Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters (P.S.)
$6.92
Recomend it - I bought this book many years ago, but finally read it last month.I found it extremely interesting. You do have to read some pages more than once to understand it. But that is because the subject takes some real thinking before comprehension is complete. It is not a knock on the author. I do wish he would update the findings since the book was published in 1999. Much as happened I am sure.
The autobiography of a species forced into 23 chromosomes - Maybe the author put himself a too difficult task by trying to select one gene from each of the 23 chromosome pairs and tell a story out of it. Some chromosomes, its genes and their specific functions are not so deeply known, so when reaching a chromosome from which the author had nothing to say, he forced an unrelated narrative into the chapter. Other chromosomes are filled with interesting genes and/or some traits, functions, etc., are determined by several genes located in different chromosomes, but the author had to choose only one gene per chromosome. Finally, arranging the chapters by chromosome size does not allow for a logical order in the narrative (chronological, by topic, by evolution, etc.) nor does it appear consistent or with a unifying theme. So everything seemed a bit forced.Some topics were not sufficiently explained. For example he mentions that bacteria split and thereby reproduce themselves in seconds, so that they have had more generations of evolution than we (all vertebrates). Therefore bacteria have achieved a more perfect state in their DNA, which is more robust than ours. I would have liked to know in which sense it is better than ours, what functions are performed better in bacteria, what does robust mean in this context, etc.In another chapter he mentions that in a living organism the cells do not follow central orders but act on information in form of a chemical substance or another kind of signal emmitted by a nearby cell and that every cell knows how to react to each signal. This is used to support his political and economical view of no central intervention but more descentralized organization. Here I would have liked a deeper explanation of how he thinks the concepts would apply to society (it could be extrapolated to empowering processes in business). What would be the triggers or signals in his descentralized government or market and how would they be triggered? Additionally, in living organisms some of the before mentioned substances are produced or triggered by brain cells. Isn t the brain like a central government? In another part of the text, the author mentions that some cells have the instruction to suicide themselves for the benefit of the organism and that other cells assure that this instructions are followed by renegade cells. How would he translate this into society, government or markets? (He started the analogies, not me).The book s content is quite good and I enjoyed it, but it is not one of my favourites. If it s your first book on genetics, this book serves as a good introduction. Excellent bibliography presented in a very original and interesting way, it makes you want to read several of the books the author read.
So much more than genetics - This is a book that is at it s core about genetics and genetic research, but the author does an amazing job of tying what has been discovered in the field to how it affects our upbring, our society and even our individual moods. One point that Matt Ridley seems to want to drive home is that the old nature vs. nurture controversy is obsolete and borderline ridiculous. Rather, he feels that the fabric of our being is a much more complex system than any reductionist theory could capture. This is a great book for not only those interested in biological sciences, but also people interested in social science, psychology, history,... and the list goes on.
Great Read, Interesting Primer on Our Genes - This is a wonderful read as: science, non-fiction generally, and as a primer on our genes, what they do, and how they work. I find Ridley to be one of the best science writers for the general public and this book is no exception.Ridley leads us on an interesting and informative tour of some of the aspects of our genes. He touches on the junk DNA, mechanisms for changes in the chromosomes, how genes express them selves in proteins and the phenotype, some genetic diseases (he opines how we know most genes by the diseases that result from their malfunction and reiterates that genes are not for diseases), some of the latest ideas on how our chromosomes came to the shape they are in, and the role of RNA, among many other things. RNA is rapidly rising up as the candidate for the original replicator (at least for the world of nucleic acid replicators, maybe there was something before that does not survive) since it can and does act in many different roles throughout the cell including as genetic replicating code (apart from DNA) and catalysis like proteins. His discussion of junk DNA and sequence repetitions and how they occur in some cases was fascinating. His discussions of how certain gene sequences were actually discovered by scientists was too.I would note that the discoveries of modern genetics are consonant with the Selfish Gene view of evolution. They are not explicable by other proposed levels of evolutionary selection nor are they explicable by design (though an ad hoc application of magic certainly can give a superficial and false explanation for just about anything.)Ridley does let his political/social ideas come through fairly strongly in a few places (only a few places.) My recommendation is simply to take them for what they are: one man s opinion. They didn t detract from the book at all for me. One s political stance does not imply anything about the data you present.This is not an exhaustive map or discussion of our genes. Such a book would be huge and probably not readable. This is an overview with some interesting details and side trips. I strongly recommend it to you.I also recommend: Ridley s The Origins of Virtue, Dawkins The Selfish Gene and The Ancestor s Tale, Neil Shubin s Your Inner Fish, Zimmer s Parasite Rex, Nesse and Williams Why We Get Sick, and Diamond s The Third Chimpanzee
serendipitous genes - I am not a geneticist and therefore have a very tiny knowledge of our genes. I am however, intensely interested in them, and in learning about them, so I bought this book as a result of searching and recommendations. And I am THOROUGHLY enjoying it! I am not understanding all of it, of course. The entire book is crammed with information, but in such a wonderful writing style that it becomes joyful to be fed massive treasure troves of facts and figures. One thing that I have come to realize with more and more clarity as I have read this book is how obvious our evolutionary past is, if one is willing to dig deeper into our inner workings. Another is just how incredibly intricate our bodies are and our genes work in tiny and astounding simplicity and great detail, in order and in chaos, in adherence to laws and utter refusal to conform.For someone with interest in our genes or the Human Genome Project, this is a must-read. For those who aren t interested, then it doesn t really matter, because you likely aren t reading this review anyway.