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DEEPER GENOME:WHY THERE IS MORE TO THE HUMAN GENOME THAN MEETS THE EYE PAPER
Over a decade ago, as the Human Genome Project completed its mapping of the entire human genome, hopes ran high that we would rapidly be able to use our knowledge of human genes to tackle many inherited diseases, and understand what makes us unique among animals. But things didn't turn out that way. For a start, we turned out to have far fewer genes than originally thought -- just over 20,000, the same sort of number as a fruit fly or worm. What's more, the proportion of DNA consisting of genes coding for proteins was a mere 2%. So, was the rest of the genome accumulated 'junk'?
Things have changed since those early heady days of the Human Genome Project. But the emerging picture is if anything far more exciting. In this book, John Parrington explains the key features that are coming to light - some, such as the results of the international ENCODE programme, still much debated and controversial in their scope. He gives an outline of the deeper genome, involving layers of regulatory elements controlling and coordinating the switching on and off of genes; the impact of its 3D geometry; the discovery of a variety of new RNAs playing critical roles; the epigenetic changes influenced by the environment and life experiences that can make identical twins different and be passed on to the next generation; and the clues coming out of comparisons with the genomes of Neanderthals as well as that of chimps about the development of our species. We are learning more about ourselves, and about the genetic aspects of many diseases. But in its complexity, flexibility, and
ability to respond to environmental cues, the human genome is proving to be far more subtle than we ever imagined.
Things have changed since those early heady days of the Human Genome Project. But the emerging picture is if anything far more exciting. In this book, John Parrington explains the key features that are coming to light - some, such as the results of the international ENCODE programme, still much debated and controversial in their scope. He gives an outline of the deeper genome, involving layers of regulatory elements controlling and coordinating the switching on and off of genes; the impact of its 3D geometry; the discovery of a variety of new RNAs playing critical roles; the epigenetic changes influenced by the environment and life experiences that can make identical twins different and be passed on to the next generation; and the clues coming out of comparisons with the genomes of Neanderthals as well as that of chimps about the development of our species. We are learning more about ourselves, and about the genetic aspects of many diseases. But in its complexity, flexibility, and
ability to respond to environmental cues, the human genome is proving to be far more subtle than we ever imagined.
360 pages, Paperback
First published May 6, 2015
39 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 9, 2016
Um livro bastante sóbrio e bem atualizado sobre como a biologia molecular avançou nos últimos anos. Que não recomendo para todos os públicos, mas recomendo demais para quem tem curiosidade sobre como o genoma funciona em mais detalhes do que livros mais amplos como o The Gene: An Intimate History. O que inclui biólogos, ele traz um conteúdo atualizado do tipo que mesmo disciplinas de biologia molecular não tratam, de uma maneira bem leve e bem ponderada, sem tomar partidos sobre o ENCODE e questões do que é DNA lixo ou não. Vale a leitura pelos próximos anos, mas em 5 ou mais já estará bem desatualizado.
February 9, 2017
This book is really interesting. It was published 2015 so has a lot of the latest advances in our understanding of The Genome.
I feel like I could have defined "the genome" before I read this book, but now I can't.
It's not just the DNA sequence ATAACCGATAAC
It's also the 3D structure (how the strands fold and pack themselves together)
And the proteins they wrap around, and the way they interact w/ their environment
And a million other things
It's so complicated!!
After the Human Genome Project finished they were surprised to find that only a small % of the DNA sequence was 'functional' (encoded for proteins). The rest was termed 'Junk DNA'
But turns out it's not junk.
TO BE CONTINUED
p.s. this video shows how DNA packages itself. . So cool! Strands of DNA wrap around proteins to make little balls, then the balls come together into a rope, then the rope gets coiled... this packs 2 meters of DNA (the length if you laid it out like ATCAGGATCAATCAACCT...) into a space the size of a chromosome (50mm)
I feel like I could have defined "the genome" before I read this book, but now I can't.
It's not just the DNA sequence ATAACCGATAAC
It's also the 3D structure (how the strands fold and pack themselves together)
And the proteins they wrap around, and the way they interact w/ their environment
And a million other things
It's so complicated!!
