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The Genome War: How Craig Venter Tried to Capture the Code of Life and Save the World
The long-awaited story of the science, the business, the politics, the intrigue behind the scenes of the most ferocious competition in the history of modern science—the race to map the human genome.
On May 10, 1998, biologist Craig Venter, director of the Institute for Genomic Research, announced that he was forming a private company that within three years would unravel th...more
On May 10, 1998, biologist Craig Venter, director of the Institute for Genomic Research, announced that he was forming a private company that within three years would unravel th...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
December 18th 2007
by Ballantine Books
(first published October 15th 2003)
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Very nice read. Describes the often tumultuous political scene that underlay the Human Genome Sequencing project.
Originally the Human Genome project was publicly funded, and included many of the brightest human geneticists in the world. In addition to being brilliant scientists, this group contained some fascinating personalities. The author does an excellent job of conveying these often extreme personalities and setting the scene for what would eventually escalate into the scient...more
Originally the Human Genome project was publicly funded, and included many of the brightest human geneticists in the world. In addition to being brilliant scientists, this group contained some fascinating personalities. The author does an excellent job of conveying these often extreme personalities and setting the scene for what would eventually escalate into the scient...more
The decoding of the entire human DNA has been rightly considered the most important scientific achievement of the start of end of twentieth and the beginning of twenty-first century. The Human Genome, as the complete DNA information is know, is a vast, complicated information resource that is essentially a digital instruction book on how to build a human organism. The promise for all of human biology in understanding such an important repository of information is enormous. It has the potential t...more
Though he might be admired for his lofty scientific goals, Venter is not a well-liked man. At the time in question, the government called him "Darth Vader." Shreeve merely describes him both as "an inspiration" and an "opportunistic maniac." Genome War pays close attention to this ego-driven biologist. Despite his facade, he comes across as a complex man with deep insecurities. Shreeve, who gained full access to Celera, handles technical information well and reveals
...more
Much of the science went directly over my head, but the drama of the race for the human genome is a fascinating one. On one side, there is the government funded Human Genome project, made up of universities and various government agencies and on the other side is Craig Venter. Venter’s concern was not only with sequencing the human genome, but also in capturing “valuable” real estate on the genome via patenting. Thus, the race took on mind-boggling importance of who would own the code to life...more
Good book. Certainly a good telling of the events from inside the minds of those who participated. Due to some access issues it was a little one sided, but the author tells why and is very up front about it. Would recommend to anyone who was interested in how they came to map the genome. So sad that the darker aspects of humanity (greed, jealousy, pride) interfered so much with it. It could have been done faster and possibly better if everyone had been able to play nice. A lesson for future ende...more
Interesting story about the race between private industry and government labs to decode the genome.
Een illustratie van hoe competitie in wetenschap in zijn werk gaat.
I am not sure I could like a book where the main character is so loathsome ... yeah Craig ... you are a creepy person ... you make scientists seem, ummmmm... mad, yeah mad. How in the world did you get to be so self-important? You want to know why so much government money is wasted ... look no further ... it goes to propping up the huge egos of Venter and his ilk. Sad, sad, sad. Did I learn anything from this book? yes. Did I really want to know? No.
Yeah, yeah, this seems like a totally nerdy science book, but don't be fooled. It's really the tale of one of the most important races of the 20th century - the race to map the human genome. It honestly has it all, drive, dedication, deceit, love, hate, you name it. Shreeve's narrative style is smooth and definitely compatible with lay understanding.
Having worked for him at TIGR, I really enjoyed seeing the next chapter. This author really captures the culture and excitement of the man and the project. It is a real page-turner, as well. Venter is such an exciting and enigmatic guy, Shreve will need to write a second volume, soon.
Well told, but I agree with Watson: Craig is no scientist.
Science at it's best and worst.
Persephone
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