Genome

Rating:
Summary: More of Mendels damned peas, but not too much....
Review: Thank god I did not have to hear about Mendels friggin' peas for 3 chapters straight, AGAIN. That alone would have earned this book 5+ stars, but Ridley is not going out like that. No, instead he does something very dangerous, he injects witty little comments that make me laugh out loud, and make my coworkers wonder what I could possibly find so funny in a book about genetics.

Here is a piece of work that will actually jog your imagination, and make you wonder at possibilities, unless of course you are already a geneticist, micro biologist, or simply a condescending stupid head that looks down their nose at others. The chapter approach is intriguing, but in some chapters one is left with the distinct impression that Matt did not have enough data to support more than a few pages. One of the most refreshing aspects of the book was the objective approach its author took in telling us his and others tales of discovery, blasphemy, rebellion, and a whole lot of other words you would never have associated with the subject. Science is not boring, nor is this subject, and least of all this book. Even the most die hard anti-science wacko would find this an enlightening and delightful read.

I found the X-Y chapter, Chapters 8, 9, 15, and 21 most interesting. Anyone who has read this will have their own, I am sure. Also anyone who may have skipped over this title, but has read the likes of: Language of the Genes, the Selfish Gene, Origin of the Species, the Descent of Man, so on and so forth, should really enjoy this book. It is very well written, not buried in self ingratiating adjective overloading, like some people who will remain nameless...

Rating:
Summary: Genome
Review: A fantastic Book on the field of Genetics and how genes effect our every facet of life. Matt Ridley gives the reader a very straightfoward jargon-less book on the roles genes play in our bodies. I highly recommend this book to anyone, from ameteur to professional, who wants to know more about genetics and themselves.

Rating:
Summary: Better than any biology class I've had.
Review: This is by far one of the best science books I've read in quite a while. We are learning more and more about our DNA as the years go by, and Matt Ridley provides an excellent overview. You'll never think about your body or nature the same way again. I wish I took to the habit of bookmarking all the interesting and enlightening information I came across in each chapter, because the book is just full of amazing facts that I know I'm going to want to reference later.
I believe this could serve well as a deeper introduction to genetics for a grade schooler who is interested in broadening their knowledge gleamed from the generic biology class.

Rating:
Summary: great overview of the genome and lingering human questions
Review: I found this book to be a great overview of what has been learned from genomic work, many of the complexities encountered when doing that work, the uncertainty that arises from those complexities, and some history of societal responses to genomic information.

Some of the complaints that this book was not focussed or ill-advisedly arranged ("chromosome-by-chromosome") I think fail to grasp what the book intended to accomplish. The book is not a detailed investigation of each chromosome. That is not possible given the complexity of the information or the seemingly infinite amount of what is known.

The compounded analagies of chromosome to chapter and genome to book allow Ridley to structure his ideas on many of the scientific and huamn questions the spiral around this field. He even acknowledges in several places that the connection between the specific chromosome and the chapter subject is loose.

In the end, though, Ridley's scientific writing abilities do a superb job of describing many of the challenges, debunking many of the myths, and easing many of our worries of the coming age of biotech.

Rating:
Summary: Genes May Control Aging in Cells
Review: Genome reads like tales from, "Believe It or Not". However, this stems directly from its astonishing topic: The unraveling, mapping, and deciphering of nature's greatest history book-Human DNA, but there is no denying its authenticity, for we can see the richness of experimentation, which reveals the once sacrosanct code of life's innermost mechanisms. Remember, DNA is essentially a self-replicating Turing Machine; it can be viewed as a single strand or sequence of computer like instructions with two ends.

Do genes cause aging? Can genes arrest aging and restore youth when activated?
Apparently, cells "may" age because they can no longer repair oxidation damage (rust) caused by free radicals. In response to damage, cells divide and replicate their DNA. For whatever reason, DNA replication takes place some distance from its ends, which infers that the copy will be shorter and missing some "information" from both ends; however, thanks to a protective Telomere coating on its tips, the "information" is not relevant: The Telomere is composed of nonsense information. However, the Telomere cannot prevent the DNA from becoming shorter and shorter with each successive cell division, and eventually the cell will cease to divide-senescent (dead). Apparently, cell senescence takes place before the Telomere erodes completely away although the book is unclear on this subject, however, while the cell is alive, abridged Telomeres will effect "gene expression".

