Redesigning Life

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 12 SEPT 2016

Parrington (The Deeper Genome), a molecular biologist from the University of Oxford, unabashedly if incompletely makes a case "for genetic engineering as a vital tool for understanding life and manipulating it for human benefit." He states that humans have always modified the plants and animals with which they've interacted, but revolutionary scientific techniques are (or soon will be) dramatically simplifying that process. Most of the possibilities he discusses remain many years in the future, but they are astounding: growing replacement organs for transplant, creating virus-resistant plants and animals, reconceptualizing treatment for mental illness, and more. Parrington discusses a host of recent studies, but his target audience remains unclear. At times he writes for readers unaware of basic biological principles, as when he describes basic Mendelian genetics, but at other points he assumes far greater knowledge. Though Parrington recognizes that there are myriad ethical implications associated with each of the techniques described, he touches on possible controversies in a far too superficial manner. He spends more time detailing the criticisms raised by Margaret Atwood in her dystopian MaddAddam trilogy than he does addressing those posited by bioethicists or concerned environmental scientists. Parrington presents some interesting material, but the book is too disjointed to work as a whole.