Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters (P.S.)

Amazon.com

Science writer Matt Ridley has found a way to tell someone else's story without being accused of plagiarism. Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters delves deep within your body (and, to be fair, Ridley's too) looking for dirt dug up by the Human Genome Project. Each chapter pries one gene out of its chromosome and focuses on its role in our development and adult life, but also goes further, exploring the implications of genetic research and our quickly changing social attitudes toward this information. Genome shies away from the "tedious biochemical middle managers" that only a nerd could love and instead goes for the A-material: genes associated with cancer, intelligence, sex (of course), and more.

Readers unfamiliar with the jargon of genetic research needn't fear; Ridley provides a quick, clear guide to the few words and concepts he must use to translate hard science into English. His writing is informal, relaxed, and playful, guiding the reader so effortlessly through our 23 chromosomes that by the end we wish we had more. He believes that the Human Genome Project will be as world-changing as the splitting of the atom; if so, he is helping us prepare for exciting times--the hope of a cure for cancer contrasts starkly with the horrors of newly empowered eugenicists. Anyone interested in the future of the body should get a head start with the clever, engrossing Genome. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

The genome's been mapped.
But what does it mean?

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, Matt 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.

Customer Reviews:

Understanding what makes us, US.......2007-07-12

This is a great primer for anyone wanting to understand what genes are - and they are not there to cause diseases!!!. The writing style is informative without being weighty and the book is an easy read for the non-scientific.

Compelling.......2007-06-27

I love this book. I only gave it 4 stars because I haven't finished it yet. It's one of those books that you can read over and over and learn new material each time. Matt Ridley's writing style is very easy to follow and he makes the discoveries of science compelling. It's a well organized piece that will most likely intrigue your friends and family as it makes for great conversation. I'm planning on checking out his other published works as well. Great gift too!

review of genome .......2007-05-29

I only read one chapter but i thought it was well written and easy to read despite the complex subject matter.

Genome.......2007-02-07

This is one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time. I am in the field of music and business. This book broke it down so that I could understand most of the major concepts. It is a very good overview of what the Genome Project is and begins to discuss some of the implications that it may have for the future.

Remarkable.......2006-12-31

Fascinating revelations about the workings of genes by a talented writer who makes a complex subject entertaining, insightful, and informative without overloading the non-scientist with arcane scientific and technical jargon. Perhaps even puts a thumb on the scale when a person weighs the contibutions of nature verses nurture in determining who we are and who we will become.

Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome

Average customer rating:

A tragic misrepresentation of reality - read at your peril
Extremely Important Study of Latest Genome Research
Prof. Sanford's population genetics points
A few quibbles on presentation, but fascinating read
A Great Critique of the Neo-Darwinian Synthesis

Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome
John C. Sanford
Manufacturer: Ivan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1599190028

Book Description

Dr. John Sanford, a retired Cornell Professor, shows in Genetic Entropy and the Mystery of the Genome that the "Primary Axiom" is false. The Primary Axiom is the foundational evolutionary premise - that life is merely the result of mutations and natural selection. In addition to showing compelling theoretical evidence that whole genomes can not evolve upward, Dr. Sanford presents strong evidence that higher genomes must in fact degenerate over time. This book strongly refutes the Darwinian concept that man is just the result of a random and pointless natural process.

Customer Reviews:

A tragic misrepresentation of reality - read at your peril.......2007-09-21

Here's an example of how easy it is to dispose of the arguments Sandford presents in his book:

Sandford says that the problem is not survival of the fittest but arrival of the fittest, since information theory proves noise (mutation) can only degrade, not improve a signal. Sounds fair enough?

However, 'degrade' and 'improve' in information theory only refer to the accuracy with which a transmitted message is received. Of course, noise cannot make a signal a MORE accurate version of what was sent. But information theory says nothing at all about the value of the modified message to the recipient.

Easy to follow example: say a bank transfer for £100 is accidentally corrupted, and becomes a transfer of £1000. Good, or bad? Depends on whether you're paying or being paid! Same goes for if it is corrupted to £10 - its value to you depends upon context. Either change represents a degradation of the original signal - it's not what it SHOULD have been - but that's irrelevant when considering whether or not the modified signal is of greater or lesser value to the recipient.

