Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley

Jul 26, 2011 Kristin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: real-life

I wish I could give this book 6 stars! It's really fantastic, and I want to recommend it to EVERYONE, but in my heart I know the tone would bore some of my friends... I suggest thinking of the author/narrator as a cool guy you'd be friends with telling you all this information, instead of a nerdy/haughty *scientist* ...He's not a scientist, he's a writer & former editor, & this isn't a textbook, but it could be--he's done his research & includes all his references. Just slightly out-...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 31, 2013 Voodoochilli rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science

I really enjoyed this book. I would say it is so far the best book I have read this year and a great introduction to genetics. Quite a lot of the stuff in this book has been covered in other books I have read, most notably by Richard Dawkins, however the writing was fresh and I learned a hell of a lot of stuff throughout this book. For example, did you know that the placenta is actually a parasite, the result of male antagonistic genes battling the female's X chromosomes by redirecting more reso...more I really enjoyed this book. I would say it is so far the best book I have read this year and a great introduction to genetics. Quite a lot of the stuff in this book has been covered in other books I have read, most notably by Richard Dawkins, however the writing was fresh and I learned a hell of a lot of stuff throughout this book. For example, did you know that the placenta is actually a parasite, the result of male antagonistic genes battling the female's X chromosomes by redirecting more resources to the baby? And in response the female releases insulin in an attempt to counter this intrusion and moderate the resources? I didn't! What about the fact that male sperm has an agenda and that chemicals within enter the female's brain, lowering her sex drive and adjusting the timings of her menstrual cycle in an attempt to stop her mating with others? At the same time, the female's genes have attacked the poor Y chromosome to such an extent that it has all but shut down, being a tiny little stub of a gene. Fascinating!

Many issues are explored in this book, from reproduction, disease to Eugenics and the politics of science and academia. There is also quite a bit of history, and not just the usual mention of Darwin on the Galapagos islands with his finches. There were many occasions in this book when I stopped to read a paragraph out to my wife who was also fascinated.

My only minor criticism of this book would be that the final chapter seems slightly rushed. Additionally, I don't like it when authors start name dropping a lot of people (particularly the self declared intellectuals we call philosophers). I find name dropping is often used as a diversion from fact, and I feel the last chapter lacked some of the magic of the 22 chapters before it. I feel the author did this in an attempt to cover too many topics and round the book with a nice conclusion, one that wasn't needed. You see, each chapter tells the story of a chromosome! The book is accessible but does get progressively more difficult and there is quite a bit of genetic code mentioned, but most people will not have a problem understanding it since the book does educate so well.

Written at the turn of the century, the book is 10 years old and with the exception of the first human genome being transcribed, to a lay person like me it doesn't seem dated at all. I have since ordered more books on the subject and I am once again interested in evolutionary biology! I am now reading The prehistory of the mind : a search for the origins of art, religion, and science By Steven Mithen.

The book just missed 5 stars for me as I feel the final chapter didn't quite gel with the rest, however this book is on par with any book by Richard Dawkins, Bill Bryson, Marcus Chown, Richard Feynman or any other well known popular science writer you can name. If you are interested in science, biology or evolution just a little bit then read this, you won't be disappointed.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Oct 03, 2011 Kay rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone interested in genetics, intellectually curious people

Shelves: non-fiction, bio-chem-phys

A really great introduction to genetics. One of my friends, who studied chemistry in college, recommended the book to me. The book is divided into 23 chapters, representing the 23 different sets of chromosomes in the human body. The concept fascinated me, and I thought that if the author had enough of a sense of humor to write a book this way, why not give it a try?

I'm not going to pretend that I understood 100% of the book, but the parts I did understand, I appreciated. While the writer does pr...more A really great introduction to genetics. One of my friends, who studied chemistry in college, recommended the book to me. The book is divided into 23 chapters, representing the 23 different sets of chromosomes in the human body. The concept fascinated me, and I thought that if the author had enough of a sense of humor to write a book this way, why not give it a try?

I'm not going to pretend that I understood 100% of the book, but the parts I did understand, I appreciated. While the writer does provide an introduction on how genes and DNA work, for most people who don't have a background in genetics, the amount of material will be overwhelming. My best advice is to skim to get the general idea and continue on. The principles will be repeated as you progress along the book, and this time they'll stick because they are illustrated using real life occurrences (for example, I now have a clearer understanding of how stress biologically affects our bodies). The concepts are intricate, but Matt Ridley does a great job breaking things down into digestible portions.

Despite the title, each chapter does not go into a detailed account of the function of each set of chromosomes. Good thing, too, since each chromosome serves a variety of different functions. Instead, each chapter is divided up into themes. For example, the chapter Fate, which I found the most fascinating, sought to prove that a good portion of our lives is written in our genetic code. Ridley uses Huntington’s Disease to prove this point: he explains how Huntington’s is caused, why it happens in some people and not in others, and describes in detail how a repeating sequence of CAGs can determine at what age you start to show symptoms. What I appreciated the most, though, was that Ridley also pushes further to describe the ramifications of the disease—should doctors tell a patient that they have the disease and that they will develop symptoms at a certain age? Should patients inquire about whether or not they have the incurable, unavoidable disease?

The book, while informative and intellectually stimulating, encourages us to ask very difficult questions that result from such issues. Rather than the detached scientist studying life through a microscope, Ridley actively engages with life, challenging and observing and questioning. Instead of the coldly yet carefully studied discourse on genetics it could have been, the book joins human life and genetics together in a compassionate way.

Definitely recommended, and not just for the science-y people.
(less)

5 likes · like · see review

Aug 30, 2011 Abailart rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science, psychology

Sometimes I have to stop after even a paragraph. It's a strong feeling of becoming enraptured by the information, connections and insights afforded by this extremely lucid and stimulating layperson's introduction to the human genome. An extremely compressed three page preface provides a glossary and explanation of key terms, and can be returned to as needed. Each chapter then takes one chromosome and selects from each a particular gene to describe with a much broader emphasis upon what this actu...more Sometimes I have to stop after even a paragraph. It's a strong feeling of becoming enraptured by the information, connections and insights afforded by this extremely lucid and stimulating layperson's introduction to the human genome. An extremely compressed three page preface provides a glossary and explanation of key terms, and can be returned to as needed. Each chapter then takes one chromosome and selects from each a particular gene to describe with a much broader emphasis upon what this actually means for human individuality, culture and society.