After the Human Genome Project finished they were surprised to find that only a small % of the DNA sequence was 'functional' (encoded for proteins). The rest was termed 'Junk DNA'
But turns out it's not junk.
TO BE CONTINUED
p.s. this video shows how DNA packages itself. . So cool! Strands of DNA wrap around proteins to make little balls, then the balls come together into a rope, then the rope gets coiled... this packs 2 meters of DNA (the length if you laid it out like ATCAGGATCAATCAACCT...) into a space the size of a chromosome (50mm)
May 6, 2020
This was a good read. Author John Parrington explores the topic of epigenetics in-depth here.
"The Deeper Genome" has excellent formatting. It begins with educating the reader about the fundamentals and history of genetic understanding; It covers Mendel, Darwin, Lamark, and others.
It moves in a chronological fashion, describing the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953, by Crick and Watson, as well as the Human Genome Project.
The crux of the book centers on research surrounding the so-called "junk" DNA; the ~98% of genes that do not code for protein. As their name implies, this genetic material was once thought to have no essential function. Parrington talks at great length about how this previously held view is now looking outdated.
The book covers some incredibly interesting information about epigenetics; methylation and histone binding. It also talks about the role RNA plays in protein-coding and gene expression, among many other interesting topics covered.
This was a very-well written, edited, formatted, and presented book. I was impressed with how the author introduced the reader to the technical concepts he discusses; by providing some relevant background information, and a brief primer on genetics. This is something that many authors of science books neglect, and I'm sure they leave many of their readers feeling somewhat lost.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in genetics, and human biology in general
4.5 stars.
"The Deeper Genome" has excellent formatting. It begins with educating the reader about the fundamentals and history of genetic understanding; It covers Mendel, Darwin, Lamark, and others.
It moves in a chronological fashion, describing the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953, by Crick and Watson, as well as the Human Genome Project.
The crux of the book centers on research surrounding the so-called "junk" DNA; the ~98% of genes that do not code for protein. As their name implies, this genetic material was once thought to have no essential function. Parrington talks at great length about how this previously held view is now looking outdated.
The book covers some incredibly interesting information about epigenetics; methylation and histone binding. It also talks about the role RNA plays in protein-coding and gene expression, among many other interesting topics covered.
This was a very-well written, edited, formatted, and presented book. I was impressed with how the author introduced the reader to the technical concepts he discusses; by providing some relevant background information, and a brief primer on genetics. This is something that many authors of science books neglect, and I'm sure they leave many of their readers feeling somewhat lost.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in genetics, and human biology in general
4.5 stars.
November 6, 2015
An excellent overview of genetics, largely directed toward the non-protein coding part of the genome. Interesting background on the persons who made the key discoveries.
Switches and Signals
- on gene regulatory proteins, known as transcription factors
- histones are octamers of four pairs of subtypes of the protein histone, around which DNA is wrapped (twice per histone) - acetyl groups make the DNA more or less accessible to transcription factors
The Spacious Genome
- enhancers are proteins produced by the RNA that regulate genes - thet are some distance from the regulated gene and are brought into position at the gene by looping of the DNA - silencers de-activate genes
- DNA has sections that code for proteins termed exons (from expression), separated by sections that are non-coding termed introns (for intragenetc regions)
- when mRNA is formed, the introns are spliced out - not all of the exons are selected: some of them can be spliced out - this alternate splicing allows a single gene to code for many proteins
- proteins are composed of domains which often have a specific function - specific domains may be used by more than one protein - exons often map to a protein domain - the evolutionary process often mixes and matches exons to produce new proteins
- the human genome has 22,000 genes (compared to 30,000 in a grape), and only 2% of the DNA codes for proteins - the non-coding portion has been called junk DNA
- it appears that the junk DNA is an accumulation of discarded codings that has accumulated over years of evolution - there is a question of why this would not have been pruned to reduce the genomic energy requirements
RNA OUT of the Shadows
- RNA interference occurs when the RNA-inducing silencing complex (RISC) silences genes by creating shor interfering RNAs (siRNAs) - the mechanism is used to help fight viruses in lower animals, but seems to have been superseded by the more elaborate immune system in mammals
