Drawing the Map of Life
Inside the Human Genome Project
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Drawing the Map of Life is the dramatic story of the Human Genome Project from its origins, through the race to order the 3 billion subunits of DNA, to the surprises emerging as scientists seek to exploit the molecule of heredity. It's the first account to deal in depth with the intellectual roots of the project, the motivations that drove it, and the hype that often masked genuine triumphs.
Distinguished science journalist Victor McElheny offers vivid, insightful profiles of key people, such as David Botstein, Eric Lander, Francis Collins, James Watson, Michael Hunkapiller, and Craig Venter. McElheny also shows that the Human Genome Project is a striking example of how new techniques (such as restriction enzymes and sequencing methods) often arrive first, shaping the questions scientists then ask.
Drawing on years of original interviews and reporting in the inner circles of biological science, Drawing the Map of Life is the definitive, up-to-date story of today's greatest scientific quest. No one who wishes to understand genome mapping and how it is transforming our lives can afford to miss this book.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Veteran science journalist McElheny (Watson and DNA) concludes about the human genome project, the government-sponsored effort, completed in 2003, to decipher the entire human genome: "the big-scale science of genomics represents an explosion in knowledge that shows no sign of contracting." Indeed, the topic is huge and gets bigger with each passing year. By attempting to cover as much of the field as he does, McElheny makes it difficult for all readers to be fully informed: he lacks the necessary space to provide the detailed genomics background that would make the advances wholly comprehensible. Nonetheless, the author does two things very well. His description of the politics that led to the human genome project becoming the first megascale biology research program (akin in a number of ways to some large-scale physics projects supported by governmental funding) is clear and illuminating. Similarly, McElheny does an impressive job at explaining the current and future benefits likely to arise from the genetics data flooding into scientists laboratories. He is able to link pure research with medical advances, providing hope for concrete breakthroughs in individualized treatment while demonstrating that the money invested in this huge project has been well spent.
