The Impact of the Gene: From Mendel's Peas to Designer Babies [Hardcover]

Colin Tudge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2000

In the mid-nineteenth century, a Moravian friar made a discovery that was to shape not only the future of science but also that of the human race. With his deceptively simple experiments on peas in a monastery garden in Brno, Gregor Mendel was the first to establish the basic laws of heredity, laws from which the principles of modern genetics can be drawn. In this fascinating account, acclaimed science writer Colin Tudge traces the influence on science of Mendel's extraordinary ideas, from the 1850s to the present day, and goes on to ask what might happen in this century and beyond.

The science of genetics holds the key to an enhanced understanding of the human makeup and allows for new ways of approaching such issues as the prevention of hereditary diseases and the effective conservation of endangered species. But genetic technologies are also instruments of tremendous power, and with this constantly expanding knowledge comes the responsibility of using it wisely. Cloning, genetically engineered crops, the research and results of the Human Genome Project, and the possibility of "designer babies" continue to force challenging choices on society. In The Impact of the Gene Colin Tudge provides new and vital insights into the ethics of modern genetics and raises the question of what criteria we must use with regard to this extraordinary and unprecedented power.

A comprehensive and entertaining work that combines scientific history with a compelling discussion of the future trends of genetic technologies, The Impact of the Gene examines how the ideas that underpin the spectrum of all genetic issues are interrelated, and proposes that with a basic understanding of Gregor Mendel's theories and discoveries, all modern genetics falls easily into place. From a monastery garden in Brno to the laboratories of the twenty-first century and beyond, The Impact of the Gene provides a vital overview of the science of genetics.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Just as A.N. Whitehead famously argued that "all moral philosophy is footnotes to Plato," Tudge (The Second Creation), a research fellow at the Centre for Philosophy at the London School of Economics, argues that "all genetics is footnotes to Mendel," taking us from the 19th-century Moravian friar's monastery garden to headline makers like the Human Genome Project and Dolly, the instant sheep. The comparison is doubly appropriate given how heavily the moral question hangs on Tudge's narratives as he endeavors to put the public's fears about cloning and other issues to rest. His discussions of evolutionary psychology the study of the genetic roots of human behavior, which today bears the taint of Herbert Spencer's social Darwinism and of eugenics are careful and reasonable, as is his handling of the controversial idea of "designer babies." Tudge invokes the concept of noblesse oblige, arguing that moral responsibility grows in direct proportion to power over life. Throughout, his attitude is "cautious optimism." Tudge has great facility as a popularizer, here breezily showing how Von Neumann's game theory was the only kind of math that could come to the aid of Darwinism, there speculating about the relative stability of the gene pool as a whole: "people who cannot outsmart New York lawyers do not fade into oblivion." While perhaps a little too credulous of the evolutionary psychology gospel for some readers, and not alarmist enough for others, Tudge's account will draw in and satisfy the curious neophyte, if not the embroiled activist or random browser.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Noted science writer Tudge (The Variety of Life, an LJ Best Book) writes a particularly interesting narrative on the development of genetics from Gregor Mendel's 19th-century pea experiments to the present. He devotes the first third of his book to Mendel and the foundations of genetics; the rest of the text covers all further scientific and technological developments in the field and their social context. One of the book's greatest strengths is that Tudge manages to weave the contributions of hundreds of scientists into a story that is coherent, logical, and readable. He also tackles the social implications of genetics (e.g., "designer babies") and offers thoughtful and persuasive discussions of difficult topics such as evolutionary psychology. Tudge's study is accessible to the educated lay reader, while the detailed historical account will appeal to academics. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries. Marianne Stowell Bracke, Univ. of Arizona
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 375 pages
• Publisher: Hill & Wang (January 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374175233
• ISBN-13: 978-0374175238
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,849,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It is three different books., January 22, 2002

By 

Jon Claerbout (Stanford, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Impact of the Gene: From Mendel's Peas to Designer Babies (Hardcover)

The FIRST THIRD is a history of Gregory Mendel.
He was doomed to lead his life as a substitute teacher at half pay
in a high school because he was right and his examiner was wrong.
It often said that Darwin should have read Mendel's paper because it
solves a problem that Darwin identified with his own theory
-- that the blending of parental characteristics destroys
the variation that selection needs to work its magic.
(Nonsense! It should have been the other way around.
Mendel should have read Darwin's work and known about Darwin's problem.
As someone being ignored by the world, Mendel had oceans of time
whereas Darwin found himself at the focus of a revolution.
The essense of the issue is physical and mathematical.
Mendel was trained in physics and math while Darwin
was a naturalist, with the many eclectic, nonanalytic
demands of that profession.)

The MIDDLE THIRD of the book summarizes landmark experiments
in genetics from Mendel's time to the present.
For us nonbiology majors, the pace gets much tougher here
but these are very good explanations, and I plan
to reread this part of the book again (and again). For example,
he explains how everyone thought that genes would have to be proteins.
How could DNA, so boring chemically, provide the code for proteins
that seem so infinitely various?