Now, if you think an author who can miss something as obvious as that is worth listening to on a subject as complex as evolution, by all means buy his book.

Extremely Important Study of Latest Genome Research.......2007-09-04

Sanford proves definitively that natural selection has never been up to the job of weeding out the overwhelming number of slightly harmful mutations and therefore the human genome and other animal and plant genomes have been deteriorating for a long time. Also he shows that natural selection has never been able to detect and accumulate any slightly favorable mutations. Evolution desperately needs a new paradigm. The present paradigm of mutation - selection has been a big joke ever since it was introduced 70 years ago.

Prof. Sanford's population genetics points.......2007-06-12

Prof. John Sanford's population genetics points are also directly relevant to prebiotic molecular evolution models. Although written for laymen, the book contains solid academic content. The unavoidable conclusions will have far-reaching impact, and are of great significance to macroevolutionary thought. This book is a must read for academics and lay readers alike.

A few quibbles on presentation, but fascinating read.......2007-01-18

The Darwinists are going to have to address the actual allegations in this book. Dr. Sanford makes a convincing case that the genome is, and must, deteriorate. Simply put, he explains what is known about how DNA works and shows that any possible improvements must of necessity be accompanied by many more deleterious mutations.
I thought the book could have been a bit better organized, and some of the language was imprecise. I did not notice that he ever provided a working definition of "fitness." Aside from these quibbles, the overall message is quite convincing.
Note to Libb Thims: your review would be more effective if you addressed the substance of the book and forbore ad hominems.
Note to L Batik: See Appendix 4 beginning on page 189.

A Great Critique of the Neo-Darwinian Synthesis.......2006-12-23

This is a great popular-level work that analyzes the merits of the neo-Darwinian synthesis (i.e. the theory that random mutation + natural selection working through long periods of time created...oops, I used the `C' word...ahem!...resulted in...the existence of higher forms of life) and shows it to be an illusory solution to the existence of life. Rather than discussing whether or not a completely naturalistic form of evolution happened using such things as the fossil record or experimental laboratory results, Sanford analyzes the merits of the combination of chance and necessity acting on the genome of biological organisms in abstract (i.e. using statistical mathematics). Now, before you jump ship and assume that he is arguing that "the chances of such and such evolving into such and such is one chance in ten to the blah, blah, blah (really big number) power", like a few creationists have, you're wrong. Rather, he looks at the basic assumptions of neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory (NDET from now on) and compares them to what actually happens in nature. In other words, he contrasts how the ND assumption and the actual workings of nature differ greatly in their results. I will elucidate in my description of some of the chapters below.

Before I get to the review of the chapters, I would like to comment on something. It has been noted that Sanford is a young-earth creationist, and for some reason, that is like the plague to certain people. However, any honest reader of this book will also note that anyone (i.e. Christian and non-Christian) could have written the first nine (out of ten) chapters. Only in the tenth chapter does he make an argument for the historicity of Scripture. Even if it wasn't that way, Dr. Sanford, who possesses a doctorate in genetics and the inventor of the gene-gun, deserves to be heard. Now, to the chapters:

Chapter 1
Here, he discusses the basics of genetics (i.e. genes, nucleotides, genotype, phenotype, etc.) and explains what the neo-Darwinian synthesis is. He then goes through and refutes the famous computer algorithm argument used by Dawkins in The Blind Watchmaker.

Chapter 2
Here is where we start getting into the analysis of NDET. Sanford discusses the statistical distribution of mutational effects (i.e. the magnitude of good and bad mutations affecting fitness) and their frequency. Sanford points out a number of differences between NDET and reality:

