Customer Reviews

The Second Creation: Dolly and the Age of Biological Control

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Ian Wilmut and Keith Cambell are the creators of Dolly the cloned sheep. They are also two of the three authors of this book. The book is all about how the historic event of cloning a mammal for the first time in history came about. It is wonderful reading and contains some great scientific insights. The only problem is that these two scientists have not embraced human cloning and all the good that it can do. It seems as if they stepped out of scientific mode and were forced to be against human cloning to keep their funding, placate their religions, and not become pariahs to the religious right. Great book. I highly recommend it for the fascinating story of cloning.

I was eager to see what Wilmut thought about cloning after reading his excellent essay in the best-selling anthology The Human Cloning Debate. But I was stunned when I read this book. Unlike the other work, this book comes across as silly, even patronizing. The book reads as though Wilmut is attempting to capitalize on Dolly, rather than as a thoughtful reflection on veterinary biology or genetics or human families. It is also very boring, even with the ghostwriter! Save your money; this expensive vehicle is not the best or the most interesting of the crop of cloned cloning books.

This book is very enlightening. Even though I have a genetic background and am into gene engineering, this book provided me the insights of how exactly the cloning process ocurred. An entry to Wilmut's mind ! Must Read for all Dolly enthusiasts !

Wonderful and interesting. Are scientists able to isolate the cells right before they undergo meiosis and use those cells for somatic nuclear transfer? For example, take a liver cell and perform a somatic nuclear transfer with a precursor cell (of the eggs)--the precursor cell undergoes meiosis to produce the ovum. It would give hope to infertile people and avoid the controversy of cloning.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR INFORMATION FOR REPORTS, THIS BOOK HAS PLENTY.

Science is breeding new technologies at an unprecedented rate, and with the birth of each advancement comes a new generation of ethical concerns. Few developments have rattled the world's moral cage more than cloning, and it behooves any professional to have a working knowledge of the foundations of the current debates surrounding the genetic sciences. Of course, understanding how Dolly the Lamb was cloned from an adult sheep is probably beyond the grasp of most readers. But authors Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell (the two leaders of the cloning team) and Colin Tudge (an experienced science writer) examine every inch of scientific ground the project covered. While many details are presented densely, this clearly written, first-person account of a momentous, history-making event is fascinating, particularly for readers of a scientific bent. We [...] recommend this book to any and all readers as a basic education in a field that has the potential to impact all of our businesses and our lives. Hello, Dolly.