- microRNAs (miRNAs) also suppress genes, but can have a stimulatory role - half of the human genomes are regulated by miRNAs
- piRNAs act to protect eggs and sperm and have a role in the brain
- the long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), usually over 200 bases long, bring the genome together in a three dimensional manner
- many of the miRNAs are recycled introns or from the regions between the genes: parts of the genome formerly viewed as junk
It's a Jungle In There
- the ENCODE project has revealed that the non-coding parts of the genome are biochemically active - it is estimated that there are over 4 million switches that control the 22,000 genes
- the DNA variants that have been associated with many diseases have been at locations nowhere near protein coding genes - rather they are associated with gene switches - many are active in only specific cell types
- while the similarity of the human genome to the mouse is 97.5% on the basis of protein coding genes, it is only 50% on the basis of the entire genome
The Genome in 3D
- is has become apparent that the 3D structure of DNA is important and brings the enhancers into position adjacent to the controlled genes
The Jumping Genes
- mobile genetic elements, termed transposons, are able to move about the genome, working through an RNA intermediate and being inserted back into the DNA through reverse transcription
- transposons make up a huge 85% of the genome of corn
- transposons have been characterized as parasites - retroviruses may have evolved from them, or vice-versa
- mechanisms exist to suppress transposons, including activity of piRNAs
- transposons can lead directly to certain diseases, but also appear to have some positive effects
- some feel that transposons may have allowed for rapid genetic response to environmental stress
The Marks of Lamarck
- epigenetics is the idea that environmental conditions can affect gene activity
- a clear example is that of the famine in Holland created by the Nazi blockade where starving mothers gave birth to low weight infants and this change was passed on to subsequent generations
- the methylation of DNA and acetylation of histones appear to be possible mechanisms
- imprinting is the process whereby genes are switched on or off depending on whether it came from the father or the mother
- it is not clear to what extent epigenetic changes are propogated to future generations
Code, Non-code, Garbage and Junk
- current thoughts on the functionality of non-coding portions of the genome
- pseudogenes code for pseudoenzymes which are mutated versions of functional enzymes
- pseudogenes have been thought to be non-functional remnants but they are numerous and many have been shown to have been unchanged over millions of years of evolution - there is evidence that they assist their non-mutated partner
Genes and Disease
- the genetic basis for many diseases is now know - specific diseases are discussed
- therapies have been difficult to develop - the author describes some of the current approaches
- 90% of current links with disease are outside the protein coding sections of the genome
What Makes Us Human?
- it is now acknowledged that tool use and bipedalism proceeded growth of the brain; language is less clear
- good chart showing early human-like species - H. erectus and H. neanderthalensis both spread out from Africa to other parts of the world
- comparison of Neanderthal genes with human suggests that man retained genes adapted to living in cold climates
- preliminary work suggests that modern man has a greater susceptibility to mental diseases, perhaps as a result of the changes that allowed development of our unique mental capacity
The Genome That Became Conscious
- a number of genetic mechanisms that may have led to thr gretaer complexity of the human brain are discussed
- brain size appears to have increased gradually for thousands of years, but also appears to have under-gone a remodelling about 150,000 years ago which lead to an explosion of technology and culture
The Case for Complexity
- on the complexity of the genetic process
Switches and Signals
- on gene regulatory proteins, known as transcription factors
- histones are octamers of four pairs of subtypes of the protein histone, around which DNA is wrapped (twice per histone) - acetyl groups make the DNA more or less accessible to transcription factors
The Spacious Genome
- enhancers are proteins produced by the RNA that regulate genes - thet are some distance from the regulated gene and are brought into position at the gene by looping of the DNA - silencers de-activate genes
- DNA has sections that code for proteins termed exons (from expression), separated by sections that are non-coding termed introns (for intragenetc regions)
- when mRNA is formed, the introns are spliced out - not all of the exons are selected: some of them can be spliced out - this alternate splicing allows a single gene to code for many proteins
- proteins are composed of domains which often have a specific function - specific domains may be used by more than one protein - exons often map to a protein domain - the evolutionary process often mixes and matches exons to produce new proteins