A. NDET posits that most mutations are neutral. However, Sanford argues that there is no such thing as a truly "neutral" mutation. Rather, most mutations are "near-neutral" (whether increasing fitness or decreasing fitness). Even a single point-nucleotide mutation in a minor area of the genome disrupts the genetic code to some degree (no matter how small). This is key for the rest of his book.
B. The naïve view of mutational distribution is a bell curve (though many Darwinists recognize that the actual distribution found in nature is nothing like it). The real distribution is a Kimura curve (named after the *Darwinist* population geneticist who created it) where the *vast* majority of the curve is near-neutral. Sanford notes that if the normal distribution (i.e. "bell curve") was true, then an increase in complexity would be inevitable. However, with the Kimura curve, it is hard to see any substantial increase in fitness "getting off the ground" so-to-speak.
C. NDET acknowledges that most mutations are harmful, but doesn't suggest that the ratio is so small as to never allow an increase in fitness that would affect a population. Contrary to that assumption, the actual ratio, as noted by the population geneticists (most of whom are Darwinists!) whom Sanford cites, is so small that population geneticists don't even place the beneficiary curve on the distribution graph! The ratio that Sanford cites (again, from the population geneticists) is between 10,000 to 1,000,000 harmful mutations for every one beneficial (though probably closer to the former figure rather than the latter). Sanford chooses to be conservative, and for the rest of the book, he assumes the 10k ratio. Keep this in mind when the next point is cited.
D. NDET assumes that natural selection will take out all of the bad mutations and leave only the good (notice that that was a near quote of Darwin himself). However, citing the population geneticist, Kimura, for support, Sanford notes that there is a "zone of near-neutrality" on both the beneficial and harmful sides of the curve in which natural selection doesn't select for or against. This is due to the fact that most mutations are point-nucleotide mutations. These only cause an ever-so-slight decrease in fitness that natural selection can't "see" them 99% of the time. It would be like a single pixel on your television screen going out. Would you really be able to tell a difference? Furthermore, since the beneficiary mutations curve is so small (see point C. above), the "zone of near-neutrality" (a.k.a. the "no-selection box") covers 99% of the beneficiary mutation side of the distribution! This ensures that natural selection will never see 99% of the good mutations while allowing the bad (which are vastly greater in number) to accumulate. Thus, the genome will suffer from "genetic entropy" (and hence the title of the book).

Now, a typical reply (which is, in fact, found below in one of the negative reviews) is that biologists have witnessed and documented such beneficiary mutations that have given great benefit to organisms in their environment. However, many biologists are becoming aware that the vast majority of these changes in phenotype are due to "pre-programmed" changes in the genome, not random ones as NDET demands. Secondly, as Sanford points out in Appendix 4, many of these "beneficial" mutations actually end up giving the organism a net decrease in fitness (as in the case of homeostasis in cold-climate creatures to warm climates or drug-resistant bacteria) making them deleterious in reality!

Chapter 3
Here, he starts to go into human population genetics. He cites several twentieth century population geneticists who believed that if there were as many as 0.5 deleterious mutations per person per generation, then the human race would be doomed to extinction. He then cites the actual number of 100 deleterious mutations per person per generation! This is a topic that he comes back to in other chapters of his book. However, from now on, I will concentrate on the implications for NDET. Next, he debunks the junk-DNA and pseudo-gene myth (i.e. those genes really do have a function as scientists are now finding out).

Chapter 4
In this chapter, he discusses the actual power of natural selection as found in nature compared to that which is presupposed by NDET. He notes that most biologists see natural selection as a "magic wand" that eliminates any decrease in complexity while preserving all those changes and variations which give an increase in fitness. Here, he points out a few more problems with NDET when it is contrasted with reality:

