Genome

by Ridley, Matt

• ISBN13: 9780060194970
• ISBN10: 0060194979
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-01-13
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

A fascinating tour of the results of the most momentous scientific endeavor of our time--the Human Genome Project--cleverly told in 23 essays, one for each chromosome. Following in the tradition of James Gleick's Chaos, Matt Ridley vividly brings to light the most profound scientific discovery of the century--the mapping of the human genome. In charmingly witty and lucid prose, Ridley describes what the human genetic code is, how it works, and demonstrates how this newfound knowledge will affect medicine, the pharmaceutical industry, business, politics, and our own lives. Genome is divided into 23 chapters, one for each chromosome, each of which tells the story of a particular gene and how it affects an individual: from intelligence and personality to disease and sexual behavior. Examining a scientific achievement on par with--and with as many dire implications as--the splitting of the atom, Genome makes clear who we humans are--and where we may be going.

Author Biography

Matt Ridley is a former science editor, Washington correspondent and U.S. editor for the Economist.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Foreword	1	(3)
Introduction	4	(7)
Life	11	(12)
Species	23	(15)
History	38	(16)
Fate	54	(11)
Environment	65	(11)
Intelligence	76	(15)
Instinct	91	(16)
Conflict	107	(1)
Self-Interest	107	(29)
Disease	136	(11)
Stress	147	(14)
Personality	161	(12)
Self-Assembly	173	(12)
Pre-History	185	(10)
Immortality	195	(11)
Sex	206	(13)
Memory	219	(12)
Death	231	(12)
Cures	243	(15)
Prevention	258	(13)
Politics	271	(15)
Eugenics	286	(15)
Free Will	301	(13)
Bibliography and Notes	314	(23)
Index	337