As always when reading popular science books, as well as becoming enthusiastic and wishing to retrain as an astrophysicist or quantum mechanic for instance, I am very interested in the 'rhetoric' of discourses, what emerges between the lines - often very powerful assumptions and values relating to conceptualising 'human nature'. In the case of biology, neuroscience etc. it strikes me as not at all right that one of the assumptions seems to be treating the hard, material attributes of human animalism on the same logical level as the wider discourses of humanity: thus for instance the nature-nurture division (itself making the same logically precarious distinction) leads at worst to quanitfying the relative influence of each 'side'. The are always ideological and political implication, too, not only within the production of science popularisation but within scientific enterprises generally.

Ridley does not entirely address the identity question. There's an interesting parallel I think between science writing like this which acknowledges "environmental factors' but leaves them as extremely vague, amorphous and subject to filling with whatever a particular thinker or conceptual paradigm requires, and those who consider such questions as occur around socioeconomics, ideology, material poverty etc. who tend to leave the questions about the enormously important weight of human meat, including brain meat, as a passing aside. Both have their essential role, and a synthesis is required. However, Ridley does an excellent job in contrasting Chapter/Chromosome 4, Fate wherein a particular tiny, tiny genetic abnormality is indeed an unstoppable marker which predicts certain terminal illnesses )or, the high risk of) with Chromosome5, in Environment which details the research for asthma related genes: here, he whizzes through the many implicated genes correlating with different demographies and how environment is a very significant, possibly crucial, factor in triggering genetic propensities (among different groups: men, for instance seem more affected by petrol fumes than women who have a weakness for diesel).

I like his conclusion of the chapter on environment (in which he does, by the way, mention the wide open field for interpreters of data to channel explanations through favourite hobby horses, interests or ideology):

The more we delve into the genome the less fatalistic it will seem. Grey indeterminancy, variable causality and vague predisposition are hallmarks of the system.....(S)implicity piled upon simplicity creates complexity. The genome is as complicated and indeterminate as ordinary life, because it is ordinary life. This should come as a relief. Simple determinism, whether of the genetic or environmental kind, is a depressing prospect for those with a fondness for free will.

Well, being a numbskull, I hadn't realised that gene theory has almost died in relation to the context of this book. I shall keep it as an historical text! Still, its great strength remains which is the approach to emphasising the amorphousness of data and theory, the tentative nature of concluding anything, and so thus an antidote to the dread ideologies of the numbskulls all around who use language like lego blocks and words like things to be quantified, measured and sold and bought. Yah!(less)

1 like · like · see review

Aug 08, 2012 Aurochz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: neuorscience-evolution, science, history

This book was medium in every way possible. That is to say the author didn't exceed or go below my expectations. I have now read this and The Red Queen, so I think I have a pretty good taste of the Author's writing and argumentative style. I definitely think Red Queen was better. I think Matt Ridley is overly speculative and kind of behind the times in some of the evidence/arguments he relies on in both books. This is a running problem that will lead me to my general criticisms of this book.

Lik...more

4 likes · like · see review

Nov 21, 2008 Pras rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: science enthusiast

Recommended to Pras by: Kinokuniya

Sebelum masuk ke bahasan buku, versi terjemahan bahasa indonesia buku ini cukup bagus. Penerjemahnya terlihat sangat hati-hati memilah kata-kata sulit dalam bidang genetik untuk dibahasakan dengan bahasa yang mudah dimengerti. Tapi memang ada beberapa hal yang sulit dicari padanannya di bahasa Indonesia.
Bagian pertama buku genom sangat membantu orang di luar genetik memahami genetik. Seperti juga prose transkripsi gen, bab awal ini dinamai Primer oleh Ridley.
Yang saya tak habis pikir, begitu mu...more Sebelum masuk ke bahasan buku, versi terjemahan bahasa indonesia buku ini cukup bagus. Penerjemahnya terlihat sangat hati-hati memilah kata-kata sulit dalam bidang genetik untuk dibahasakan dengan bahasa yang mudah dimengerti. Tapi memang ada beberapa hal yang sulit dicari padanannya di bahasa Indonesia.
Bagian pertama buku genom sangat membantu orang di luar genetik memahami genetik. Seperti juga prose transkripsi gen, bab awal ini dinamai Primer oleh Ridley.
Yang saya tak habis pikir, begitu mudahnya Ridley merangkai cerita-cerita dan menghubungkannya dengan tiap-tiap kromosom. Saya yakin, dalam penulisan buku ini, Ridley berkutat dengan jurnal-jurnal atau majalah sains genetik. Dan kita bersyukur sudah disarikan suatu cerita mengenai perkembangan genetika molekular dalam 10 tahun terakhir olehnya di buku ini.
Dalam penulisannya Ridley tidak terjebak pada debat abadi yaitu Nurture vs Nature. Di kala banyak orang berdebat ,manakah yang lebih berperan dalam kehidupa manusia. Apakah faktor keturunan genetik (nature)? ataukah faktor lingkungan dengan pengasuhan yang berbeda (nurture)?
Justru Ridley menengahkan kedua sisi dengan adil.
Pada Kromosom 4, maksud saya bab 4, terdapat permasalahan Huntington gene yang dapat menentukan lama hidup manusia sebelum ia terkena penyakit Huntington. Yang menarik lagi, Ridley menceritakan kisah salah satu peneliti Huntington yang terkena penyakit itu sendiri, Nancy Wexler. Saya termenung membaca kata-katanya "Do You want to know when are you going to die, especially if you have no power to change the outcome?"
Selanjutnya, Ridley secara tajam memutar pandangan ke arah Nurture. Terlihat pada kromosom 6 yang membahas tentang kecerdasan manusia. Para ahli psikologi yang begitu yakin dapat menakar dan mengukur tingkat kecerdasan seseorang, dibantai habis oleh Ridley. Mereka yang berlindung di balik nama genetik untuk pemilahan manusia2 unggul juga dibantai tanpa ampun oleh Ridley.
Terakhir, buku ini sangat disarankan dibaca oleh siapapun yang tertarik dan ingin mengetahui perkembangan genetika molekular tanpa harus ikut kuliah genetik atau membaca tect book yang tebal. Bisa juga dibaca oleh seseorang yang ingin menghadiri konferensi ahli genetika, supaya tidak terlihat gagap. (less)

like · see review

Feb 08, 2013 Ralph Hermansen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Here is a book packed with newly-learned technical facts, yet it is easily read.

This book provided me with exactly the information, which I needed, at a key time in my personal research. I had previously learned how DNA and different kinds of RNA work together to manufacture proteins for the body. I was ready to learn more details about how different parts of the body use this engine. Matt Ridley and his book were "Johnny-on the-spot" for me. His writing style made it a painless journey for me a...more

like · see review

Oct 04, 2012 Andy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, science

An interesting idea for a popular book about genetics - 23 chapters, one for each pair of chromosomes - that is realized into a not particularly good book. I appreciate that it's trying to be generalist, but it's generalist to the point of failing to convey ideas. Ridley moves from topic to topic like a student who has been told that he must include a long list of them in his paper. And I'm afraid the writing is just not good enough for any of the briefly discussed ideas to stick in your brain,...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 28, 2012 Tempo de Ler rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

{Blog} http://tempodler.blogspot.pt/2012/06/...

