If Charles Darwin were to walk into my office today and ask me: “So, what did I miss?” I think I would sit the good man down with a copy of She Has Her Mother’s Laugh, telling him: “Here, this should get you up to speed”. Darwin struggled to explain how traits were being inherited from generation to generation. As New York Times columnist Carl Zimmer shows in this wide-ranging book, the story of heredity has turned out to be both diverse and wonderful, but has also been misappropriated to prop up some horrible ideologies.
gene editing
Book review – Seeds of Science: Why We Got It So Wrong On GMOs
As a biologist, the opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) both baffles and vexes me. Spurious claims are being bandied about by people and organisations who seemingly haven’t a clue about genetics, and there has been a long-running campaign of fearmongering by large conservation bodies, notably Greenpeace. Like the “debate” around climate change or creationism, the dialogue has become toxic and polarised, and anyone who does not oppose is likely to be called a “Monsanto shill”. As this is first and foremost a book review though, I will try to keep my personal views on this issue aside for another time. This book, then, has a very interesting premise. A book arguing why we got it wrong on GMOs, written by a former anti-GMO activist.
Book review – Modern Prometheus: Editing the Human Genome with CRISPR-Cas9
After recently reading Doudna & Sternberg’s book A Crack in Creation, this book was the next one I wanted to read to learn more about CRISPR-Cas9, the new technique to edit genetic material that has been taking the world by storm. As it turns out, it was the right order to read the books in. If you have not heard of CRISPR before, I recommend you have a look at my review of Doudna’s book first.
Book review – A Crack in Creation: The New Power to Control Evolution
If you follow science news, chances are you will have heard of CRISPR as a promising new way to modify DNA. It has been hailed as a breakthrough discovery. I knew little about it, and seeing that this book is written by one of the co-inventors, it seemed like a good place to start reading about it.
The Inquisitive Biologist