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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 600 EAN: 9780099451846 Edition: New Ed ISBN: 0099451840 Label: Arrow Books Ltd Manufacturer: Arrow Books Ltd Number Of Pages: 544 Publication Date: April 01, 2004 Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Studio: Arrow Books Ltd Related Items:
Editorial Review: Amazon.co.uk Review: DNA: The Secret of Life is released to coincide with the 50th anniversary one of the most momentous breakthroughs in the history of science. In 1953 at The Eagle pub in Cambridge, two jubilant students professed to have found "the secret of life". Hardy regulars may have raised half an eyebrow at such wild claims--perhaps putting it down to the drink talking--but, even today, it is hard to comprehend the significance of the discovery and the impact that it has had on our world. As a book commemorating the unravelling of the structure of DNA, it merely gives the story so far--from the legendary lounge bar to a glittering future for genetics and germ-line gene therapy. It's no surprise that Watson--as the Granddaddy of DNA research--is fully behind all such efforts and scornful of its detractors. Both Watson and Crick are uncompromisingly loyal to the tenets of their religion. Crick famously quit Churchill College, Cambridge when they went ahead with plans for a new chapel, saying he saw "no reason to perpetuate mistakes from the past" and early on in the book Watson makes his position clear: Does life have some magical, mystical essence… is there something divine at the heart of the cell that brings it to life? The double helix answered that question with a definitive No.DNA works as a light, easy-to-read introduction to the field of genetics, but those with rudimentary knowledge and an interest in delving deeper--or those wanting a more even discussion of the ethical problems raised by gene therapy--may be disappointed. While the book won't become seminal in the way that The Double Helix has, it is nevertheless useful and above all timely. And who wouldn't want to buy a book by the abrasive, ambitious and outspoken founding father? --Dan Green Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Too little science!I was expecting science, but ended up getting corporate propaganda and some "social science" thrown in, such as Watson telling us we should all agree to have our DNA stored on a police database. Things were OK until I reached chapter 5, "DNA, Dollars, and Drugs: Biotechnology", and chapter 6, "Tempest In A Cereal Box". These two chapters are about the commercialisation of genetic science i.e. finding lucrative private-sector jobs for former public workers, biotech scientists. In short, Watson wants profit-driven corporations - not the public - to decide what technologies should come out of certain scientific discoveries, and how these technologies should be applied. Watson feels particularly aggrieved over the handling of GM food, and how environmentalists and the media have demonised this "useful" technology. Watson writes, "A meaningful evaluation of GM food should be based on scientific considerations, not political or economic ones." So what is Watson's scientific evaluation of so-called terminator seeds (seeds that are sterile and will not grow, forcing a farmer to go back to his supplier)? What possible advantage do they confer? Well, none! There is no scientific justification whatsoever for their existence. But, no matter. Watson justifies their existence by claiming that if the majority of farmers buy non-germinating seeds, then this will give corporations the economies of scale they need to invest in, and manufacture, useful "varieties". In other words, Watson is saying that it is perfectly all right to genetically modify food merely to boost the bottom line of a company, and to encourage farmers and consumers to buy a useless genetic modification in the hope that companies will use this money to come up with something that is actually useful. Why does this explanation sound suspect? Probably, because the real reason for creating terminator seeds is so that the farmer has to continually buy seed from the company. Other genetic modifications are being used to turn life forms into patented products. The seeds and plants then become the property of corporations - seeds and plants nature created! So, terminator seeds have absolutely no scientific value. They are not good science, yet Watson tries to defend them on economic grounds, while attacking the public and environmentalists for ignoring the science. Watson has nothing positive to say about environmentalists, even though many are scientists themselves, who do important work that benefits the public. Watson has now strayed into politics. Watson also states that "anti-GM" activists sabotaged the prospects of the GM potato, which has built-in resistance to the potato virus. Fries, he claims, now cost more than they should. Given the obesity levels in America, and the concomitant diseases that go with carrying excess weight (heart disease, diabetes, cancer), why do we need cheaper fries? Watson is, yet again, justifying GM food on the supposed economic benefits, rather than on the scientific merits. Watson overlooks the fact that coffee, for instance, is bought from impoverished "Third World" farmers for a ridiculously low price - sometimes below cost - then large corporations sell that coffee to Westerners at an inflated price. Watson's logic that if food is cheaper to produce, it will be cheaper to end consumers, is flawed. Watson uses the word "variety" in a completely different sense to its normal use vis-à-vis plants. When we think of varieties of tomatoes, we imagine different shapes, sizes, flavours, and textures. But Watson is using the word to mean the exact same varieties, but with built-in pesticides, herbicide resistance, increased hardiness, sterility, etc. So when Watson talks about genetic manipulation bringing "new varieties" of food onto the market, although it sounds great, it's not what we imagine - it's not, as Watson claims, a modern version of what our ancestors did, who created genuinely new varieties, and gave them to us for free. In fact, we could end up with fewer varieties, as Watson fails to tell us whether just a subset of seeds can be, or will be, genetically modified, while the remaining varieties are eventually - for commercial reasons - discarded. Watson compares Monsanto's former ambition to dominate the seed business - and therefore our food supply - with Microsoft's dominance of the PC desktop. Watson is wrong to claim that just because a monopoly was prevented, there is nothing to worry about. The notion of turning life itself into a patented technology that is the property of corporations has not gone away, and clearly Watson is doing his best to encourage us to open the door to it. This despite his admission that the patenting of the onco-mouse has limited the use of this important creature in cancer research due to licensing costs. It is distasteful for Watson to invoke images of dying children to promote GM food, while ignoring the political and economic dimensions to poverty and hunger, which are often far more important. For instance, what use is GM food to the people of