E. NDET presupposes that each individual nucleotide is selected for or against. This is a necessary presupposition for all (or even most) deleterious mutations to be selected out (since most mutations are point-nucleotide mutations). In reality, however, it is an entire gene that is selected for or against. In combination with the 10,000 bad to good mutation ratio, this will ensure that for every (random) beneficial mutation that occurs on a gene, there will be (on average) 10,000 bad ones of the same magnitude (as that of the good). This is what Sanford calls "Muller's Ratchet" (named after another population geneticist). Even if a gene with a beneficial mutation is selected for, it will carry many, many more deleterious ones with it. This inevitably causes genetic entropy, not a complexity increase.
F. While he noted, in chapter 2, that natural selection doesn't see most of the mutations that occur in the genome (i.e. the "near-neutral" ones which comprise 70-80% of all the bad and 99% of all good), the problem is actually worse due to environmental "noise". Environmental "noise" is simply the fact that random environmental factors affect who survives to a much greater degree than general fitness. For example, a tree may have greater fitness than that of another tree. However, if the seed of the one with greater fitness lands in a deep valley with little sunlight, and the other lands on a hill that receives proper sunlight, then the one with lesser fitness will survive. In fact, the population geneticist, Kimura (remember: a Darwinist himself), estimates that heritability due to phenotypic superiority (i.e. fitness) is as low as 0.4%! Thus, the "no-selection" box is increased *several* fold, ensuring that the vast majority of all bad mutations will go unnoticed by natural selection, and 99.99% of all beneficial mutations will also go unnoticed. So, while NDET assumes that all (or almost all) selection is due to general fitness, reality says that only about 1/250 of all selection is due to general fitness.
G. While not stated explicitly, NDET presupposes an infinite selection "bank" from which it can assume that all members of a population without a superior genotype can be killed off, leaving only those with superior fitness. [Otherwise, the beneficial mutation would be diluted when it is mingled with the rest of the population.] In reality, however, the selection cost to make a single beneficial mutation (no matter how small) dominant in a population is near extinction! [Sanford cites Kimura who, after doing the math, estimated that each parent in a population must leave about 3.27 million offspring in order to keep up with the selection pressure!] Thus, even if you kill off almost all of a population to keep one beneficial mutation, you will never be able to stop the deterioration of the genome due to the ratio of bad to good mutations and the resultant in-breeding among such a small population. Again, genetic entropy, not increasing complexity, is inevitable.

Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8
Here, he goes through and refutes various attempts to save NDET from all the problems with it (as mentioned above). Also discussed is the deterioration of the human genome.

Chapter 9
In this chapter, Sanford discusses more of what was discussed in chapters 5-8, but he also throws in several more problems with NDET:

H. NDET assumes that the billions of years (a.k.a. "deep time") that the earth has been in existence is plenty of time for random mutation and natural selection to give rise to the diversity of life found today. [In my personal experience, I have found that even the mention of "deep time" is enough to dispel any doubts a Darwinist has in his heart about NDET!] However, even assuming that the above problems (A.-G.) don't exist, the time needed to make only one beneficial nucleotide mutation dominant in a population is *far* too long for even the "deep time" provided. Sanford cites J.B.S. Haldane, another Darwinian geneticist, who calculated that (again, ignoring problems A.-G. above) it would take 300 generations to make a genetic trait fixed in a population. [Note: 300 generations is a conservative number. The average number found in nature is larger than 300.] So, for example, it would take several billion years for a chimp-like ancestor to evolve into a human (again, assuming only beneficial mutations). This famous problem for neo-Darwinism has historically been known as "Haldane's Dilemma".
I. NDET assumes that DNA is a linear code, and that one change in a sequence won't affect other functions in the phenotype. However, recent discoveries have shown that most DNA sequences are "poly-constrained". That is, DNA sequences can have meanings on several different levels. For example, imagine a coded message that has a valid meaning when read forward, another valid meaning when read backwards, another every 5 letters, and yet another when placed on top of another few messages (making it 3D). This is how most DNA functions, just more complex! Any change in the code could cause an incoherent message, and thus, one good mutation one way might also cause several bad mutations in other ways.
J. Irreducible Complexity. [There has been much debate on this topic, but I agree with Sanford (and Behe for that matter) that direct *and indirect* Darwinian pathways are extremely unlikely (and might as well be impossible). See Behe's Afterword in the 10th anniversary edition of Darwin's Black Box.]

Chapter 10
Sanford concludes that the degeneration of the genome is unstoppable and Darwinism could never have gotten off the ground. Contrary to one reviewer's beliefs about this book, Sanford only spends a few paragraphs on the declining life-spans of the generations of men after Noah. He shows that the life-spans of post-flood man, as recorded in the Bible, follow a curve that is eerily similar to a declining fitness curve found in earlier chapters of this book. In fact, Sanford believes that these recorded life-spans could only have been fabricated if the writer of the Pentateuch (i.e. the 5 books of Moses) used "sophisticated mathematical modeling". Of course, while this makes Christians (like myself) smile with joy, it probably won't convince any non-believers.