Comprei este livro porque precisava de bases para um trabalho académico sobre o cromossoma 5 e, embora haja muita informação sobre a genética em geral, é complicado encontrar matéria especificamente sobre um único cromossoma e, mais difícil ainda, encontrá.la em quantidade suficiente para encher um trabalho inteiro. E escusado será dizer que, comparado com os meus gigantescos livros de genética e biologia molecular, este livro era tão pequenino que...more

like · see review

Mar 03, 2012 Brenna rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have had a copy of this book on my shelf for a number of years and kept meaning to get around to reading it, and putting it off because I was under a false impression of what it was about. I thought it was akin to James Watson’s “The Double Helix,” which tells the story of his and Francis Crick’s discovery of the structure of DNA – I thought “Genome” was simply the story of the Human Genome Project, that it would explain the technology of genetic sequencing and how the human genome came to be...more I have had a copy of this book on my shelf for a number of years and kept meaning to get around to reading it, and putting it off because I was under a false impression of what it was about. I thought it was akin to James Watson’s “The Double Helix,” which tells the story of his and Francis Crick’s discovery of the structure of DNA – I thought “Genome” was simply the story of the Human Genome Project, that it would explain the technology of genetic sequencing and how the human genome came to be sequenced and what that means to scientific endeavor. I was completely wrong. I should have read the subtitle of this book: “The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters.” Ridley’s idea was to explain the importance of the sequencing of the human genome by looking at specific genes and their expression, and he cleverly chose to do so by taking specific genes from each of the 23 human chromosomes and devoting a chapter to it.

The result is a very interesting piece of popular science writing. For Ridley, a science journalist rather than a scientist outright, the main goal seems to have been dispelling the popular belief that genes cause diseases. He reiterates this point several times. This dates his book somewhat, for I think the public has come to a better understanding that while certain genes are correlated with disease risk, genes don’t directly cause diseases, except in the cases where the presence or lack of a certain gene causes a disorder, such as sickle cell anemia. Ridley hones in on the most interesting and cutting-edge genetic research and ties it to a chromosome based on location in the genome. For example, on chromosome 7 there is a gene related to what both linguistic scientists and neuropsychologists refer to as “the language instinct”, the inherent ability in humans to learn language structure – a universal ability to understand grammar.

All in all, the book is very interesting and engrossing, though it has started to suffer a little from being published in 2000 – as scientific research in the human genome continues to evolve, some of the information in the book is outdated. Also, I sometimes felt that Ridley’s style was a little too much on the “popular” side of popular science writing; having studied genetics and even done research in genomics, sometimes his explanations were a little too simplified for my tastes.
(less)

like · see review

Dec 19, 2011 Jose rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a great popular science book on human genetics. No, it is not as good as anything by Richard Dawkins but it is reasonably entertaining and covers a great range of genetics topics. While books by Dawkins go deeper into the "philosophy" and meaning of evolution in general, this book takes a more practical approach and discusses the human genetic code specifically. It explores what we have found in our genes so far and what it all means to us.

The book is broken down into 23 chapters which d...more

like · see review

Oct 23, 2011 Христо Блажев rated it 5 of 5 stars

Прекрасният генетичен свят на Мат Ридли
http://www.knigolandia.info/2010/09/b...

Книжният пазар у нас като че ли не се влияе от кризата – поне на пръв поглед. В България непрекъснато се издава какво ли не, а тиражите, въпреки че са твърде отдалечени от западните, понякога достигат повече от задоволителни числа. И все пак, под “какво ли не” и под “задоволителни числа” не се има предвид нито разнообразие, нито същински бестселъри. Имаме по-скоро капризни хитове – спорадични, подвластни на социалните...more Прекрасният генетичен свят на Мат Ридли
http://www.knigolandia.info/2010/09/b...

Книжният пазар у нас като че ли не се влияе от кризата – поне на пръв поглед. В България непрекъснато се издава какво ли не, а тиражите, въпреки че са твърде отдалечени от западните, понякога достигат повече от задоволителни числа. И все пак, под “какво ли не” и под “задоволителни числа” не се има предвид нито разнообразие, нито същински бестселъри. Имаме по-скоро капризни хитове – спорадични, подвластни на социалните настроения и (безсрамно ниските ни) стандарти. Предпочитат се преходни и боклучави книжлета: булеварден entertainment, глупава езотерика и таблоидни биографии. На този фон наличието на стабилна литература за еволюция, рационализъм, скептицизъм и науката in general остава някъде назад. Прекалено назад.

Разбира се, има изключения, разчитащи на сигурната популярност (да речем: Карл Сейгън, Стивън Хокинг или Брайън Грийн), но къде са Майкъл Шърмър, Даниъл Денет, Рой Спенсър, Филип Плейт, Сам Харис, Кристофър Хичънс, Джеймс Ранди и по-голямата част от библиографията на Ричард Докинс?

Именно в тази поредица от големи имена ще споменем Мат Ридли, британски автор и журналист, който също е от хората, чието отсъствие по родните книжарници е едновременно културно и интелектуално престъпление. Слава Зевсу, поне една от творбите му вече си е проправила път насам. “Геномът” (с подзаглавие “Автобиография на един биологичен вид в 23 глави”) разглежда хем сложна, хем безкрайно обаятелна тема и то под ъгъл, който печели допълнителния читателски интерес със своя нестандартен и дори провокативен подход.(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 06, 2011 Kristen Klocko rated it 4 of 5 stars

