"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.