Everyone who follows this debate should own this book. Even if you are hostile to anyone that even questions NDET, you should read it since college I.D. clubs are handing this book out to their members and, undoubtedly, biology students. My personal opinion is that Sanford gives a devastating critique of neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory. These are insurmountable problems for NDET, and the math and logic prove it. Instead of climbing up Mount Improbable (using Dawkins' analogy), the genome is tumbling down Mt. Impossible!

The Human Genome Project: Cracking the Genetic Code of Life

Average customer rating:

The Human Genome Project: Cracking the Genetic Code of Life
Thomas F. Lee
Manufacturer: Plenum Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0306439654

Bones, Brains and DNA: The Human Genome and Human Evolution

Average customer rating:

Bringing the rating up
Evolution
Bones, Brains and DNA

Bones, Brains and DNA: The Human Genome and Human Evolution
Ian Tattersall
Manufacturer: Bunker Hill Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Anatomy & Physiology | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Biology | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 159373056X

Book Description

Based on the New Hall of Human Origins in the American Museum of Natural History which opens in November 2006, Bones, Brains and DNA takes the young reader to the cutting edge of science, exploring and examining the tools by which we study our origins. Covering the milestones in evolution, global migration and how we became human through the invention of language, music, art and technology.

Customer Reviews:

Bringing the rating up.......2007-09-28

This was a very good book for my seven year old who is interested in DNA and evolution. It obviously isn't written for a sixteen year old or an adult but that doesn't mean it deserves a negative rating. It is perfectly suited for the audience it is written for and should be judge accordingly!

Evolution.......2007-07-19

I ordered this book too quickly, I understand ...
When I got it, I found it is a children's book. (My fault, of course. And it IS cheap.)

Bones, Brains and DNA.......2007-03-21

I have found the book rather disappointing. I have given it an advance reading, before giving it as a present to my 16 years old grand daughter Giulia, but I don't believe she'll like it. Particularly the introduction of the two mice, Darwin and Wallace, does not contribute to a better understanding of the text - just the contrary.
Mario Baldassarrini, an 86 year old grand dad

Average customer rating:

For fans of Richard Dawkins...

The Intelligent Genome
Adolf Heschl
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Biochemistry | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Medicine | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Professional & Technical | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Medicine | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 3540671668

Book Description

Do our genes determine our behavior? Do education and environment have any influence at all? Do humans occupy a unique position in evolution? To clarify these provoking questions, the author takes the reader on an ambitious and entertaining journey through a variety of scientific disciplines. In doing so, he creates an image of human evolution that says that our entire individual knowledge is determined - to the smallest detail - by phylogeny. " ... before shocked humanists discard such radical theses as mere nonsense, they should not completely close their minds to the explanations of a biologist who says that we still know very little about the genetic determination of human behavior and that the invariance of many forms of behavior present in all cultures nourish the suspicion that the determining role of genes is probably far more comprehensive than we have ever dreamed."
Wolfgang Wieser, translated from his review in "Merkur" (Sept./Oct. 1999)

Customer Reviews:

For fans of Richard Dawkins..........2004-06-02

I have just begun to read this book and am delighted to find it extends the logical implications I found so right in Richard Dawkins' work.

If you're interested in a little extraordinary illumination about the phenomenon of the genome in the cosmos, then please have a look at what's presented here.

I will update this review upon further investigation, but I didn't want to leave this page without some well-deserved positive feedback.

Customer Reviews:

Curious about the genetics industry? Start here........2000-10-14

I originally read this book for a college course about the ethics of genetics. It is something every person in the biological or natural sciences should read, but it is also helpful for anyone interested in genetics. It is primarily about the politics and ethics which surround all genetic issues. Cook-Deegan explains the rudiments of genetics in a very easy to understand manner, and then launches into an in-depth examination of the politics of genetics. More goes on behind the scenes of biological science than you would ever believe. In the coming years genetics and the ethical issues surrounding genetics are going to become very important in medicine, pharmaceutical research, and criminal forensics. No longer just a class for science majors, genetics may well enter your life in ways you never expected. Cook-Deegan's book can definately educate as well as entertain.