My first impression of this book (by first impression, I mean before I read it and when all I had was the description) was that it was going to be a long and boring read. To be honest, I was not too excited to read it. But, I found that a lot of the material was actually very compelling and I found myself very interested in it! For example: in chapter 6 I learned that a gene exists for intelligence (this subject is apparently debatable) and that “The influence upon our intelligence of events tha...more
My first impression of this book (by first impression, I mean before I read it and when all I had was the description) was that it was going to be a long and boring read. To be honest, I was not too excited to read it. But, I found that a lot of the material was actually very compelling and I found myself very interested in it! For example: in chapter 6 I learned that a gene exists for intelligence (this subject is apparently debatable) and that “The influence upon our intelligence of events that happened in the womb is three times as great as anything our parents did to us after birth.” This is absolutely fascinating to me. The author, Matt Ridley, lays out the text so well. I expected the whole book to be full of long scientific terms and phrases that would make it impossible to comprehend the meaning behind the words, but the writing was a lot more colloquial than I thought it would be. Of course, there were parts that were hard to understand as in any other scientific work, but I understood a lot more than expected.
Genome is organized into twenty-three neat chapters, and conveniently so (one chapter for each of the 23 different chromosomes). Each chapter (or chromosome) covered, though, only talked about one or two genes on the chromosome. It was very illustrative and included a lot of personal stories, gossip, and factual elements all put together so the text was easily relatable. Ridley discusses genes that affect different diseases, genes that affect human behaviors and characteristics, and genes that affect the normal functions of human beings and the biological aspects of our minds and bodies and where all of these different genes are located. This book was written like the human genome is a story, and seems more so than it does a scholarly scientific journal entry or text.
I would recommend Genome to anyone interested in the makeup of human beings. There are a lot of things to be learned about chromosomes and genes in the human body, and which ones contribute to which human qualities and characteristics. I would also recommend this book to anyone looking for a good, informational read. Anyone looking to learn something that is not too heavy will enjoy this. However, if a person is looking for something completely scientific and analytical, this is probably not the right book.
(less)

like · see review

Apr 19, 2011 Neeraja S rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Human Genome - the internal code and recipe that has been opening scientific gates to unravel the secrets behind our creation and existence, is undoubtedly a breakthrough in Genetics. In this wonderful book, Matt Ridley takes us on an enlightening scientific tour on the myths, the revelations, the controversies and the future of the study of Genetics. Since the human genome comes packaged in 23 separate pairs of chromosomes, the book is organized into 22 chapters, with each chapter focusing...more The Human Genome - the internal code and recipe that has been opening scientific gates to unravel the secrets behind our creation and existence, is undoubtedly a breakthrough in Genetics. In this wonderful book, Matt Ridley takes us on an enlightening scientific tour on the myths, the revelations, the controversies and the future of the study of Genetics. Since the human genome comes packaged in 23 separate pairs of chromosomes, the book is organized into 22 chapters, with each chapter focusing on a certain chromosome (the X and Y chromosomes have been paired as one chapter). In each chapter, Ridley discusses a certain theme that corroborates with an important gene (or a sequence of it) present on the particular chromosome that forms the chapter.

Before discussing about the content, the first thing that I need to rave about is Ridley's writing. When I first glanced through the book, I was frankly intimidated, for I'm not a biologist and I found more than 300 pages to be covered with walls and walls of small-lettered text. But despite such a daunting appearance, Ridley's laudable writing was not in the least bit didactic or dense. There was never a paragraph when I felt the writing was droning, nor did I zone off - which speaks a lot about the deft writing. In contrast, the book was very entertaining and extremely engaging! Ridley also infuses some characteristic British satire and humour, which I very much appreciated! Yes, this book is targeted for "lay men" and non-biologists, and yes, the content must appear a little watered-down to a student of Genetics, but for me it contained the right amounts of technical detail and Ridley managed to coherently convey the science and arguments with fluid eloquence.

In each chapter Ridley discusses some scientific history concerning the gene/chromosome/disease, and presents some very interesting studies in evolutionary biology and other fields such as neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology to buttress the findings in genetics and to steer clear the misconceptions. Some of the chapters and experimental findings were familiar to me, but nonetheless, the exact scientific reasoning behind them was very enlightening. For example, it's almost hearsay that psychological stress results in a higher probability of illness and coronary diseases. But previously I didn't know that certain gene sequences induced the brain to release the chemical cortisol, which in turn brought down the immune system, making us more susceptible to contract an illness. The other aspect that I really appreciated was the stimulating discussions on nurture versus nature's role in our behavior and biological response. Ridley maintains a balanced outlook, neither promoting genetic determinism, nor trivializing the effects of nurture (or social determinism, as he calls it), and individual psychological dispositions. In the chapter dealing with stress, Ridley brings out the concept of dualism (which is the belief in an entity called the mind, interacting with the body). A person who psychologically responds to his environmental stimuli by creating more stress for himself, makes the brain secrete more cortisol, which in turn reduces his immune system's potential to fight diseases. Contrary to the reductionists' stance that biological determinism alone determined our behavior and health, in this case, psychological behavior and our individualistic response to our environment, result in influencing our biological activity. I appreciated such balanced discussions, despite the book's core dealing with a heavily reductionist-approach to science.

The other chapters that really enthralled me were those on X and Y chromosomes, Eugenics and Free Will. Never before did I learn that there was sexual antagonism between the X and the Y chromosomes! It appears to be such a paradox to all that we have heard about natural selection and survival! Procreation and survival have been deemed to be Nature's biggest concern, but it appears that the X chromosome that statistically outnumbers the Y chromosome, attempts to destroy the Y chromosome through mutations that might generate a protein sequence, which would destroy the Y chromosome! (gross oversimplification on my part in explaining this, but bear with me). It's like a hacker having found the password to an enemy's account, creating a virus to destroy the account! But some mutations of the Y chromosome escapes the destroy sequence and hence the male species gets saved. This hypothesis is alluded as a sweep in evolution every once in a million years, wherein through a new mutation of the Y chromosome, a slightly different variation of the species comes into existence! And, I didn't know that the Y chromosome is responsible for the formation of the placenta in the embryo, to act as a parasite on the mother and ensure the progeny is being taken care of! Have you EVER fathomed such mother-child antagonism and distrust from the male chromosome! There are some very interesting hypotheses on homosexuality surrounding this antagonism between the X and Y chromosomes. Similarly, peacocks apparently didn't have such exquisite plumes a few hundred generations back. Females seem to be progressively resisting the "seduction" of the males, due to which the male peacock needs to produce more and more beautiful and convincing techniques to attract the female, thereby growing more beautiful plumes. If this resistance to males keeps increasing, there maybe a point when the species would obliterate themselves. This theory has been incredibly astonishing to me! Hopefully I didn't misunderstand his writing, for it still seems such an antithesis to the fundamental characteristics of Nature.

The chapter on Eugenics was quite thought-provoking as well. The historical significances, such as many western countries, including the U.S., having passed laws to sterilise more than 100,000 "mentally defective" and "feeble-minded" people to prevent them from having defective children, who would bring down the overall quality of the human race appalled me. I had heard of the Nazi's atrocities but never did I know that many other western countries participated in such pro-eugenic revolutions. Churchill's famous quote has been, "the multiplication of the feeble minded is a very terrible danger to the race". Apparently even writers such as Bernard Shaw and H.G Wells were pro-eugenic. It brings out the age old debate between Utilitarian principles of morality towards the bigger society, versus the individuals' rights. While I can understand the concern of those in support of Eugenics, I can't digest the idea of the state, or the government deciding and dictating on how we should "breed". It really brings to light the dangers of our obsession with ensuring "perfect human beings". Starting from Down's Syndrome and schizophrenia, the definition of "mental health" can turn as subjective as "feeble minded", or "low IQ". I commend the fact that Ridley did not shy away from such discussions concerning the uglier side of Genetics, and the dangerous possibilities that the future holds.

