Overview

This is a riveting story of the origins, the players, the crises, and the competition that led to the greatest scientific achievement of our time. In Drawing the Map of Life , the author of the much-acclaimed Watson and DNA takes the story of the global Human Genome Project from its origins, through the race to its accomplishment, and on to the vast efforts today to exploit the complete, ordered sequence of the 3 billion subunits of DNA, the molecule of heredity. Drawing the Map of Life offers a timely, concise, and balanced overview of the biggest undertaking in the history of biological research, whose effects on people's lives and health are growing continually, even explosively. It is the first book to deal in depth and balance with the intellectual and technological origins of the project, the motivations that drove it, and the hype that often masked the genuine triumphs. McElheny profiles the key people, such as David Botstein, Eric Lander, Francis Collins, Watson, Michael Hunkapiller and Craig Venter. He also shows that, besides being a major event in the history of science, the Human Genome Project is also highly significant in the history of technology. The project is a striking example of how the development of techniques and instruments (such as restriction enzymes and sequencing methods), often arriving first, shaping the type of questions scientists then go on to ask.

Full Product Details

Author:   Victor K. McElheny
Publisher:   The Perseus Books Group
Imprint:   Basic Books
Dimensions:   Width: 14.10cm , Height: 2.60cm , Length: 20.90cm
Weight:   0.390kg
ISBN:  

9780465028955

ISBN 10:   0465028950
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   16 August 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Reviews

A stirring explanation of why the Human Genome Project - which mapped our DNA - matters. (Discover) As...Victor McElheny tells it in his racy and well-documented account, practical science can be as grubbily political and ego-driven as anything that goes on in the boardroom of international conglomerates. This is a very modern story and, ultimately, curiously heart-warming. (Sunday Times) Comprehensive. Mr. McElheny knows almost everyone involved and describes their actions and motives fairly. This is no mean feat given the sizes of some of the egos involved, and the clashes between them. (The Economist)

Author Information

Victor McElheny is a distinguished science journalist who has covered the revolution in molecular biology for the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Science for nearly three decades. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he ran the Knight Science Journalism Fellowships. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts

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