- the human genome has 22,000 genes (compared to 30,000 in a grape), and only 2% of the DNA codes for proteins - the non-coding portion has been called junk DNA
- it appears that the junk DNA is an accumulation of discarded codings that has accumulated over years of evolution - there is a question of why this would not have been pruned to reduce the genomic energy requirements
RNA OUT of the Shadows
- RNA interference occurs when the RNA-inducing silencing complex (RISC) silences genes by creating shor interfering RNAs (siRNAs) - the mechanism is used to help fight viruses in lower animals, but seems to have been superseded by the more elaborate immune system in mammals
- microRNAs (miRNAs) also suppress genes, but can have a stimulatory role - half of the human genomes are regulated by miRNAs
- piRNAs act to protect eggs and sperm and have a role in the brain
- the long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), usually over 200 bases long, bring the genome together in a three dimensional manner
- many of the miRNAs are recycled introns or from the regions between the genes: parts of the genome formerly viewed as junk
It's a Jungle In There
- the ENCODE project has revealed that the non-coding parts of the genome are biochemically active - it is estimated that there are over 4 million switches that control the 22,000 genes
- the DNA variants that have been associated with many diseases have been at locations nowhere near protein coding genes - rather they are associated with gene switches - many are active in only specific cell types
- while the similarity of the human genome to the mouse is 97.5% on the basis of protein coding genes, it is only 50% on the basis of the entire genome
The Genome in 3D
- is has become apparent that the 3D structure of DNA is important and brings the enhancers into position adjacent to the controlled genes
The Jumping Genes
- mobile genetic elements, termed transposons, are able to move about the genome, working through an RNA intermediate and being inserted back into the DNA through reverse transcription
- transposons make up a huge 85% of the genome of corn
- transposons have been characterized as parasites - retroviruses may have evolved from them, or vice-versa
- mechanisms exist to suppress transposons, including activity of piRNAs
- transposons can lead directly to certain diseases, but also appear to have some positive effects
- some feel that transposons may have allowed for rapid genetic response to environmental stress
The Marks of Lamarck
- epigenetics is the idea that environmental conditions can affect gene activity
- a clear example is that of the famine in Holland created by the Nazi blockade where starving mothers gave birth to low weight infants and this change was passed on to subsequent generations
- the methylation of DNA and acetylation of histones appear to be possible mechanisms
- imprinting is the process whereby genes are switched on or off depending on whether it came from the father or the mother
- it is not clear to what extent epigenetic changes are propogated to future generations
Code, Non-code, Garbage and Junk
- current thoughts on the functionality of non-coding portions of the genome
- pseudogenes code for pseudoenzymes which are mutated versions of functional enzymes
- pseudogenes have been thought to be non-functional remnants but they are numerous and many have been shown to have been unchanged over millions of years of evolution - there is evidence that they assist their non-mutated partner
Genes and Disease
- the genetic basis for many diseases is now know - specific diseases are discussed
- therapies have been difficult to develop - the author describes some of the current approaches
- 90% of current links with disease are outside the protein coding sections of the genome
What Makes Us Human?
- it is now acknowledged that tool use and bipedalism proceeded growth of the brain; language is less clear
- good chart showing early human-like species - H. erectus and H. neanderthalensis both spread out from Africa to other parts of the world
- comparison of Neanderthal genes with human suggests that man retained genes adapted to living in cold climates
- preliminary work suggests that modern man has a greater susceptibility to mental diseases, perhaps as a result of the changes that allowed development of our unique mental capacity
The Genome That Became Conscious
- a number of genetic mechanisms that may have led to thr gretaer complexity of the human brain are discussed
- brain size appears to have increased gradually for thousands of years, but also appears to have under-gone a remodelling about 150,000 years ago which lead to an explosion of technology and culture
The Case for Complexity
- on the complexity of the genetic process
October 28, 2017
I should have reviewed this when I read it, but it seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle somewhere. I’m left with only general impressions and the knowledge that I intended to give it a four star rating. That alone should tell you it’s decent pop-science, delving into the genome and trying to give the reader a deeper understanding of it — not just the basic string of AACTGGA or whatever, but more detail. The first chapters are more basic, of course, giving the reader a bit of a background against which to evaluate all the new research.