The last chapter on Free Will was a very fitting end to the book. Ridley argues that social determinism, parental influence and environmental determinism, all play as much a role in deciding our "internal program", than mere genetic determinism. Despite such mechanisms of determinism acting on us, the concept of Free Will, however trivial it may appear, does exist. I liked his line of thought that, acting random is not necessarily exercising freedom. We human beings do follow a determined predictable path - it's deterministic that we eat and sleep everyday, yet the nitty-gritties such as when and how still rely on us. Just because we are not random, doesn't mean our deterministic life is fatalistic. Yes, in the end "Free Will" does seem to be reduced to a tiny subset of actions, yet as Ridley puts it, "Freedom lies in expressing your own determinism. If freedom is what we prefer, then it is preferable to be determined by forces that originate in ourselves and not in others." This statement has been very convincing to me.

Having raved so much, I have one tiny quibble. While initially, the organization of the chapters really helped me wrap my head around the concepts, it broke down towards the end. Ridley just picked a theme and in a convoluted manner tried to relate it to a part of a gene sequence, after which he focused primarily on the theme, rather than on the chromosome or the gene. For example, I found the disconnected discussions on Cancer a little confusing and jarring; oncogenes and tumor-suppressants were discussed in a different chapter, while telomerase had it's own chapter. Their interactions were not discussed. Instead, a dedicated chapter on Cancer would have worked better. Obviously there is no single gene present on a chromosome that can explain concepts such as Cancer or Intelligence, so I can understand the complexity and difficulty, yet I think it would have worked better if he had picked relevant themes and organized the book in terms of those, rather than sequence them based on chromosomes.

Despite my nit-picking on the organization (which probably stemmed only because of my vested interest to learn about cancer), the book is extremely educative, engaging and stimulating. It opened new lines of thought that I had never previously considered and it has changed my perspective on evolutionary biology. And Matt Ridley now ranks as one of my favorite scientific writers!
(less)

like · see review

Nov 02, 2010 Michael Armijo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Feeling out the future with this one...

This book reminded me that chimpanzees & humans are 98% the same genetically. Cigarette smoking accellerates the aging process. Is the human brain and head a maternal inheritance (Thanks mom)? Could 'mad cows disease' have occurred just because some farmer decided to have parent cows mate w/their offsprings to create super-cows? There are a lot of 'eyebrow raising' genetic experiments that have already happened that no one really talks about. Yes, Dolly...more

like · see review

Sep 27, 2010 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Just starting: this book looks great!
* What came first? The egg.
* 800 Bibles worth of linear code, mostly junk, written in 4 letters in 3 letter words.
* Life is anything that can replicate itself.

There's a lot of clarity, zeal and wonder showing through in Matt Ridley's book and I'm only on page 17. It has been very thought provoking already. I'll offer one anecdote:

I was struck, in just the first pages of this book, that there were doubtless other kinds of RNA with all the features of ours, but...more

like · see review

Apr 20, 2010 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was an interesting and understandable survey of human genetic heritage. There were a few boring pieces that recounted things I'd been taught repeatedly in biology classes - I can see the utility of this as not all readers would have taken those classes, I just didn't enjoy reading about those things again as much as I enjoyed the more specific examples. The last few chapters contained some biased language (calling people who tore up GM crops "eco-terrorists" rather than simply "vandals," fo...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 02, 2009 Mark Fallon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Are your body and brain pre-wired for certain tendencies? That’s one of the questions raised in Matt Ridley’s Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters. Using a gene from each of the 23 pairs of chromosomes that make up our DNA as a launching point, Ridley discusses what we’ve learned about the history of the human race. Some concepts about heredity are confirmed, while others are discarded.

Through the Human Genome Project, scientists have mapped out the complete set of human genes....more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 20, 2013 Aurel rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed it but less than I expected. It is a bit over-rated in my opinion.
It makes quite a good introduction to genetics by giving examples about the diversity and complexity of the mecanisms that link the genome to its "survival machine".

However, there are some points I particularly did not enjoy:
- The author is sometimes using specific vocabulary without defining it, the non-biologists (like me) might miss some interesting details.
- It was sometimes difficult to judge if the author was desc...more

like · see review

Nov 10, 2012 Lammoth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Човешкото тяло е съставено от около 100 трилиона клетки, във вътрешността на всяко от които има ядро. Във всяко ядро има два пълни комплекта от човешкия ГЕНОМ (изключение правят само яйцеклетките и сперматозоидите, които имат по един комплект, и червените кръвни клетки, които нямат нито един). Единият комплект е дошъл от майката, а другият от бащата. Но какво е геном?

Представете си, че геномът е книга.
Тази книга съдържа 23 глави, наречени хромозоми.
Всяка глава (хромозома) съдържа хиляди ис...more Човешкото тяло е съставено от около 100 трилиона клетки, във вътрешността на всяко от които има ядро. Във всяко ядро има два пълни комплекта от човешкия ГЕНОМ (изключение правят само яйцеклетките и сперматозоидите, които имат по един комплект, и червените кръвни клетки, които нямат нито един). Единият комплект е дошъл от майката, а другият от бащата. Но какво е геном?

Представете си, че геномът е книга.
Тази книга съдържа 23 глави, наречени хромозоми.
Всяка глава (хромозома) съдържа хиляди истории, наречени гени.
Всяка дума е написана от букви, наречени бази. Буквите са само четири - А, Ц, Г, Т ( съответно аденин, цитозин, гуанин и тимин).

Вместо върху плоски хартиени страници, думите в генома са написани върху дълги вериги от захар и фосфат, наречени ДНК, към които базите са прикрепени като странични пръстени. Всяка хромозома представлява двойка много дълги молекули ДНК.

На практика ДНК представлява нещо като програма. Тя съдържа наставления по които се градят белтъци чрез РНК. Почти всичко в нашето тяло - от космите до хормоните - или е изградено от белтъци, или се прави с тяхна помощ. Тъй като става сложно, намерих едно добро видео в youtube, което добре обяснява функциите на ДНК и РНК:

Не е ли невероятно, че нашите гени са нещо като компютрите? Те съдържат кодове, програми, които определят това какви ще са ни цветовете на очите, косата, кожата, определят също пол, ръст, инстинкти и т.н. Всичко това е записано като "цифрова" информация, която лека полека ние започваме да проумяваме и разчитаме, а Мат Ридли си е поставил задачата да ни разходи и покаже някои от нещата на този удивителен свят. Той е подредил по големина всичките 23 хромозоми, които са характерни за всеки един от нас, и е разгледал по-интересните факти и истории, свързани с тях.

