Cc
Title : My Beautiful Genome:
Exposing Our Genetic Future,
One Quirk at a Time
Author : Lone Frank
Pages : 328 pages
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
ISBN : 10: 1851688331
Price : $ 10.78
Frank by name and frank by nature, My Beautiful Genome by Lone Frank, shortlisted for the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books, puts a personal story at the heart of the science. Internationally acclaimed science writer Lone Frank provides us with an insight into how our genes help to define us. Frank swabs up her DNA to provide the first truly intimate account of the new science of consumer-led genomics.
She challenges the scientists and business mavericks intent on mapping every baby's genome, ponders the consequences of biological fortune-telling, and prods the psychologists who hope to uncover just how important our environment really is - a quest made all the more gripping as Frank considers her family's and her own struggles with depression.
My Beautiful Genome begins with the quirky and honest unveiling of a forceful personality and a family history of depression.But for all of its exploration of the author’s own traits, this could just as aptly be named ‘Our Beautiful Genomes’. Personal genomics has a long way to go before it achieves its promise and becomes particularly insightful to any individual.
Tests for specific gene variants of BDNF which can affect how women handle stress and SERT which is linked with depression again validate something she already knew.It is clear that genomics is a fast moving and rapidly expanding field. Like its subject matter, the book quickly becomes technical, covering a lot of ground in the early chapters, presumably in order to bring the reader up to speed.
The writing style is direct and confident. The reader is treated with an intellectual respect that is both flattering and educational. One weakness though, is in the interviews. Frank paints vivid pictures of her subjects, and their surroundings.Perhaps this is a direct result of her personality test scores: high in openness and empathy, but low on agreeableness and compliance.
Nevertheless this is a captivating, instructional, and enjoyable read.My Beautiful Genome covers some of the most interesting controversies in biology today, including designer babies, brain imaging and even whether or not we have free will.It’s an enthralling read.Scientists have deciphered the genetic blueprints of thousands of people and narratives about the genomic revolution have not been far behind.
Lone Frank has a shady past as a research scientist with a Ph.D in neurobiology. However, a decade ago she decided to leave the lab bench to become a full-time science writer. Today she is Denmark's most distinguished science writer and a well-known voice in debates about science, technology and society.Currently, she is making a documentary on the science of happiness and writing her next book.
Contents:
Prologue:My Accidental Biology
Casual About Our Codons
Blood Kin
Honoring My Snips in Sickness and in Health
The Research Revolutionaries
Down in the Brain
Personality is A Four-letter Word
The Interpreter of Biologies
Looking For the New Biological Man
Link: http://blogs.nature.com
http://royalsociety.org
Exposing Our Genetic Future,
One Quirk at a Time
Author : Lone Frank
Pages : 328 pages
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
ISBN : 10: 1851688331
Price : $ 10.78
She challenges the scientists and business mavericks intent on mapping every baby's genome, ponders the consequences of biological fortune-telling, and prods the psychologists who hope to uncover just how important our environment really is - a quest made all the more gripping as Frank considers her family's and her own struggles with depression.
My Beautiful Genome begins with the quirky and honest unveiling of a forceful personality and a family history of depression.But for all of its exploration of the author’s own traits, this could just as aptly be named ‘Our Beautiful Genomes’. Personal genomics has a long way to go before it achieves its promise and becomes particularly insightful to any individual.
Tests for specific gene variants of BDNF which can affect how women handle stress and SERT which is linked with depression again validate something she already knew.It is clear that genomics is a fast moving and rapidly expanding field. Like its subject matter, the book quickly becomes technical, covering a lot of ground in the early chapters, presumably in order to bring the reader up to speed.
The writing style is direct and confident. The reader is treated with an intellectual respect that is both flattering and educational. One weakness though, is in the interviews. Frank paints vivid pictures of her subjects, and their surroundings.Perhaps this is a direct result of her personality test scores: high in openness and empathy, but low on agreeableness and compliance.
Nevertheless this is a captivating, instructional, and enjoyable read.My Beautiful Genome covers some of the most interesting controversies in biology today, including designer babies, brain imaging and even whether or not we have free will.It’s an enthralling read.Scientists have deciphered the genetic blueprints of thousands of people and narratives about the genomic revolution have not been far behind.
Lone Frank has a shady past as a research scientist with a Ph.D in neurobiology. However, a decade ago she decided to leave the lab bench to become a full-time science writer. Today she is Denmark's most distinguished science writer and a well-known voice in debates about science, technology and society.Currently, she is making a documentary on the science of happiness and writing her next book.
Contents:
Prologue:My Accidental Biology
Casual About Our Codons
Blood Kin
Honoring My Snips in Sickness and in Health
The Research Revolutionaries
Down in the Brain
Personality is A Four-letter Word
The Interpreter of Biologies
Looking For the New Biological Man
Link: http://blogs.nature.com
http://royalsociety.org
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