Reporting from the frontiers of research, an award-winning science writer brings readers the story of the people hunting for the genetic key to cancer--and of the dramatic recent breakthroughs that offer hope for an eventual cure.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Scientific American
This book is engrossing, affording a view of how science is done and how its outcomes affect real lives. The task of teasing out individual cancer genes from the 80,000 and more present in humans is daunting. Waldholz shows us how it is accomplished.... For those interested in the human side of science, Waldholz offers rich fare--up-close vignettes of several of the leaders in contemporary cancer research and how drive, ambition and ample brain power have propelled their research and our understanding of this complex disease.
From Kirkus Reviews
A Wall Street Journal science reporter's colorful, people-centered account of the fierce competition among scientists to find the genetic causes of cancer. Waldholz (coauthor, with Jerry Bishop, of Genome, 1990) focuses on Bert Vogelstein of Johns Hopkins University, who developed the tumor-suppressor theory of cancer that has become the foundation of cancer research today; Mary-Claire King, a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, who proved the existence of a breast cancer gene on chromosome 17 in 1990, although she couldn't pinpoint its precise location; Francis Collins, a researcher at the University of Michigan, who joined forces with King in the hunt for the elusive gene; and Mark Skolnick, a Utah geneticist who found BRCA1, the breast cancer gene, in 1994. Through interviews with these and other scientists who worked with them or competed against them, Waldholz shows the pressure of the race to be first. He reveals these denizens of the labs to be fierce competitors, often skilled at manipulating people, keeping secrets, and working the press. His secondary story, one fraught with quite different emotions, concerns the women in ``Family 15,'' the raw material used by a group of scientists tracking down the breast cancer gene. Through them Waldholz explores the ethical problems created when scientists are able to tell a woman that she has the gene but physicians are unable to either prevent or cure the cancer. Despite his optimistic title, Waldholz makes clear that curing cancer remains ``a lengthy and risky enterprise.'' He also touches on the problems and possible conflict-of-interest issues posed by the burgeoning number of biotechnology companies that are exploiting university research. Vivid portrayals of the principal players combined with clear descriptions of the science involved. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It reads like a mystery novel,
By A Customer
This review is from: Curing Cancer : Solving One of the Greatest Medical Mysteries of Our Time (Hardcover)
Waldholz does a wonderful job of transporting the reader into the world of cancer research through stories and events of the scientists, doctors, and patients who are paving the road to the greatest discoveries in medical history. I really enjoyed how the author was able to make medical science easy to read and understand. The book is exciting, uplifting, and reads from one event to the next like a mystery novel.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In 1993, sixteen years after his death, former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, or more accurately, a tiny part of him, participated in a remarkable experiment. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
colon cancer gene, melanoma gene, breast cancer gene, gene hunt, molecular biology labs, prototype drug, high iron levels, gene test, mismatch repair genes, eye cancer, defective version, familial breast cancer, cancer families, gene discoveries Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mary-Claire King, San Francisco, United States, Cold Spring Harbor, University of Utah, Francis Collins, Johns Hopkins, Mark Skolnick, New York, Bert Vogelstein, Salt Lake City, University of California, Myriad Genetics, University of Michigan, Henry Lynch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, West Point, University of Pennsylvania, Barb Weber, Kathy Calzone, Sasha Kamb, Barbara Weber, Long Island, North Carolina New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In 1993, sixteen years after his death, former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, or more accurately, a tiny part of him, participated in a remarkable experiment. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
colon cancer gene, melanoma gene, breast cancer gene, gene hunt, molecular biology labs, prototype drug, high iron levels, gene test, mismatch repair genes, eye cancer, defective version, familial breast cancer, cancer families, gene discoveries Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mary-Claire King, San Francisco, United States, Cold Spring Harbor, University of Utah, Francis Collins, Johns Hopkins, Mark Skolnick, New York, Bert Vogelstein, Salt Lake City, University of California, Myriad Genetics, University of Michigan, Henry Lynch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, West Point, University of Pennsylvania, Barb Weber, Kathy Calzone, Sasha Kamb, Barbara Weber, Long Island, North Carolina New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 24
books:
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9
books
cite this book:
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- The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James D. Watson on page 34, and Back Matter
- The Double Helix by James D. Watson on page 34, and Back Matter
- Molecular Genetics of Cancer, Second Edition (Human Molecular Genetics) by John K. Cowell in Back Matter
- BIOS Instant Notes in Molecular Biology by Phil Turner in Back Matter
- Understanding Genetics by Norman V. Rothwell in Back Matter
See all 24 books this book cites
- Cracking The Genome: Inside The Race To Unlock Human Dna by Kevin Davies on 4 pages
- Genetic Nutritioneering by Jeffrey S. Bland on page 180, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The $800 Million Pill: The Truth behind the Cost of New Drugs by Merrill Goozner on page 183, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Cracking the Genome: Inside the Race to Unlock Human DNA by Kevin Davies in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Breast Cancer Wars : Hope, Fear, and the Pursuit of a Cure in Twentieth-Century America by Barron H. Lerner in Back Matter
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