The the book's title and its chapter headings in
the LAST THIRD raise our expectations. For example,

"Could we breed more intelligent people if we really wanted to?
The answer is surely yes, but (a) ... it's not easy.., and (b)
although we might readily raise the average IQ of the population,
it is not obvious that we could improve the top end.
That is, we might produce more people able to get A's at Princeton,
but [not] produce anyone significantly smarter than, say,
[quantum mechanics discoverer] Niels Bohr."

Wow! Tell us how that might come about!
After an introduction like this, I expected something beyond yet another
rehash of the horror of the eugenic attempts of the last century,
but it simply isn't here. It's a nice book,
but it doesn't reach far towards the promise of its title.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mendelian manifesto, August 21, 2002

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Impact of the Gene: From Mendel's Peas to Designer Babies (Paperback)

Colin Tudge is anxious to set the record straight. Despite a throng of recent critics attempting to discredit Gregor Mendel's role as the founder of modern genetic sciences, Tudge provides a wealth of supportive data to reinforce Mendel's reputation. Although some critics have disparaged Mendel's lack of scholastic acceditations, Tudge urges a comprehensive view. He stresses we should look at Mendel's environment, personal background and, most importantly his scientific methods. Tudge simply sweeps away the criticisms [with the sole exception of R.A. Fisher] as unthinking iconoclasm.

After a defence of Mendel and his contribution to biology, Tudge reviews what genes are and how they function. This in-depth overview is one of the best summations of genetic processes in print. This chapter alone is worth purchasing the book. Tudge traces the roles of DNA, RNA, the amino acids and proteins. He shows how even minuscule changes in any step in the sequence can lead to ineffective proteins. Such changes can be implemented in the development of the organism [or merely part of it] rendering it unfit to survive in its existing environment. Such change can also make the individual more fit if that environment is undergoing change. He reviews the history of discoveries concerning chromosomes, DNA [first called nuclein], enzymes and proteins. He reminds us that many of these finds were made while Mendel's work had sunk from sight. Tudge's list of the researchers involved and the dates of their discoveries is revealing for those not well-grounded in the history of biology. He shows how the many threads were brought together many years later.

Tudge addresses how the genetic ratios imply regular laws of inheritance. Tudge stresses the revolutionary aspect of this discovery and how it changed science's view of life. He notes how Mendelian genetics seemed to refute Darwin for some years. When these apparent discrepancies were later reconciled and molecular genetics arose as the science binding the two theories, limitless opportunities arose. Revelation of the DNA structure showed how genes could be identified and later used to understand their relation to the whole organism.

Tudge follows through with what has been achieved in genetic research and speculates on what the future might hold. He pulls no punches in his speculations and readers will be confronted with myriad possibilities. These shouldn't be discounted nor blithely cast aside as distasteful. His proposals are realistic and based on strong science.

This book should stand as Tudge's finest effort. He's written many books on science, with some focus on human evolution. Standing as a pinnacle among his publications, readers are urged to take up this volume intending to give it a careful read. His Epilogue carefully reviews the many ethical questions that arise from the new power that genetics has placed in our hands. He reminds us of the pitfalls that have been encountered in the past and to prepare for these in decision-making. Public policies, which ultimately rest in your hands, he reminds us, must be formulated on a basis of clear understanding of what is involved.
This book provides an excellent starting point for building that knowledge base. He warns us against letting events overtake us. Read him to stay abreast of what is transpiring.

5.0 out of 5 stars The ideal companion to primers of genetics..., February 4, 2003

By 

Dario Ventra (Utrecht, Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Impact of the Gene: From Mendel's Peas to Designer Babies (Paperback)

I so much enjoyed this book that I thought I'd drop a quick review to inspire other readers...
This is probably not the best way to take one's first step into genetics, as far as the biological and technical nuts and bolts of the subject are concerned. Yet, if I were a professor, I'd make this a required reading to all students of genetics in order for them to be further introduced to the historical and ethical sides of the matter...
Starting with Mendel's biography and scientific breakthroughs, Tudge offers a guided tour through the early, pioneering days of modern biology, explains the very basics of Mendelian and molecular genetics, then swiftly moves on to discuss several important aspects, consequences and moral and practical responsibilities derived from our present advanced and advancing knowledge of biological heredity.
I think readers with no firm foundation of genetics and evolutionary theory wouldn't grasp the basics so easily from the quick overview by the author, agile and clear though it is. Any other biology textbook will obviously fill such a bill much better...
But the book's absolute forte lies both in the introductory historical perspective and in the following essays on wildlife conservation, evolutionary psychology, genetic bio-engineering and philosophy of science (better still, philosophy after the science!).
Tudge has drawn his own conclusions, and one may or may not agree with him in some respects, especially in his last chapter... But he treats many issues in a clear, informed and scientifically sensible way, and those are exactly the issues all too often hyped up or simplistically downplayed by the media and by columnists who babble on and on, all too often unaware of what exactly they're talking about, and thus unable to convey any meaningful insights to their audiences but doubts, diffidence or, even worse, passive indifference before something apparently, but mistakenly, beyond their grasp.
The principles that lie at the basis of some modern or future biotechnologies are very much understandable instead, and should belong to everyone who wants to form an educated opinion about what's going on...
A book for the novice to learn a little bit more, and for everyone to ponder. Even the ones who think they already know better...