Human Genes should not be patented!.......1997-11-14

November, 1997 "The Gene Wars: Science, Politics, and the Human Genome" by Robert Cook-Deegan (W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1994) This is a fascinating book about the politics of the human genome project. Although I was familiar with much of the history of this project, it was good to read an organized, "insider's view". The author worked for the U.S. congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) during the formative years of the project. The book starts out with a description of the horrors of Alzheimer's disease, and then goes on to explain the significance of the human genome project in terms of understanding human disease. With the significance of the work firmly established, the genesis of the human genome project is described - apparently the idea of sequencing the entire DNA sequence for a "single" human being was first realistically proposed by three different groups, working independently of each other, all about the same time (within a few months) during 1985. These groups all realized that the technology was quickly becoming available to achieve such a daunting task. To give you an idea of the difficulty of the task - imagine that you were to start reading the human genome, at one base every second (the genetic information coding for you (and all other animals and plants you see) is written down in a simple "text", just like this article; in the language of DNA, there are only four "letters" - G, A, T, and C) - to read the DNA sequence of a human being would take about 140 years - if you were to read one base a second, 24 hours a day, non-stop. The (frustrating) fact is that you really would not know anything about the person when you were done, except that they most likely had died (and had to pay taxes!) several years before their DNA sequence had been read. Obviously one needs computers to handle this kind of information. The best place for computers was at the National Laboratories in the U.S. Southwest - mainly Lawrence Livermore & Los Alamos National Laboratories. I had always thought that this was why the national labs had got involved in the genome project. To be honest, I had often wondered how the Department of Energy wound up financing the project - I was surprised to learn that in fact that one of the first groups to propose sequencing the human genome was from Los Alamos - in part kind of a "from nuclear bombs to plowshares" type of philosophy. But in fact, there was a bit more of a sinister twist to this plot - the U.S. military was trying to study the effects of the atomic blasts on the Japanese survivors from World War II. Furthermore I know (from personal conversations with scientists at Los Alamos during this time) that the U.S. military was seriously operating under Ronald Reagon's philosophy of fighting and surviving (?) a nuclear war. The result of all of this was that the human genome project was funded initially by the Department of Energy; basically it was a military project to ensure jobs for unemployed bomb makers (according to some of the critics at the time). The first "gene wars" aspect of this has to do with the politics of government funding. Really, the most logical place to fund this research would be the National Institute of Health (NIH), but many people were still feeling the pinch of less money for basic research at the time, and were quite afraid that the human genome project would steal money from basic grants. Furthermore, many scientists observed that, since roughly 98% of the human was "junk" (that is, it doesn't code for proteins), it would be a huge waste of money. Indeed, to try and use present or "old technology" to sequence the human genome WOULD be stupid - but the genome project was all about heavily investing in technology to improve speed of sequencing. In the 1960's, it was a very significant achievement to sequence 23 nucleotides (the equivalent of being able to read maybe 3 words in a sentence). In 1977, Fred Sanger (funded by the MRC in England) developed a sequencing technology that made it possible to read the entire sequence of a bacterial virus (about 5400 nucleotides long, or roughly the same as being able to read a short paragraph). This was significant enough to merit a Nobel Prize for a Nobel Prize, shared with two Harvard scientists who also developed a different (slower) method for sequencing. By 1985, this technique had begun to be automated, such that a MACHINE could read the sequence automatically - it now was possible to routinely sequence more than 10,000 nucleotides (this would be like being able to read a full page - with enough work it wouldn't be too difficult to put together an entire chapter). However, in 1985 the human genome project still was a pretty daunting task - at the present rate of sequencing, Jim Watson estimated that it would take about a thousand years to sequence the entire human genome!! So the human genome project was set up to invest heavily in technology - in fact when the program finally was officially launched in October of 1990, it was a 20 year project, with the first 10 years invested mostly into improved methods of sequencing, with most of the actual sequencing of the genome being done in the last few years. In addition, the genomes of smaller organisms was set up as intermediary goal posts along the road. In the past two years, we have already seen the realization of the early goals; the complete sequence for the genomes of more than a dozen bacteria are now available for research and comparison, and the genome of the first "animal" (simple yeast) was published earlier this year (1997). Soon to come will be the first worm (nematode), first plant, and first insect. It will probably be another 4 or 5 years before the first mammalian genomes become available. The human genome project is set up initially to run from 1990 through the year 2010. The annual budget is roughly U.S. $200,000,000 per year (!) - of which about $120,000,000 is given to the NIH, and about $80,000,000 is given to the DOE. At the suggestion of the first Director of the Human Genome project (Jim Watson), about 5% of the budget is invested into "ethical considerations of the human genome sequencing project". As Cook-Deegan points out, there are many ethical considerations to consider - in fact, a large part of the reason Jim Watson resigned as director had to do with his strong objections to the U.S. government policy of trying to patent DNA sequences. Although Cook-Deegan takes a more middle of the road approach, and tries to explain why the government wants to regain money invested in research (which I think this SOUNDS fair enough...), I guess I really tend to agree with Watson. Imagine. You are living a thousand years in the future, and no one speaks English anymore - in fact, through years of neglect, it is almost a forgotten language. Now you learn to read, and find one of Shakespeare's books. Suppose you are the first person to read through part (not all, even) of one of his plays - does this mean that YOU have to right to charge anyone else royalties who wants to read this or use it in the future? This is in fact what was at issue at the "bioearth" summit in Brazil in 1992 - the U.S. did not want to sign an agreement forbidding the patenting of DNA sequences, despite the agreement amongst all the other countries in the world. I personally have no problems with patents - I think they are wonderful, provided they are for something that you have created. But I do have serious problems with patenting DNA sequences - because this is just merely reading a text that someone else (God?) has already written. In summary, this book is a good history of the beginning of the Human Genome project. For me, it was fun to see much fruit of this project in my own research. I think this is an essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what the human genome project is all about, in terms not only of the science, but also the development

