A look at genetic engineering that provides valuable background for rethinking the appropriate uses for these technologies.
A sober reflection on the promises and perils of genetic engineering.
A professor of zoology at the University of Manchester and the author of Life's Greatest Secret: The Race To Crack the Genetic Code, among other books, Cobb investigates three areas of molecular biology that raise enormous safety and ethical concerns: heritable human gene editing, gene drives, and viral gain-of-function research. In order to fairly assess the current state of these fields, he recounts the history of recombinant DNA research as well as the initial steps toward its commercial exploitation in medicine and agriculture. Readers without a solid understanding of biology will likely find that the scientific complexity of the history robs it of some of its drama. Cobb’s focus, however, is not on the science itself but on the social and political context of these discoveries. In particular, he examines the few moments in which scientists themselves sought to organize public debate about the potential consequences of their work. Most interestingly, Cobb contends that the famous 1975 Asilomar conference, while well intentioned, was limited by its focus on laboratory safety and lacked sufficient discussion of the broader ethical issues surrounding genetic manipulation. This view informs the main conclusion the author aims at the funders, scientists, and policymakers who are his primary audience. He believes the excitement surrounding “inevitable technical solutions,” such as CRISPR gene editing, often distracts from posing a more fundamental question, one that encompasses a wider variety of disciplines other than molecular biology: To which pressing problems are these techniques the safest and simplest solutions? While Cobb is careful to note that there are important potential applications in the three areas that concern him, he concludes that a great deal of research remains a risky solution in search of a problem.
A look at genetic engineering that provides valuable background for rethinking the appropriate uses for these technologies.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5416-0285-4
Page Count: 464
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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