I recall it being clear and easy to read, and where it went into epigenetics, microRNAs and piRNAs, I was fascinated. Some of this stuff, it only touches on, because it’s complex or not fully researched yet. Still a good read!
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
I recall it being clear and easy to read, and where it went into epigenetics, microRNAs and piRNAs, I was fascinated. Some of this stuff, it only touches on, because it’s complex or not fully researched yet. Still a good read!
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
January 27, 2017
Deeper Genome begins by posing an important question, walks through numerous genetic discussions in mostly interesting ways to end with rather nihilistic conclusions. These conclusions might be proven right in the due course of time, but most likely they will not and even if they do, one wonders the utility of them at this point in time.
Let's begin with these jarring conclusions: the author ends the work claiming that very little is fully known in genetics and hinting that little is perhaps knowable.
The quest to find what percentage of the genome had relevant genetic information - 2% or 100% as the two extremes claimed - was shaping towards no conclusion (from the tone of the book) right from the beginning. The author did well showing how complex our genes, its components, influencers and expressions are compared to the somewhat simplistic initial assumptions that were made when scientists began the gene decoding quests. Nearly two decades on, the book indirectly claims that our understanding of how genes/epigenetics/non-genetic material control our diseases/behaviour/traits has barely improved.
As unsettling as this claim is, this is extremely well proven in the book. There is no belittling of the scientific progress - rather, the discussions (that perforce turn highly technical every so often) highlight the tremendous complexity inherent in our genome. Twenty-two thousand genes are not just codes for the equivalent number of tendencies as is generally assumed. Rather, these genes express differently at different times depending on the environment, combinations in which they intermingle with other genes/non-gene material, characteristics of their carriers/transformers/enablers (including at least some of the apparent junk parts of the genome) and more.
It is obvious to have this question banging your head as a result: "so am I learning all these highly technical theories to be told that they don't mean anything?" The author is more pessimistic in the forecast when he does not leave the door open for exponential technical progress (processing power, AI, machine learning, big data etc) to suddenly yield amazing answers in the decades ahead.
Let's begin with these jarring conclusions: the author ends the work claiming that very little is fully known in genetics and hinting that little is perhaps knowable.
The quest to find what percentage of the genome had relevant genetic information - 2% or 100% as the two extremes claimed - was shaping towards no conclusion (from the tone of the book) right from the beginning. The author did well showing how complex our genes, its components, influencers and expressions are compared to the somewhat simplistic initial assumptions that were made when scientists began the gene decoding quests. Nearly two decades on, the book indirectly claims that our understanding of how genes/epigenetics/non-genetic material control our diseases/behaviour/traits has barely improved.
As unsettling as this claim is, this is extremely well proven in the book. There is no belittling of the scientific progress - rather, the discussions (that perforce turn highly technical every so often) highlight the tremendous complexity inherent in our genome. Twenty-two thousand genes are not just codes for the equivalent number of tendencies as is generally assumed. Rather, these genes express differently at different times depending on the environment, combinations in which they intermingle with other genes/non-gene material, characteristics of their carriers/transformers/enablers (including at least some of the apparent junk parts of the genome) and more.
It is obvious to have this question banging your head as a result: "so am I learning all these highly technical theories to be told that they don't mean anything?" The author is more pessimistic in the forecast when he does not leave the door open for exponential technical progress (processing power, AI, machine learning, big data etc) to suddenly yield amazing answers in the decades ahead.
October 20, 2015
I really didn't enjoy this one at all. Popscience is my favorite nonfiction genre and genome mapping is my pet topic. This book was too basic for me. I didn't learn anything new. I think this is because Mr Parrington still believes the world is flat and hasn't yet grasped where genomics and racial science is heading. A better book to read would be A Troublesome Inheritance by Nicholas Wade. Not only does it delve more in to the interesting work being done every day, but the writing style better fits the popscience genre and the author isn't as condescending. If you have any background knowledge at all in this subject, this book is more tiresome than informing.