The Shattered Self: The End of Natural Evolution

Average customer rating:

Yawn
interesting ideas from the imagination of a mathematician
Way too speculative; Interesting topics but poorly executed.
The end of natural evolution is here. . .
A proud man that needs to be "shattered" himself

The Shattered Self: The End of Natural Evolution
Pierre Baldi
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Biotechnology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Throughout history, we have selected and manipulated the genomes of plants, animals, and even ourselves. Until now, however, such control could be exerted only at the level of the entire organism. Scientific and technological advances now allow us to manipulate genomes directly at the level of single genes and their constituents, with a speed and precision that far exceed what natural evolution has been able to achieve over the past 3.5 billion years. These advances open new possibilities for medicine, biotechnology, and society as a whole. We already have in vitro fertilization and animal cloning; in the future human cloning and the exploitation of embryonic stem cells, among other capabilities, may be routine. At the same time, we are developing machines that will surpass the human brain in raw computing power and building an interconnected world of information-processing devices that makes science fiction pale in comparison. In this book Baldi explores what it is about these phenomena that makes us so uneasy--the shattering of the human self as we know it.

Through evolution our brains have been wired to provide us with an inner sense of self, a feeling that each of us is a unique individual delimited by precise boundaries. We have also been wired to reproduce ourselves in a certain way. Baldi argues that this self-centered view of the world is scientifically wrong. Its past success lies in its being an adequate model during our evolutionary bootstrapping: a world without molecular biotechnology, human cloning, and the Internet. Eventually we must come to terms with the fact that genomes, computations, and mind are fluid, continuous entities, in both space and time. The boundary between the self and the world has begun to blur and ultimately may evaporate entirely. Baldi offers not predictions but an open-eyed exploration of our current state of knowledge and the possibilities that lie ahead.

Customer Reviews:

Yawn.......2004-06-30

Most of what this books says is reasonable, but not much seemed surprising, and it is cautious enough that I'm fairly certain that the changes it discusses will seem fairly minor 20 or 30 years from now.
For instance, he wonders whether the effects of growing up with 20, 50, or 1000 clones will be qualitatively different from the effects of twins growing up together. But when discussing the effects of direct interfaces between neurons and silicon, he stops short of wondering whether that will produce people with dramatically enhanced intelligence. Nor does he seem to think that machine intelligence will have dramatic effects, at least in this century.
He claims to believe that technological growth tends to follow exponential curves, but the magnitude of the changes he foresees suggests he tends to expect technological progress to be closer to linear.

interesting ideas from the imagination of a mathematician.......2004-04-07

Baldi's ideas are challenging, but this book is far too much science-fiction, far too little science.

