Product Description

Adrian Woolfson explores the ethical minefield of genetics in the latest book in the popular Intelligent Person's Guide series; In a laboratory in America, a scientist Craig Ventor having successfully constructed a man-made virus, is now in the process of building the world's first artificial creature. His work is part of a revolutionary new type of 'synthetic' biology, which aims not just to understand how living things work, but to build them from scratch. Elsewhere molecular biologists have tapped into the DNA record to show that dodos were in fact a rare type of pigeon and the extinct quagga, a type of zebra. New research has also told us that although a distinct type of human, Neanderthal man was not our ancestor. Like eyewitness accounts of Victorian chimney sweeps, the DNA record is an imperfect time machine that can help reconstruct our past. It will also shape our future, as although designed 'naturally' by thousands of millions of years of evolution, mankind will soon be able to redesign itself. But how will such work be guided? What is needed is a manifesto for life, which acclaimed author Adrian Woolfson delivers in his examination of life and its future possibilities.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #869374 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Tha Guardian Tim Radford
'For 'intelligent' read literate. Do not confuse this book with DNA for Dummies'. Science made clear, not simple... Hugely enjoyable'

The Lancet
'Charming...as informative as it is readable. [Woolson] has an ear for catchy descriptions that make science understandable and memorable.'

The Lancet
'Reading this book feels rather like having a conversation over dinner with a cultured, witty, and well-informed companion.'

Customer Reviews

Delightful and charming
A charming romp through the history and future of life. Woolfson contends that synthetic life is inevitable and that we are at the cusp of what he calls a new Enlightenment, which is every bit as significant as the periods of profound intellectual change which converted modern society from a religious to a secular mode of existence. He uses a panalopy of wonderful anecdotes drawn mostly from the Victorian world, descirbing the antics of a host of colourful characters such as Professor Henry Pepper's ghost and strange talking machines. He even discusses the possibility of making fairies and mythical creatures from scratch. This is not a 'genetics for beginners' book but more a cultured exposition of the most interesting and important parts of genetic and genomic theory. I did not expect all of this so was unexpectedly delighted. I highly recommend it!