November 4, 2015
This is a wonderful pop-sci books for anyone that wants a crash course in the history of genetics, the science inside it (general), and the current state of scientific understanding. There is also much in the this book that even people that have read many books about genetics and evolution can come away having learned something new. I look forward to possibly seeing this book translated into an audiobook because I think it would really shine in that format, and I'd be sure to pick it up.
I received this book for free from netgallery in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book for free from netgallery in exchange for an honest review.
May 10, 2018
A thoroughly great read! John Parrington covers a wide range of topics in Genetics and Genomics science, yet in a way that is not at all dry. Not only have I learnt about some new topics and concepts reading this book, I have also learnt about the lives and journeys of the scientists who worked on these topics. The very technical details are well explained, with one topic building off of the previous one, coupled with the very human tales of the diverse cast of people who devoted their lives to studying this subject. Rosalind Franklin, Agnes Ullmann and Jacob Monod are a few of my favourite. The great thing is that the human story does not at all detract from the scientific topics, rather it enhances the reading experience and understanding of the subject, as you follow the scientists' thought processes, trials & errors, inspirations from previously mentioned works of others... Overall, this book gives a great starting off point if you're interested in genetics, though the author also encourages reading more on these topics on your own from more advanced literature or scientific papers armed with this introductory knowledge. Highly recommend this for fellow science students and enthusiasts.
May 14, 2018
The Deeper Genome dives into many questions about the past, present, and future of the study of human genetics. It was fascinating to see how biological research has changed over time and how our idea of the genome itself has changed. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about what makes us human!
January 28, 2020
Well written, but a lot of this book is text book in prose form. . . Might be worth a revisit as an overall review for DNA transcription and protein synthesis. Not great for supplementary reading for chemistry students. . .
February 6, 2025
Is it weird that I found this book so funny. Concise and good. Was hooked on it during my boring tube journeys.
May 21, 2015
Genes are complicated! I feel like I've been waiting for this book to come out for a couple years. Well, I had no specific designs on John Parrington speficically writing this book. But I learned the basics of genetics a good long while ago, a study that, it was thought, came to a culmination (not an end, but a peak) with the Human Genome Project results in 2000. But since then there have been a great deal of caveats, new finding, things to make the picture seem much, much more complicated. And, since my interest in this is somewhat casual, I was losing a picture of how things worked.So along comes Parrington's book, to sumamrize our current understanding, as incomplete as it is, of how genetics work. Specifically, he focuses on the information that I, too, find fascinating: at first, we thought most of our genome was "junk", wasted coding that did nothing. But recent results have indicated that all that junk actually does do something, that it's not actually junk. Hence the title "How the Genome Lost Its Junk". The key question is what makes a piece of DNA count as functional or junk. We thought that if it didn't show up as coding for something specific, it must not do anything. But in the intervening 15 years, the field of epigenetics has become much more important. There are genes that turn off and on, or inhibit or enhance the expression of other genes. Our environment can affect how genes are expressed. And the 3D shape of all that DNA squished into the nucleus changes; where genes are in the nucleus can affect how they get expressed. In each cell nucleus, there's enough DNA that it would stretch 2m if straightened out (the shape it's in when we analyze it), so when it all gets squished in there, there are proximity rules that we don't see in the standard analysis. PLUS, a large fraction of genes are what are called jumping genes, and they can move spontaneously around in our genes. Woah! Whatever happened to the idea that a sequence of bases was just code for how to make some aspect of a human, and if we just code the key to the code, we could read DNA and say who that person will be?Of course, it was never that simple. Geneticists have always known it's not that simple. That jumping genes thing was first proposed in the 1950s. The fact that hadn't heard about it is just a symptom of not paying attention. But even for experts in the field, the picture has gotten quite a bit more complicated since 2000.Parrington starts his story at the beginning, going through the history of the discovery of inheritance, then DNA and all the accompanying ideas and molecules. He tells the story and arrives at our current understanding in a thorough, step-by-step manner, making it clear without over-simplifying it. I really appreciated this approach. Genetics is a terminology-heavy field. Upon finishing the book, I saw there was a useful glossary at the end -- I'd recommend looking at that first and keeping it handy. But just when I felt like things were getting a little too technical and I might need to take a break, he got to the end of the technical section and into the last few chapters, which are on the implications of what we now know.These last few chapters are the most valuable of the book, but reading the first part of the book is necessary to understand them. He addresses (but of course cannot fully answer) some of the big questions wrapped up in genetics: what makes us human? where is individuality and consciousness? All in all, I loved this book. It answered a lot of my questions about the current status of genetic science. It's not a chatty book -- the author doesn't insert himself as a character except in the introduction. It is brief -- he accomplished all this in a couple hundred pages. The publisher sent me an early ebook version, so the formatting was a little weird and many of the figures were not functional, so I can't really say how helpful they were. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to fill in their understanding of genetics. It's not an easy, breezy read, but I think it's as straightforward as a thorough, honest explanation of this topic can get.
