Genome : the story of the most astonishing scientific adventure of our time--the attempt to map all the genes in the human body /

The lengthy subtitle identifies the scope and theme of this fascinating book. Two reporters for the Wall Street Journal permit general readers to share in the high intellectual excitement of mapping unknown terrain--the genes of the human body. Remarkably lucid explanations (together with helpful diagrams) dispel much of the mystery surrounding the new technologies permitting scientists to decode the genetic basis for heredity. But the forays into laboratories do not obscure the human motives and personalities of the biological pioneers trying to understand (and eventually to prevent) the suffering caused by Huntington's disease, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, and other genetic diseases. Yet new possibilities for unraveling human genes raise troubling questions--explored in the final chapters--about abortion, insurance policies, and eugenic ambitions. The authors provide timely insights into scientific questions that are rapidly becoming social and political dilemmas. Notes; to be indexed. --Bryce Christensen

The nucleus of every cell in our bodies contains 50,000-100,000 genes. In an international ``gene mapping'' effort, scientists are attempting to determine the precise location of each gene on specific chromosomes. Although much of this research has been conducted in only the last 10 years, already the genes for Huntington's disease, muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis have been located, as well as ``susceptibility genes'' that predispose one to heart disease and, possibly, to alcoholism. Evidence links certain defective genes or the absence of other genes, to various cancers. The authors, both Wall Street Journal reporters, here offer an expert guided tour through the new world of genetic mapping, pausing to consider ethical dilemmas posed by genetic diagnosis of the unborn, privacy issues and potential use of individual genetic profiles by employers or insurance companies. First serial to Longevity and American Health. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

The best way to evaluate this book is in comparison with Lois Wingerson's Mapping Our Genes ( LJ 6/1/90). The subject of both books is the government-funded program to map every gene in human DNA and the medical, ethical, and scientific questions that effort raises. Many of the stories and the persons are the same in both books, and both are creditable efforts to explain this fascinating project. Still, Wall Street Journal reporters Bishop and Waldholz are unafraid to describe more technical details, and their book is broader in scope, compellingly written, and ultimately the more satisfying. Wingerson focuses more on the test patients and their families, and this human approach will appeal to many. Both are recommended, but Genome is the first choice for most libraries, and the only one truly suited for academic libraries.-- Gregg Sapp, Montana State Univ. Lib., Bozeman (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Wall Street Journal science writers Bishop and Waldholz have tracked the current federal effort to map and sequence all the human genes back to the key players and places where the ideas took root. On the one hand, there were the molecular biologists like David Botstein, able to manipulate DNA in the test tube. On the other hand were population geneticists like Mark Skolnick, armed with software programs that could analyze multigenerational families for patterns of inheritance of deadly disease. The combination led to the first spectacular success of the method in locating the gene for Huntington's disease on chromosome 4. Note that the Huntington's gene itself has not been found, only a telltale bit of DNA that is inherited along with it, enabling the identification of family members who will be affected. Since the disease is incurable and of late onset, leading to uncontrollable body movements, dementia, and death, the ethical issues of a diagnostic test are profound. This is just one of the issues the authors discuss as they tell the high adventure story of tracking the HD gene in the words of Nancy Wexler, the woman (herself at risk for HD) who coordinated research in the Venezuelan village where the disease was common. Thus, they cover much the same territory as Lois Wingerson in Mapping Our Genes (p. 722), but with a difference. Wingerson's is a more personal account, focusing on the scientists in the field studying the families, with enough asides on the science and ethical issues to illuminate them. Bishop and Waldhoz provide more details on science: who was doing what where, who were the rivals, what are the politics and controversies (for example, rivalry between the Department of Energy and NIH in spearheading the genome project). They tend to be more sensational, giving credence to studies linking so-called alcoholism genes with other undesirable behaviors. They also conjure up Brave New World scenarios, such as preembryo selection of babies with ""desirable"" traits, job discrimination, denial of insurance, a new genetic class society. Much can be learned from both this volume and Wingerson's--but watch for more to come. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.