The Code Breaker
Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
-
-
4.8 • 14 Ratings
-
-
- $19.99
Publisher Description
The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a gripping account of how the pioneering scientist Jennifer Doudna, along with her colleagues and rivals, launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and enhance our children.
In the spring of 2012, the Berkeley biochemist Jennifer Doudna and her collaborators turned a curiosity of nature into an invention that will transform the future of the human race: an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA. Known as CRISPR, it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions. It has already been deployed to cure deadly diseases, fight the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, and make inheritable changes in the genes of babies.
The development of CRISPR and the war against coronavirus will hasten our transition to the next great innovation revolution. The past half-century has been an information-technology era, based on the microchip, the computer, and the internet. Now we are entering an even more momentous era, a life-science revolution. Children who study digital coding will be surpassed by those who study the code of life.
Should we use our new evolution-hacking powers to make us less susceptible to viruses and eliminate dreaded disorders? What a wonderful boon that would be! Right? And what about preventing congenital deafness or blindness? Or being very short? Or being depressed? Hmmm…How should we think about that? Should we allow parents, if they can afford it, to enhance the IQ or height or memory or muscles of their kids?
After helping to discover CRISPR, Doudna became a leader in wrestling with these moral and policy issues. Her life story illustrates that the key to innovation is connecting basic science to our everyday lives—moving discoveries from our labs to our bedsides—in ways that respect our moral values. It’s a thrilling detective tale that involves the most profound wonders of nature, from the origins of life to the future of our species.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Biographer Isaacson (Leonardo da Vinci) depicts science at its most exhilarating in this lively biography of Jennifer Doudna, the winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry for her work on the CRISPR system of gene editing. Born in 1964, Doudna grew up in Hawaii, where she felt isolated and, "like many others who have felt like an outsider, she developed a wide-ranging curiosity about how we humans fit into creation." Praising her sharp mix of curiosity and competitiveness, Isaacson tracks her role in the race to develop CRISPR technology (which can easily and precisely cut human DNA sequences to change genes), explores the promises of the technique (such as potential cures for sickle cell anemia and cancer) and describes fears that it might herald a world of genetically engineered "designer babies." Isaacson offers an impassioned take on CRISPR—"I look into the microscope and see them glowing green!" he remarks, peering at a culture of gene-edited cells—along with vivid portraits of the scientists Doudna worked with, including the "guarded but engaging" Emmanuelle Charpentier, with whom she won the Nobel Prize. The result is a gripping account of a great scientific advancement and of the dedicated scientists who realized it. Photos.
Customer Reviews
Code and coda
Author
American historian, journalist, biographer (Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and Henry Kissinger). Professor of history at Tulane. Former CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time.
In brief
In November 2020, Berkeley biochemist Jennifer Doudna and French microbiologist and geneticist Emmanuelle Charpentier, now based at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their discovery and development of the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas, which has already, and continues to, revolutionise the field. Nobel prizes in science are typically awarded many years after the discovery cited but the landmark publication of Doudna and Charpentier only appeared in mid-2012. (Sir Roger Penrose won the 2020 gong for Physics for work he did 50 years earlier). Nobels in science are usually awarded to three people, not just two, and this is also the first time one has been awarded to two women alone, which makes it kind of a big deal socioculturally as well as scientifically. The book has intrigue and professional rivalry aplenty, chiefly involving Feng Zhang and his boss at MIT, who gazumped our gals at the patent office regarding the technology in human cells, and might well collect a Nobel in medicine in due course. The book is so up to date that it features open source work by Doudna, Zhang and others in the fight against COVID-19.
Writing
Isaccson, in his inimitable style (which leaves guys like Peter Fitzsimons for dead), explains how it all happened, focussing mainly on Doudna, who had already ascended to science rock star status before the big watusi in Stockholm. It's not Mr I's best work, but the subject matter is compelling. Ultimately, this is a biography of CRISPR rather than any one person. Be warned: you'll need to get your head around A LOT of science. The book's natural ending was the Nobel. However, it would have been impossible to ignore COVID-19 in 2020. That part felt like something bolted on at the last minute, which it was, and ruined the flow somewhat.
Bottom line
Information tech is yesterday. Genetic technology is the future. If you haven't heard of CRISPR or have no idea what the fuss is about, then it's time to find out.