Гените ни могат да се разгледат и като своеобразни "фосили". Върху тях е записана нашата история. Маймуноподобните имат 24 хромозоми, а ние 23, като Хромозома 2 видимо се е сляла със следващата, затова е и по-голяма. Ние сме на 98% идентични с шимпанзетата, а на 97% с горилите. Това, което ни е дало предимство, е половото разделение на труда. Докато мъжките маймуните имат хареми, човекът се е насочил към моногамията. Като никой друг вид на планетата, ние сме създали уникално партньорство между половете. Жените събирали растителна храна и отглеждали малките, а мъжете се занимавали с лов и осигурявали храна с високо белтъчно съдържание. Ключът на нашия биологичен успех е разделението на труда, характерен за нашия вид, и това е което довело до развитието на технологиите.

Като споменах половете, Мат Ридли ни разказва и за тях. Хромозомите Х и Y определят пола на индивида. Всеки от нас наследява по една Х хромозома от майка си. Ако наследите Х хромозома от баща си, то вие ставате жена, а ако вземете Y хромозома - вие сте мъж. Понеже хромозомите са по двойки, съотношението е 3 към 1 в полза на Х хромозомата. Поради тази причина на Y ѝ се налага "да бяга и да се крие добре" (ах, тез лоши агресивни жени с техните хиксчета :P)

Ридли се опитва да ни обясни и редица редица социални въпроси свързани с гените: дали интелектът се наследява или придобива, дали предпочитанията на хомосексуалистите и лесбийските се дължат на гените, дали те имат нещо общо и с характера и поведението на дадена личност и т.н. Запознава ни и с много генетични болести, синдроми и дефекти, както и с това колко е важна генетиката днес (всеки от нас съдържа уникален баркод, който може да се установи дори от наш косъм или люспа кожа) за медицината, криминалистиката, ботаниката и т.н.

http://lammothsblog.blogspot.com/2012...(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 16, 2010 Ethan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

This review is for the version of the book published in 1999.

Probably one of the reasons I liked this book so much is because I am a complete idiot about genetics, biology, and psychology. So I brought nothing to the table and didn't really know what to expect from this book, which is probably the reason why I found it so fascinating. Many of the concepts are very intriguing and the writing is accessible (and, at times, witty).

Especially interesting were the ideas of sexual antagonism, genetic d...more

like · see review

Nov 01, 2010 Kurt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ethics, non-fiction, science

The human genome (or the genome of any species, for that matter) is fascinating. It is merely a complex molecule consisting of a sequence of millions bases -- each of which can be expressed as one of the 4 letters A, C, G, or T. Yet this string of letters in many ways makes us who we are: humans, distinct from other species, and unique and variable individuals within our species.

This book was very enlightening and thought-provoking. Much of it deals with the ages-old debate of what determines ou...more

like · see review

Jun 13, 2010 Ashleigh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, borrowed, to-buy, non-fiction, to-reread

This book was so clever! I really, quite thoroughly, enjoyed it. It just added onto my general knowledge of genetics and the like, it was really interesting.I loved the insight into the history and how we've evolved. I also liked the more 'close up' account of testing and things. I found it a little slow to start with, but it really picked up around the X & Y chapter - there were a few chapters in the middle of the book that just gripped me and made me go 'wow'.

Genetics has always intereste...more

like · see review

Jan 09, 2009 Iain rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People interested in genetics, with no real background in biological sciences

Shelves: would-recommend

A spur of the moment buy at the airport when going on holiday, I couldnt put the book down once I'd started. This is more than a book about the human genome, its also an analysis of the social, political and scientific implications of understanding the human genetic map.

Each area he analyses from health and healing to death and immortalit, from instinct and intelligence to personality and behavior is illustrated with examples of experiments used to prove the point and is analysed with a laymans...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 19, 2013 Aurelien rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science

Like 'The Periodic Table' by Primo Levi, where the italian author used the periodic table to tell his life Matt Ridley uses here our genome to tell us, the human specie. In fact, he's taking one gene in particular on each chromosome and, chromosome after chromosome leads us from chapter to chapter in a powerful displaying of what make us human. Such structure could have been shaky or, worst, fall right into the pits of reductionism or determinism. Well, far from that this book is actually a grea...more

like · see review

Nov 22, 2008 Blake rated it 3 of 5 stars

Genome is an walk along the idea of "What can DNA do to a person later on?" If you ever wanted to know what Chromosome 8 was for, this is your book. If you were never interested much in "all that science-y stuff" I would not suggest Genome for you. It is written in such a way that everyone can pick it up and learn something, but it isn't among my favorites.

If you like non-fiction and just learning something cool, pick up Zero...

1 like · like · see review

Oct 27, 2012 Helen Negri rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: GCSE/A-Level students who want some further reading

Shelves: popular-science

I would have liked to have given this book 5 stars but there are a few flaws which stopped me.
The gimmick of this book, written in the late 1990s while the human genome was being sequenced, is that there are 23 chapters, one for each human chromosome. Each chapter is about a different topic and illustrates this topic by focusing on one particular gene on that chapter's chromosome.
Matt Ridley's explanations of a range of concepts needed to understand genetics are generally very understandable a...more I would have liked to have given this book 5 stars but there are a few flaws which stopped me.
The gimmick of this book, written in the late 1990s while the human genome was being sequenced, is that there are 23 chapters, one for each human chromosome. Each chapter is about a different topic and illustrates this topic by focusing on one particular gene on that chapter's chromosome.
Matt Ridley's explanations of a range of concepts needed to understand genetics are generally very understandable and entertaining. He goes beyond the "gene for this, gene for that" crap you get in the papers every day and explains the biological/chemical mechanisms by which genes give you this and that, and is often quite thought-provoking.
So along the way we learn what genes are and what they do (and don't do); what other parts of the genome do; how cells work; how it's not only what genes you have but whether they're active/inactive and how this can be affected by environmental factors (epigenetics); how so much of who we are is determined in the womb; and so on. On top of this we learn about the history and methodology of many of these discoveries, and the consequences of them. It's a whistlestop tour of several different topics for those who found what they learned at school a little too basic, but don't want to read anything too heavy either.
It started really well but I found Ridley's political opinions intruded into the book a bit too much, particularly towards the end. OK, you expect to see opinions in popular science books - they're not exactly textbooks - but by the final chapters it seemed so many simplistic anti-government jibes were being randomly chucked in and the text was leaping about from topic to topic, it was getting distracting and tiresome.
Another disappointment for me was the credence he gives to evolutionary psychology. I have no problem with evolution and psychology, but evolutionary psychology is mostly speculation and assumptions and has nowhere near the same level of evidence behind it IMO. It's the sort of thing that "The Metro" uses as an excuse to write little ooh-er-missus articles about cavemen having sex and label it science reporting.
[Example: in the modern-day West, girls are associated with pink and boys are associated with blue. Let's assume that they innately prefer these colours (ignoring different preferences in other cultures) and it has always been this way (ignoring different trends in Western history). Let's assume that these preferences evolved for a reason vital to our survival and aren't accidents of evolution or cultural. Um... girls like pink cos it helped them to gather berries while the boys went out hunting. Yeah, that'll really help them find blueberries and blackberries. We'll now keep very quiet about boys liking blue because we have no idea how to explain how that helped them hunt mammoths etc - move along please, nothing to see here... and TAH-DAH! we've explained why pink is for girls and blue is for boys. Er, except that we haven't.]
In conclusion, I would definitely recommend reading this for the hard factual stuff, but probably take the rest of it with a pinch of salt. It would also be nice to see an updated edition now that the entire genome has been sequenced.(less)