Applying math and cs to some gene research (Baldi's research at UCI) does not qualify him to make some of his ridiculous claims on the progress and future of natural science.

Way too speculative; Interesting topics but poorly executed........2003-01-21

This book is essentially an exercise in unchecked speculation - and don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with looking ahead and attempting to see where we, as a species and as a society, are heading, it's just that this book is a very poorly executed attempt to do so. The author repeatedly makes statements to the effect of "while we can't do that yet, we should be able to in the next fifty years." For some of these statements, he explains why; for many, however, he does not - leaving these statements without any basis in fact whatsoever. The issues he considers - cloning, brain-machine interfaces, etc. - are extremely timley and important to humanity, it's just that he doesn't do a good job exploring them thoroughly or expressing himself clearly (and it's not just that I'm a layman and it's too technical - to the contrary, the book is too simplistic in many areas). The author also seems to get too caught up in the "nature vs. nurture" debate, and posits bizarre hypotheticals such as attempting to recreate the environment of a cloned child's life exactly by also cloning their parents, siblings, and friends, building an exact replica of the child's childhood home, etc., in an attempt to make sure that the "nurture" side of the equation is balanced with the "nature" side. There are better books out there if you are interested in these topics. Check out "The Age of Spiritual Machines" by Ray Kurzweil, or "Our Posthuman Future" by Francis Fukuyama.

The end of natural evolution is here. . ........2002-07-13

This wonderful book is a great companion to The Age of Spiritual Machines and in many respects, updates some of the science of that volume. But of interest to me is the discussion of all the competing moral values that we will have to face as we move forward with genetic manipulation of our genetic material and that of other animals and plants.

Baldi has achieved his goal of making the book very readable for the lay person while compiling additional details in the appendices for those a bit more interested delving into the details. His thoughts are clear and articulate as he lays out the pros and cons of several competing moral values we face now and those we might face in the future.

Baldi does not shy away from the long controversial or taboo subjects. His comments on sex are cogent and up to date. For example, he states; "Sexual and reproductive issues have long affected our societies in ways that created tensions between 5the sexes and were not always favorable to women. After all, even today in many countries men earn higher salaries than women for the same jobs. This is hard to justify from first principles in democratic societies, which are supposed to be founded on equality among humans." He then goes on to explain how cloning technology will further strain the relationship as the sexual act itself becomes unnecessary for evolution or preservation of genetic material.

We are also warned that, "In this new reality [biotechnologies and the internet] of more or less continuous genotypes and phenotypes, all kinds of new creatures are beginning to pop up at a rapid pace, forcing us to revise our concepts, our laws, and our sense of whatever makes us human." This book should be on the must read list for any person interested in the establishment of ethical processes and models that allow us to choose between competing moral values.

A proud man that needs to be "shattered" himself.......2002-02-27

(1) Baldi does not know the history of science too well.
(2) Baldi used derogatory terms against the Bible and religions, which would have been most offensive to great Chrisitian scientists such as James Clark Maxwell, Issace Newton, Michael Faraday, Lord Kelvin, Hertz, etc. (the list goes on and on...)
(3) Baldi, as a trained mathematician, does not know the subject of physics or chemistry too well either. He claims that almost all scientists in these traditional disciples know everything about the laws of nature already. Baldi stated that only computer science and biology are the areas that we human beings do not yet know well, which is another biased statement as we physicists could not even understand the origin of the gravitational force or the Big Bang yet.

Book Description

Having explored and mapped our planet's land masses, vast oceans and the space surrounding it, science is turning inward to the challenging and controversial mapping of the human genome, a collection of genes forming DNA. Each of our genes is a single instruction for the make up of an individual being. The more we learn, the more we discover to explore-and the more controversy we release in the process. Moral and ethical, social, religious and educational and scientific questions roll in: Are we giving proper attention to evolutionary theory in schools, and more particularly in South Africa? Can both science and religion be taught constructively? Is the genetic revolution passing us all us by?

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books