An important book about a major scientific advance but not for the faint of heart. Readers not up to speed on high school...
A pair of biochemists offer a fresh examination of the “newest and arguably most effective genetic-engineering tool.”
Biological spectaculars—e.g., genetic engineering, cloned sheep, in vitro fertilization—have produced headlines and bestsellers but flopped where it counts: they don’t save many lives. CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is changing that, write Doudna (Chemistry and Molecular Biology/Univ. of California; co-author: Molecular Biology: Principles and Practice, 2011, etc.) and Sternberg in this enthusiastic and definitely not dumbed-down account of gene manipulation that, unlike earlier methods, is precise and easy. In the first half of the book, “The Tool,” the authors summarize a century of research but focus on the discovery, in the early 2000s, that bacteria possess an ingenious immune system that destroys invading viruses by cutting their DNA into pieces. Within the past decade, researchers converted this into an ingenious technique for literally debugging DNA: putting in good genes in the place of bad. “Because CRISPR allows precise and relatively straightforward DNA editing,” write the authors, “it has transformed every genetic disease—at least, every disease for which we know the underlying mutation—into a potentially treatable target.” The second half, “The Task,” describes the miraculous powers of CRISPR to cure disease and control evolution—but not yet. Replacing a single defective gene cures muscular dystrophy in mice; clinical trials in humans for this and similar disorders (sickle-cell, hemophilia, cystic fibrosis) are in the works. CRISPR can’t yet cure cancer, prevent AIDS, wipe out malaria, revive the wooly mammoth, or regenerate a limb, but an avalanche of startups (Doudna’s included) is betting billions that it eventually will.
An important book about a major scientific advance but not for the faint of heart. Readers not up to speed on high school biology should prepare themselves with a good popular primer on DNA, such as Matthew Cobb’s Life’s Greatest Secret (2015).Pub Date: June 13, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-71694-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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