like · see review

Jan 15, 2012 Sunil rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, 2008, favorites

The book takes us on a tour of our own genetic code, using the 23 pairs of chromosomes as convenient jumping-off points for 23 topics ranging from the nature of intelligence to sexual antagonism. Now, the reason I suck at genetics is because I get lost in all the nitty gritty molecular biology of it all, but, thankfully, Ridley keeps it very high-level and constantly uses metaphors to help the reader understand. For instance, the central metaphor of the book is that the genome itself is a book t...more The book takes us on a tour of our own genetic code, using the 23 pairs of chromosomes as convenient jumping-off points for 23 topics ranging from the nature of intelligence to sexual antagonism. Now, the reason I suck at genetics is because I get lost in all the nitty gritty molecular biology of it all, but, thankfully, Ridley keeps it very high-level and constantly uses metaphors to help the reader understand. For instance, the central metaphor of the book is that the genome itself is a book that contains within it the story of how it came to be in the form of genes. This theme occupies the first couple chapters but remains prevalent throughout the book, and it is absolutely fascinating. I mean, how fucked up is it that our genome differs from the chimpanzee genome by TWO PERCENT? How fucked up is it that there are certain genes that are EXACTLY THE SAME across species? So much so that you can replace a certain fruit fly gene with a human gene and NOTHING HAPPENS. You can use the genome to trace back through history, identifying when species splits occurred based on how similar their genomes are. Hell, we can make fairly educated guesses about what we were like millions of years ago just by asking the question, "Why is this gene even here?"

That's all fabulous and dazzling, but there's a more troubling revelation that comes from examining our genetic code: the "selfish gene" idea. You guys, I had heard about this idea and possibly read a little about it in textbooks, but I did not realize how RIDICULOUSLY SCARY AWESOME it was until Matt Ridley laid it all out for me. Because genes are fucking bastards! They are totally only looking out for themselves! All they want to do is make it to the next generation, and if you suffer some collateral damage along the way, whatever. Perhaps the most awesome example given is that the battle of sexes is REAL, DOWN TO THE MOLECULAR LEVEL. Holy shit, the X and Y chromosome have been fighting it out for EONS. There is all this crazy shit about what's actually in semen (THIS BOOK CONTAINS KILLER SPERM) and who controls placental development (BABIES ARE SERIOUSLY PARASITES HOLY CRAP) and how all this has managed to go on when only one gender even gets a Y chromosome.

Plus, like Simon Singh in Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe, Ridley does a great job making scientific research and discovery sound exciting. He highlights unsung heroes in genetics that I feel really sorry for because they were FUCKING RIGHT all those centuries ago and their contemporaries just LAUGHED AT THEM. He also gives the quite-sung heroes the respect they deserve (HOLY SHIT MENDEL WAS AMAZING). He provides a variety of hypotheses and discusses them without bias, although he sometimes gives the reader his own opinion just for kicks (it's his book, after all). It really makes you appreciate how discoveries are made, how you often have to challenge basic assumptions to find the answer. I mean, nobody thought DNA was anything worth looking into; nobody believed four base pairs were all you needed to encode an organism. Can you imagine that? It seems so stupid in retrospect! You want to go back in time and shake people. And then there's the fact that a great deal of the important discoveries talked about in the book happened in my lifetime. That is nuts. I was alive, and the world was changing all around me. The world I was born into had a completely different understanding of genetics than the world I live in now (and this book was written at the turn of the century, so it must be even crazier now).

Ridley's style is very much geared toward the layperson with no science background. You don't need to know the chemical structure of adenosine or what an Okazaki fragment is; he never gets that technical. And he tries as much as possible to use metaphors rather than jargon: in fact, he sometimes deliberately stops himself before he begins to bore the reader. And he tells the reader he's doing this, it's funny. He engages the reader constantly throughout the book, addressing him directly, so it really is as if Matt Ridley is standing right in front of you and telling you this awesome stuff he knows about genes.

Reading this book made me rethink my entire existence. And the world. And society. And evolution. It's just psychotic how much of everything can be explained by our genes, how they really do tell a story. Ridley is forced to use the word "mindboggling" multiple times because, seriously, this shit just boggles the mind. But you should know what's going on inside of you! And what it all means. It is your right as a human being! Reading this book made me want to read more science books because HELLO SCIENCE IS AWESOME YOU GUYS. IT CAN EXPLAIN WHY IT RAINS AND EVERYTHING.(less)

like · see review

Jan 30, 2011 Gendou rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, biology

I was sad to hear Ridley tossing out the panderous line "... religious people might find this a useful argument - that there was only one creation ..." The skeptical reader will keep a sharp eye out for such apologetic nonsense.

Ridley admittedly avoids using technical terminology.
He opts for silly substitutions like "spelling difference" in place of "mutation".
It's really offensive to any reader having completed High School.

Ridley inexcusably uses the derisive term "missing link" to refer to the...more I was sad to hear Ridley tossing out the panderous line "... religious people might find this a useful argument - that there was only one creation ..." The skeptical reader will keep a sharp eye out for such apologetic nonsense.

Ridley admittedly avoids using technical terminology.
He opts for silly substitutions like "spelling difference" in place of "mutation".
It's really offensive to any reader having completed High School.

Ridley inexcusably uses the derisive term "missing link" to refer to the most recent common ancestor of both Humans and Chimpanzees!

There is a startling contradiction in the book:
Shortly after arguing that a Human is 98% Chimpanzee, Ridley states that a fertilized Chimp egg cell brought to term by a Human mother would not look "even part human".
Really, both of these claims are silly.
The words "Human" and "Chimpanzee" are both labels.
I am 100% Human, and 0% Chimpanzee.
Certainly, a Chimp does look "part human" in an emotional sense, because of phenotypic similarities.