Ghana, who are seeing large amounts of agricultural land being taken away from them for mining use by Western companies? This problem is political and economic, not scientific. There is often plenty of food to feed people - or the potential to produce plenty - but politics and economics gets in the way. To claim GM food will feed the world is a marketing ploy, a way to get us well-fed Westerners to feel so guilty that we fail to engage our critical faculties, and cave in to corporate demands to turn our food into patented technology - technology that cannot be distributed, copied, or otherwise transmitted without the express written permission of the manufacturer. Rating:  - What you must know about genetic engineeringOf perhaps a dozon worthwhile books in the world this is one. Yes I come from a computing and engineering background yet this book is fully understandable to me. Its true you need to look back from time to time because unless you are gifted with a good memory you will forget vital experiments. But all the explaination you need is there to understand such things as DNA sequencing and the like. Thank you James Watson for bringing something out for the intelligent public to read and understand. Yes James does not hasitate to condemn ignorant and dangerous activists who simply understand nothing of what is going on, however having seen some of the computing "errors" that have occured in the field of programming, since the entry of many ignorant and non-thinking participants to the field, I certainly think there is room for more concern than is apparent in this book. In truth ignorant people are very dangerous whose ever side they may be on, and democracy is no substitute for understanding. Read this book and understand the very basics of this new miracle. Rating: - brilliant enthralling readI bought this thinking I might read a chapter or so but found myself unable to put it down. It is really well written and keeps your attention. The colour plates add more interest. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of DNA. I learnt so much by reading it and have recommended it to everyone I know. Rating: - A good read!I'm very much enjoying this account, in particular, the background details of the history and of the famous characters involved. I have a little knowledge of DNA history and manipulation, but do not feel that this knowledge would be necessary to enjoy the book! My only negative comment is that some of the illustrations have been printed slightly too small to really see the details, which is something that I hope the publishers will amend next time. Rating: - Essential readingThe authors state in the introduction "We have tried to write for a general audience, intending that someone with zero biological knowledge should be able to understand the book's every word." Hmmmm, really? But to be fair, it would be unreasonable to expect a book subtitled "The Secret of Life" to be an easy read - and it isn't. But if ever there was a book worth sweating blood over to understand, this is it! The science outlined in this book - which I will not attempt to precis! - is at times both mind-boggling and mind-blowing. But some of the stories of how the scientists involved made these remarkable discoveries are almost as fascinating as the discoveries themselves. There are clearly some towering intellects working in this field. And in view of the fact that genes are apparently implicated to some extent in all causes of mortality except accidents (P166), this is no bad thing. From the literary point of view, this is an extremely well written book, characterised by wit, humour, compassion, enthusiasm, and - in some instances (eg on the subject of "genome profiteers") - a good deal of warranted vituperation. The book also seems in part to have been used as a vehicle for the settling of some old scores - always amusing to the disinterested reader! But why no glossary? There is a bewildering mass of new terminology for the general reader to absorb - eg messenger RNA, transfer RNA, bacteriophages, restriction enzymes, repressor molecules, ribosomes, RNA polymerase, reverse transcriptase, etc - and although it's possible to keep reminding oneself of the meaning of these esoteric terms by use of the index, this is a bit of an imposition. In addition to the main theme of the book there are chapters covering eugenics and the early theories of genetic inheritance, the biotechnology industry, GM foods, human evolution, DNA fingerprinting, the genetics of human diseases, the treatment and prevention of genetic disorders, and the nature versus nurture debate. There are many sociological, ethical and political questions raised here, and these issues get as much - if not more - attention than the hard science. Mr Watson - whose book it clearly is - is obviously a man of strong opinions, and he is not afraid of expressing himself in a manner that is likely to cause hackles to rise in certain quarters. For example, on the subject of GM food he writes: "Let me be utterly plain in stating my belief that it is nothing less than an absurdity to deprive ourselves of the benefits of GM foods by demonizing them; and, with the need for them so great in the developing world, it is nothing less than a crime to be governed by the irrational suppositions of Prince Charles and others" (P163). And regarding stem-cell therapy, we have: "Polls consistently show that the majority of Americans favour research using embryonic stem cells, and yet politicians continue to pander to the outspoken religious minority that is hampering efforts to develop this potentially valuable technology" (P348). But pulling these quotes out of context is a little unfair, because all of his views are closely argued. The main author makes several references to his atheism, and describes one of his former colleagues as a member of a rare species, being a devoutly religious scientist. It would certainly be possible to read - and understand - this book and still come away with a belief in some sort of a God. For example at the announcement of the first draft of the human genome, that devout Christian Bill Clinton declared "Today, we are learning the language in which God created life..." But the inference drawn in Chapter 8 that life probably originated as bacteria some 3.5 billion years ago, would seem to imply that if God exists, he must have a strong laissez-faire bias. However, despite the book's firm support for Darwinian evolution, it's not all bad news for those choosing to believe in the Biblical account: In Chapter 9 it's explained that molecular studies have shown that Jews and Arabs are genetically virtually indistinguishable, which is consistent with the Biblical contention that both peoples are the children of Abraham (same father, different mothers). It would be a great pity if this book suffered the same fate as Hawking's "A Brief History of Time": a book that everybody bought, but nobody read. Don't buy this book just to stick on your coffee-table to impress your friends. Read it...and then read it again!  Try searching the Internet for "DNA: The Secret of Life" or Ebay for "DNA: The Secret of Life". You might also be interested in the following great products:
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