And encyclopedias are not fun to read.
In short, it's a slog, and it reads like a textbook. If you are into biochemistry, I believe there is no better resource to learn about genes. This is as good as it gets, with every page packed with information. On the other hand, because most of the chapters feature scientists working on problems in their labs, its difficult to gain a wider perspective. That is, do these revelations have real world impacts? It does touch on these topics, sure, but it is a little too late.
I was particularly interested in the eugenics section of the book, as well as how early philosophers theorised about the nature of hereditary. Beyond that, though, this book is a well written encyclopedia. And encyclopedias are not fun to read.
i hate to admit it but this was too much for me. well written, but the subject matter just didn't engage me. I know others who would surely love it