Number of times the author uses the term Mind Boggling: 7
Shockingly, Ridley equates aborting Down Syndrome fetuses with the practice of Eugenics! He goes on to argue that "it wasn't the science that was wrong with Eugenics ..."; instead he blames it's failure on the infringement on "personal liberty". This is backwards. The real tragedy is that people were sterilized based on POOR SCIENCE! If the murderous psychopath could be identified as a week old blastocyst, it would be WILDLY irresponsible not to abort and try again! I think nobody has the right to bring a child into the world with the knowledge that it would lead a short life crippled by disease. Personal liberty doesn't extend into causing immense suffering in others.

The last chapter on free will is philosophically tepid and scientifically rancid. Herein comes the most shocking assertion yet: that abused children who grow up to abuse their own children do so as a result of heritable variation! This flies in the face of common sense and all studies I've ever read. Males abused at a young age recreate their abuse with the tables turned. It seems Ridley has never listened to an episode of Loveline.(less)

like · see review

Jul 27, 2010 MisterFweem rated it 4 of 5 stars

So, what are you?

A complicated biological machine beset by innate programming and external conditions bent both on keeping you alive and eventually killing you?

Or are you the creation of a supreme being, both soul and body, possessed of a free will?

And though Matt Ridley, in his 2000 book “Genome: The Autobiography of A Species in 23 Chapters,” leans to the left in this equation, he still writes an incredibly balanced and above all scientific book about the human genome, what we know about it, h...more So, what are you?

A complicated biological machine beset by innate programming and external conditions bent both on keeping you alive and eventually killing you?

Or are you the creation of a supreme being, both soul and body, possessed of a free will?

And though Matt Ridley, in his 2000 book “Genome: The Autobiography of A Species in 23 Chapters,” leans to the left in this equation, he still writes an incredibly balanced and above all scientific book about the human genome, what we know about it, how we think it works and how we misunderstand the science that’s delving into figuring out how that double helix of DNA can turn two germ cells into a complicated biological masterpiece.

Ridley, in the footnotes to his book, acknowledges that it was, at its printing, already out of date. Ten years further along, of course, it is certainly even more out of date. But what’s not out of date in this wonderful book is the critical approach Ridley takes to this science. And it’s not critical in any political way, but critical in a scientific way. He reminds the reader constantly that what is known about the human genome is small compared to what is not known, that cause does not necessarily mean effect, that a firm belief in genetic determinism is just as foolish on the left as is a firm belief in free will is on the right. More importantly, he reminds us all that what we have, as far as genetics goes, is some knowledge bolstered by a lot of unsupported belief.

Here’s an example:

We instinctively assume that bodily biochemistry is cause whereas behavior is effect, an assumption we have taken to a ridiculous extent in considering the impact of genes upon our lives. If genes are involved in behavior then it is they that are the cause and they that are deemed immutable. This is a mistake made not just by genetic determinists, but by their vociferous opponents, the people who say behavior is “not in the genes”; the people who deplore the fatalism and predestination implied, they say, by behavior genetics. They give too much ground to their opponents by allowing this assumption to stand, for they tacitly admit that if genes are involved at all, then they area t the top of the hierarchy. They forget that genes need to be switched on, and external events – or free-willed behavior – can switch on genes. Far from us lying at the mercy of our omnipotent genes, it is often our genes that lie at the mercy of us. If you go bungee jumping or take a stressful job, or repeatedly imagine a terrible fear, you will raise your cortisol levels, and the cortisol will dash about the body busy switching on genes. (It is an indisputable fact that you can rigger activity in the “happiness centers” of the brain with a deliberate smile, as surely as you can trigger a smile with happy thoughts. It really does make you feel better to smile. The physical can be at the beck and call of the behavioral.)

Ridley, I believe, successfully finds and holds that middle ground. Our genes certainly influence who we are and what we become. But our behavior can, in turn, influence our genes. We are machines, beautiful, free-willed machines, capable to some extent of reprogramming ourselves.

Here’s a thought I had on the bus this morning: Our genes are like the model tank kit we can buy at the hobby store. We follow the instructions religiously and build that magnificent tank. Everything works. The wheels turn. The gun turrets rotate. The tracks allow the tank to maneuver through any kind of terrain. And then we take that tank not into the battlefield, but gently down a city street, to the park, to the grocery store, trundling along. It is still there in its essence of tankness; everything that makes it a tank is still there. And yet our use of it for domestic purposes does not mean that its innate tankness takes over; we drive it to the grocery store and load it with groceries, we do not drive it to the grocery store to level the building with our tank shells.

So brain and genome, tank and the purpose we put with it, work together. As Ridley writes:

The human brain is a far more impressive machine than the genome. If you like quantitative measure, it has trillions of synapses instead of billions of bases and it weighs kilograms in stead of micrograms. If you prefer geometry, it is an analogue, three-dimensional machine, rather than a digital, one-dimensional one. If you like thermodynamics, it generates large quantities of heat as it works, like a steam engine. For biochemists, it requires many thousands of different proteins, neurotransmitters, and other chemicals, not just the four nucleotides of DNA. For the impatient, it literally changes while you watch, as synapses are altered to create learned memories, whereas the genome changes more slowly than a glacier. For the lover of free will, the pruning of the neural networks in our grains, by the ruthless gardener called experience, is vital to the proper functioning of the organ, whereas genomes play out their messages in a predetermined way with comparatively little flexibility. Yet . . . the dichotomy is a false one. The brain is created by genes. It is only as good as its innate design. The very fact that it is a machine designed to be modified by experience is written in the genes. The mystery of how is one of the greatest challenges of modern biology. But that the human brain is the finest monument to the capacities of genes there is no doubt. It is the mark of a great leader that he knows when to delegate. The genome knew when to delegate.

I think what I enjoyed most about reading this book is that I learned a few things. Genetics is a pretty fascinating field of science, and I think if we all learned about it a bit more, we could have more intelligent discussions on the subject that what we see in political and media circles. Politics tends to get too black and white in this subject, and the media, for the most part, either boils things down too simply or merely presents both sides of the argument without really bothering to explain anything to the layman about what's being discussed. Ridley does a wonderful job explaining to the layman, but keeping it intelligent enough that the curious layman is able to keep exploring and asking questions. (less)

1 like · like · see review

title link	preview: Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters
avg rating	preview: Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters Goodreads rating: 4.01 (7660 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4591.Genome?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362958533l/4591.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4591.Genome?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley[/url]

Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters (عالم المعرفة #275)

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (33)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Matt Ridley

Books by Matt Ridley

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Genome: the Autob...

Quotes from Genome: the Autobiogra...