Is there anyway to maintain the cells' protective Telomere coating? Yes, in response to activating their Telomere gene, the cell spawns Telomerase protein, that repairs the Telomeres (appending to their ends). Hence, after the cell makes a short DNA copy, which "erodes" some of the Telomere from the ends, the Telomorase instantly repairs it, so it never gets shorter nor loses relevant information, which essentially makes the cell immortal and youthful. Germ or Sex cells (gametes) naturally have their Telomere gene activated to produce Telomerase, hence, their Telomeres always remain intact. Why do Germ cells have their Telomere gene activated, but not the body cells'? Perhaps there is a tradeoff between cell longevity and fertility, or something else.

Currently, Researchers are lauding the Telomere gene, not as a fountain of youth, but as a potential cure for cancer. For cancer-in addition to the "division suppression mechanism" failing, which causes the cells to divide rampantly-Telomerase is required; therefore, cancer cells have their Telomere genes activated. Researchers believe that deactivating the cancer cells' Telomere gene will destroy cancer.

Therefore, perhaps cancer susceptibility increases when activating the Telomere gene in body cells, and this is the tradeoff to increased cell longevity and youth.

Rating:
Summary: In the beginning was the word... and the word copied itself
Review: I think this work acts as a good antidote to the overheated talk of "disease genes" and "behavior genes" that has been bandied about quite a bit in the popular media of late. However, Ridley also describes the enormous opportunities lying behind the hype in the form of directed drug development and personalized disease risk assesment. If you know what will likely go wrong with you in the future, it will allow more effective preventative treatment. Along the way he addresses the history of genetics, eugenics, and evolutionary theory as well as the politcal and philosophical questions arising from this new view of life; all while keeping the book relatively seamless and coherent. Great job!

Rating:
Summary: I expected more
Review: It took me a while to realize that Mr. Ridley doesn't know much about genetics. I expected a book from a scientist who has spent years in doing getetic research. Someone who knows the subject from inside out and is willing to explain it to the non scientific audience.
Mr. Ridley's possesses only second hand knowledge. He has never worked in the field or has the educational background. This is a popular science book written by a person who himself is a popular science reader, not a scientist.
If you didn't know much about the genome before you started reading this book then you wouldn't know much more after you complete it. The author extensivelly dwells upon ethical and philosophical issues, which are no doubt important, but it seems to me that the Mr. Ridley was trying to fill up the pages with something in order to compensate for his lack of profound knowledge on the topic. It doesn't take much scintific knowledge in order to give oppinion on ethical and philosophical issues. Not that I disagree with his oppinions but this is not why I bought the book. I wanted to learn about the Genome and I didn't.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent job
Review: Another eye-opener book, whereby it opens up another world of unique ideas. An introductory type book that does an excellent job of giving an overall view of what the genome project is discovering and what the human DNA code contain. Each chapter deals with a specific segment of our genetic code. It is not a deep Chemistry or Biology text, but generalizes in what the specific area of each gene segment controls or affects. This book will challenge you to consider the wider ramifications of the genetic code and to consider the whole picture. It is very well written, and informative.
It is very interesting that the code is so flawed,full of repetitions, repairs, and fragments of genetic battles in our evolutionary history.
This is a book that one thinks about long after reading it because of its unique information.

Rating:
Summary: Great science; unfortunate politics
Review: First, everyone interested in the "Biotech Century" should read Ridley's book. It is a wonderful exposition on the genetic and environmental forces that shape us, on free will, and on the scientific method. It is one of those rare books that makes you glad to be alive during this era, when so much knowledge is coming into focus for the first time.

However, the author loses a star for smearing his wonderful science journalism with a subtle veneer of strident conservative libertarianism. Free market solutions to ethical issues are always preferred, and the government is always encouraged to get out of the way. I really lost it when Ridley compared the rise of Eugenics in the early 20th century to recent research on global warming. While none of this ruins the book, it does detract from the later chapters.

Rating:
Summary: Great science book
Review: Very readable and impressive science book, I highly recommened it.