Understanding the Genome (Science Made Accessible) (Paperback)

by Scientific American (Author) "Although humanity did not know it at the time, the race to sequence the human genome began more than 135 years ago, with the publication..." (more)
Key Phrases: ordered regime, genome program, genetic discrimination, Celera Genomics, Craig Venter, Human Genome Sciences (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
UNDERSTANDING THE GENOME is one of the first four titles that launch an exciting new Pocket Science series, from the editors of America's leading popular science magazine, Scientific American

Comprised of critically acclaimed essays by the world's leading experts on each topic in the series, these collections will become definitive texts on crucial issues of our technological times. The authoritative and prestigious reputation of Scientific American puts these books at the top of any science fan's list.

On June 26, 2000, great fanfare accompanied the announcement that scientists had completed a draft of the human genome sequence. While the possibilities of this development are exciting, questions inevitably follow: What is the timetable for the annotation of this code? How will this information transform preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic medicine? Will this discovery help us to reconstruct the major steps in the evolution of life on earth?

UNDERSTANDING THE GENOME, one of the first four titles in Scientific American's Pocket Science series, examines these questions and discusses the technological and medical repercussions that spring from the study of genes. The book-like the entire series-is targeted to intelligent readers who want to expand their understanding of complex scientific subjects and contains essays from top scientist working in the field, including Francis Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health's National Human Genome Research Institute, and William Haseltine, CEO of Human Genome Sciences.

Like the magazine, the book encompasses a spectrum of innovation through expert-authored articles that demonstrate the convergence of science, technology, and the world economy, challenging readers with fresh, new ideas and empowering them to make smart, strategic decisions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446678724
• ISBN-13: 978-0446678728
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,470,140 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting anthology of SciAm articles, October 17, 2002

By A Customer

This book is one in a series by Scientific American that has been published with the intent to give an overview of various themes in science to a lay audience. This book on genomics is a reprint of various articles that have been published in SciAm (in either magazine or web formats). The articles include: articles on J. Craig Venter and Francis Collins (the two de facto leaders of the Human Genome Project), an article co-written by Dr. Collins, articles on business and philosophical aspects of genomics, etc.

Overall, I thought this book was interesting. It doesn't get the 5th star because of the sort of hodge-podge feel to the book (it is an anthology of somewhat disparate articles not originally intended to be published together) ... which more assertive editing may have solved. But, all-in-all, considering the low price tag, I would recommend the book to those who are interested in the subject and do not own copies of the relevant SciAm back issues.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent but somewhat dated intro to human genome issues, April 11, 2003

By	David M. Ng (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a collection of articles and columns from issues of Scientific American between March 1996 and April 2001. This date range represents a long time in molecular biology and now some of the articles are dated. For example, several articles estimate that humans have 100,000 genes; a more recent textbook gives the number of human genes in the range 25,000-40,000. Also, this book is part of the "Science Made Accessible" series so the reader should not expect much technical depth. An exception is the interview with Stuart Kauffman which tends to uses undefined technical terminology such as "canalizing input" and "cis site." Better editing could have brought the articles up-to-date and provided definitions (especially for the Kauffman interview) to make the material more "accessible."

So why do I give this book a four-star rating? Because of its coverage of human genome issues. A couple of articles discuss genetic discrimination and insurance. Another couple of articles discuss bioinformatics (biology as an information science). I thought one of these articles, the interview with Kauffman mentioned earlier, was the most interesting in its discussion of gene regulatory circuits. Several articles discuss the history of the publically funded Human Genome Project and the privately funded Celera group. Many articles are concerned with the medical advances that may result from having sequenced the human genome. Perhaps what this short (150 page) volume best provides is a hopeful view of where biology and medicine are headed (the genetic discrimination issue is somewhat less hopeful) and I recommend this book for its glimpse of the future.

3.0 out of 5 stars Understanding The Genome, January 3, 2005

By	merrychristmas - See all my reviews

The Human Genome Project (HGP) has been an ongoing research project for many years. Throughout this book, it is explained in different scientific essays what the project is about and what exactly the human genome is. Although this book is quite outdated, for it was published in 2002, it is a great introduction to understanding the genome and what it is about. As previously stated, there are scientific essays as well as interviews between Scientific American (where the book actually came from) and the scientists themselves.

The articles and essays that are contained in this very short read cover a wide range about human genomics. That is one thing that I liked about this book. The articles, although based mostly around one point of view, (scientific as opposed to ethical), cover all the bases concerning the HGP. For example, it covers both sides of the fact that drugs that can cure diseases may be discovered in the future. It may sound crazy, but like everything, there are people that go against things like this.

The book was relatively easy to understand. There was no need to look up words very often, for they explained it all to you. The point of the book was for scientists and the regular man alike to have a better understanding of the genome. If you really want to know more about this interesting topic, I would definitely recommend reading this book. In addition to this book, you should pick up another, more recent one too, because so much has happened regarding the Human Genome Project since 2002. It is a short, quick, easy to understand book that has a lot of information. If you are just now beginning to want to know about the HGP, you should read Understanding the Genome for a solid grounding about the subject.