BOOK OF MARCH

Title         : The Language of Life: DNA and the            Revolution in Personalized Medicine

Author     : Francis S. Collins

Publisher  : Harper Collins
Price        : $20.99

Millions of people around the world are affected rare diseases, many of which are primarily attributable to misspelled genes. And virtually all diseases have a significant hereditary component. A scientific and medical revolution has crept up on us, based on study after study, from hundreds of laboratories around the world. However, the revolution is much more fundamental than this: all of the diseases are having their secrets yet to be unlocked.

Here comes Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institute of Health and 15-year head of the Human Genome Project with one of the most important books of the year: The Language of Life: DNA and the Revolution in Personalized Medicine. With accessible, insightful prose, Dr. Collins describes the scientific efforts behind the secrets of the “personalized medicine,” and offers practical advice on utilizing these discoveries for one’s own current personal health and future well-being.

There is new world emerging of understanding, treatment, and prevention of the diseases. Everybody has to learn about one’s own DNA: how it works, what it reveals, its benefits and limitations for a better preference of a “personalized medicine”. Just in the past decade, most of what we think we know about DNA has been overturned. So the readers are guaranteed to face some surprises also. The book will also be a help to make better choices on issues relating to social and family health factors just around us.

Chapter Summary: The Future Has Already Happened (how the leading edge of the genome revolution is already affecting lives); When Genes Go Wrong, It Gets Personal (genetic screening prior to parenthood); Is It Time to Learn Your Own Secrets? (the pros and cons of finding the ticking time bombs in our genomes); Getting Personal with the Big C ('the role of DNA mutations in cancer'); What's Race Got to Do with It? (DNA analysis for personalized medicine, not racial profiling); Genes and Germs (future predictability of 'genetic susceptibility fo infectious disease'); Genes and the Brain (genetic factors in mental disorders); Genes and Aging (heredity's role); and The Right Drug and the Right Dose for the Right Person (effect of genetics on drug response).

(Book Review Text Courtesy: http://www.harpercollins.com/, http://www.sciencenews.org/, http://www.amazon.com/)