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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “I read this after I read "survival of the sickest".I was wondering near an old paper depot and just happen to see this one by chance.A very good read, which should be actually given to all those religious fundamentalist who fight over religion. I would recommend it to any one but it requires a...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Despite being described as an 'autobiography', "Genome" is actually a collection of 23 short stories. The central character in each chapter is one of the genes found on the 23 pairs of human chromosomes. Ridley uses historical, scientific, and medical insights to illustrate the fundamental features of human biology.
Sigma 7 Science-Teaching wrote this review 6 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Includes cutting edge science, but is still accessible to the middle school reader.”
“I liked getting the inside story about this famous event in the history of science. The science was super interesting, even for a not totally science person like me. ”
Brie M wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Life and the origins of it; how the genome represents the
Luis V wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
unity of life; we do not have fossils for organisms that lived four
billion years ago, but we do have the genome. DNA and RNA help us
define where we came from and where we are going; "it is a record of
our history written in the code for a working machine."
Genes are different for each species and they are what make
each species unique; Ridley splits the purpose of genes into to two
categories: anatmoy and behavior; he asserts that "Genes are recipes"
for both categories; he notes a two percent difference in the genetic
makeup of human body and a chimpanzee body, and how a few changes can determine an animal as polygamous or monogamous; genes are recipes
Ridley talks about the history of genetics and he discusses
the different scientists (or geneticists) that contributed to the
current language used to code DNA and dissect genetic material; one
scientist discussed is Crick and his development of a 'comma-free
code'; it was believed for years until the pioneering breakthroughs of
the 1960s; this language of DNA that works in pairs of four letter
codes.”“I would have never chosen this book if i was in the library. It was a required reading for my AP-bio class. I'm glad that I had to read it. This book taught me a lot of what was going in the world of science. Every chapter was about a different chromosome. Though Ridley doesnt tell you everything about the chromosome, he chooses what he thinks is the most interesting about it to bring to the readers. I find it really interesting that our distant relative, the chimpanzee is 24 chromosomes compared to our 23 chromosomes. Scientists says that the reason we have 23 chromosome is that somewhere in time 2 chromosome fuzes to make 1 chromosome, chromosome number 2. This book consists of many other fascinating details like that.”
SANDI L wrote this review Friday, November 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Genome is a science book that talks about the human genome and its use for functions in our bodies. I thought that this book was able to bring up very interesting biology concepts. One of them is the fact that genes don't just disappear. For example, if a mother has blue eyes and a father has green eyes and all their children has green eyes, it does not mean that the blue eye gene has disappeared. It will appear in the next generation. I found this concept very interesting. There were a lot of other interesting things that the book brought up and I found this book to be very enjoyable. ”
MEI NGA W wrote this review Thursday, November 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Genome by Matt Ridley is an incredible work, blending both scientific fact and stories of human interest into a book which is both entertaining and enlightening. In this book, Matt Ridley uses information about the human genome in order to examine the human condition and human history. In this, he uses a very unique and creative format which works rather well. There are twenty-three chapters, each one relating a different story about humanity through the examination of one gene from one of the twenty-three chromosomes that comprise the human genome. These chapters have titles which relate their topics--chapters such as "Love," "Religion," and "Death." In each chapter, there is some anecdote--it may regard a rare form of genetic disease, or it may examine some behavioral or cultural trait endemic to a population. Some of these are far-reaching, while some others are decidedly insular. There is, for instance, a story regarding genetic disease, specifically Huntington's Chorea--it regards one woman's search for information about it, and an attempt to discover if she has the gene which causes it. There is another story about a rare transferrable disease called Kuru, which was related to cannibalism, but had implications that, like so many other things, are primarily genetic in nature. Matt Ridley's stories open up many interesting and valuable questions--questions about scientific development, and questions about humanity, and through these questions, Matt Ridley creates a dense and multi-layered story about humanity and the many components that comprise it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in biology.”
JONATHAN O wrote this review Monday, November 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book is an "autobiography" of the human genome and it is really good in explaining what makes up or DNA, where it came from, and the different diseases or actions that it causes. I thought it was very interesting how similar we all are and the only differences are caused by only the DNA or the mutations that occur in our DNA. After all, we are all descendants of a common ancestor. It is a great journey reading this book and you learn all kinds of things that you might have never known before. You might change the way you view other people. I recommend this book to everyone interested in science, the genome, or about how each of us is created.”
CHARLES wrote this review Saturday, October 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“A great look at an interesting disease/trait of each chromosome.”
Jamie F wrote this review Thursday, August 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Very Useful”
TARIQ N wrote this review Thursday, August 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