January 15, 2020
Very detailed explanation about why the DNA mapping completed with the Human Genome Project in 2003, was just the tip of the iceberg. Covers in details new research and results about 'junk dna', 'jumping genes', RNA functionality, the 3D landscape of the genome, and pretty much everything else that influences it.
Not an easy read, it takes effort to follow the technical details, but you will be rewarded with plenty of new knowledge. This is a real science book, sprinkled with the historical evolution of the various ideas that emerged in the field, and how many Nobels were won.
My only disappointment were the last 2 chapters and the Conclusion, where the author gets into very deep waters with subjects such as Consciousness and Complexity Theory and the limits of Reductionism, where he adds nothing of value. But then again, the subject of this book is the deeper genome, and in that he succeeds.
Not an easy read, it takes effort to follow the technical details, but you will be rewarded with plenty of new knowledge. This is a real science book, sprinkled with the historical evolution of the various ideas that emerged in the field, and how many Nobels were won.
My only disappointment were the last 2 chapters and the Conclusion, where the author gets into very deep waters with subjects such as Consciousness and Complexity Theory and the limits of Reductionism, where he adds nothing of value. But then again, the subject of this book is the deeper genome, and in that he succeeds.
December 26, 2015
While this work is extremely informative on a subject that hasn't been featured too often in most works on genetics for lay-people, ultimately you are left not knowing a whole lot more about this area of the genome than you had going in if you have kept up on the literature. Suggests several new areas to be explored and puts this research in context very well, however, there is precious little new information contained here. Extremely well-written but perhaps doesn't live up to the grandiose title.
November 17, 2015
An extended review on the current state of genomics. It tries to give a balanced view of how functional genomics has extended our understanding of how the genome functions and whether the human genome has a lot of junk DNA or whether most of it is functional (he tries to give a balanced view but you can see he is biased towards the non-junk and more functional side of things). It is not for the average reader even though it is meant to be a pop-sci book!
December 7, 2015
With my growing interest in epigenetics in my research, I picked this book that discusses the ENCODE project. Generally, a good book to read. It has a very nice historical and biographical background of genetics and epigenetics. It also shows the critics of ENCODE descently. The last chapter was more speculative but was acceptable (as the discussion section of papers).
October 6, 2015
Required Reading...
This book may change your fundamental understanding of molecular biology. The information exchange within a cell appears to be far more complex than you probably suspected. Read on ...
This book may change your fundamental understanding of molecular biology. The information exchange within a cell appears to be far more complex than you probably suspected. Read on ...
November 11, 2016
"The Deeper Genome" by John Parrington gives overall impression about various big life science projects like GWAS, ENCODE. Will make u curious about these as u will feel the very concept of gene is shredding. And new one like Human Connectom Project is gaining momentum. My assessment: 4 out of 5.
July 16, 2016
Complex...at least for me.
I just finished Mukhereege's about gene. I thought this would be a good back to back reading. Ain't. Compiles and scientifically written.
I just finished Mukhereege's about gene. I thought this would be a good back to back reading. Ain't. Compiles and scientifically written.
June 6, 2016
Meh. Basically a textbook without the useful illustrations -- but with more dry background about the scientists involved in the research.
January 29, 2017
Excelente lectura, rica y muy completa... Quizá demasiado técnica para alguien que no esté familiarizado con temas de biología
March 14, 2017
Very dense. Too dense.
April 17, 2017
Very confusing but a good read.
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