The Second Tree: Stem Cells, Clones, Chimeras, and Quests for Immortality

by Elaine Dewar

In the half century since Watson and Crick's discovery of the double helix, genetic scientists have grafted onto the tree of knowledge a body of new science whose growth has slipped the bonds of the divine and nature. Investigative journalist Elaine Dewar chronicles the lives, discoveries, and feuds among these modern biologists, exploring how they have crafted the tools to alter human evolution with unforeseeable, promising, and frightening consequences the rest of us are just beginning to glimpse.

Dewar travels the world in the wake of Charles Darwin and his intellectual descendants, telling the story of Frederick Sanger who learned how to sequence genes and won two Nobel prizes; and of the computer scientists who put the human genome on the worldwide web. She visits corporations determined to turn cloned sheep into pharmacies, resurrect prize cattle from the dead; and transplant human genes into mice—ultimately striving for immortality while keeping investors happy. As Dewar narrates these tales, we learn how biologists make breakthroughs: tearing mice, worms, flies, and human eggs apart, twining disparate animal cells and genes together—creating clones and chimeras as outlandish as any sphinx from the realm of mythology.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Biology

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Bailey Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting information about cloning gentics dna . talks about real science and trials people do during

[Kacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of information on cloning, biologists who discovered the shape of DNA, and the greed in corporations trying to find a cure for old age. There are also interesting biographies of many of the scientists involved. It can get a little erratic and off-track at times making it hard to follow, but very informative nonetheless.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I learned from this book: the potence of greed as a motive for doing bioscience research.

[Lois Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but slow and long