The Gene: An Intimate History

Eye-opening, well written and thought provoking book

A very interesting introduction to the science behind genetics and genomics that reads like a thriller. Not a dry and uninteresting text book, but the sort of book you can't put down until the last page. Comprehensive and well written, with plenty of references to the original research documents quoted if you want to go deeper into the subject.

In recent years there have been many excellent popular science books in the fields of biology and medicine. Some are short, often interweaving personal histories, such as ‘Do No Harm’ by the brain surgeon Henry Marsh; others attempt to cover much wider fields, such as the author’s previous blockbuster, ‘The Emperor of all Maladies’, a biography of cancer. ‘The Gene – an intimate history’ is definitely of the latter variety, weighing in at close to 600 pages. The approach is historical, starting with the modern origins of the subject in the pioneering work of Darwin and Mendel and proceeding through the rise of eugenics and its advocate Galton, the solution to the structure of DNA, gene splicing and the many discoveries thereafter. The work of Galton and his many followers is the darker side of the history of genetics. They thought they could fundamentally change nature by pseudo-scientific programmes, such as the attempts in America to eradicate ‘defective strains’ by forced sterilization and other means, which continued in some countries well into the 1970s. The most perverted and horrific use of genetics took place in Nazi Germany. There the misguided views of eugenics were closely link to race and led directly to the mass murder of ‘racially undesirables’, as well as the physically and mentally handicapped, in the mistaken belief that this would lead to a superior race. Conventional eugenics is now totally discredited, and in the West genetic experiments are subject to strict controls. Neverthess, it is legal to screen embryos for serious genetic conditions before implanting them in the wombs of women undergoing IVF treatment, and in some countries with weak supervision, experiments are being done to find methods of eradicating genes which have been linked to other diseases. While this may be laudable, what is next? Perhaps eradicating the genes for unsightly large noses? At what point would these procedures be ‘enhancement’ and eugenics by another name. Are we on the verge of ‘designer babies’? These ethical questions are re-examined throughout the book and become more focussed as technical improvements in genetics research presses steadily forward. The author has a particular interest in this because he comes from a family that has a history of serious mental illness, although I found his digressions about this a little distracting and added little to the story. As research has moved forward, the realization has emerged that genes are far more complex than previously thought and it is very rare for a single gene to be the sole ‘culprit’ for a particular disease. More often multiple genes are involved, working through complex interactions that are far from being totally understood, and moreover are also influenced by external factors, so that the final outcome is very difficult to predict. The role of these external influences is embedded in the relatively recent discovery of so-called ‘epigenes’, which appear to imply that genes may be responsive to environmental factors, raising yet again the old questions of eugenics, with its far-reaching ethical and social implications. Potential readers such as myself who read ‘The Emperor of all Maladies’ are faced with a daunting prospect, because like that book this one is not only long, but also contains much technical information about genetics. Don’t let this deter you. You may not fully follow all the scientific details (I certainly did not) but the writing is so beautifully clear that at the end of ‘difficult’ sections you will still have a good overview of the problems that the field has faced, or is still facing, and the arguments for and against different positions on important topics such as gene therapy. It is a book definitely well worth the effort of reading.

I finished reading ‘The Gene’ by Siddhartha Mukherjee last month. It has been a fascinating voyage in the world of biology- genetics to be precise. As I wrote before too, it has been written with great erudition and is richly laced with metaphor and similes to make it comprehensible even for a non-biologist. It staggers my mind to think how must an ocean of research material have been mined for it, grasped, and then put to masterly use by the doctor-writer. Only a man of SM’s calibre who gave us a wonderful book on cancer ‘The emperor of all maladies’ before, could have done it. The gene book tells us in gripping detail the whole story of the gene right from early meanderings before the Christian era by the Greek Philosophers like Pythagoras (530 BC), Anaxagoras (400 BC), Aristotle (350 BC) and many others to unravel the mystery of inheritance. (Incidentally, Anaxagoras thought that the essence of heredity was carried by the male sperm, while the female only “shaped’ male semen in the womb to produce the foetus! And Aristotle argued that hereditary information is transmitted in the form of messages.) Nothing is in fact left out by the author in this long journey of man’s search for answers to the intriguing gene puzzle: Mendel’s experiments on pea to unravel the mystery of inheritance of characters, Darwin’s great voyage, how Watson and Crick cracked the DNA code, the human genome, how the new findings have helped mankind in understanding and curing genetic disorders by gene therapy, gene edting and gene surgery and the future scenario in regard to genomics and humankind. A lot has been done but a lot more still needs to be discovered. So many tricky genetic ailments such as Haemophilia, sickle cell anaemia etc which have afflicted mankind causing huge suffering, are now being cured thanks to new insights into the subtle working of the gene. Many more are on the threshold of being tamed and treated through gene therapy. The quest is on. Needless to say, the coming decades will see man (or a geneticist) playing God with gene editing and cloning technologies in his kitty. It will be for the humankind though to see and decide where to draw the line. What makes the book so outstanding is the interesting manner and the arresting narrative with which the whole story of the gene is laid bare before the mesmerized reader with fascinating details about the personal lives of Mendel, Darwin and all other luminaries who have been involved in their scientific endeavours in unravelling the mystery of the gene right from the beginning till date, their obsessions, devotion, dedication, foibles, failures, jealousies, the politics and so on. Having been a zoologist myself – though not a great one! – I could strike an instant chord with the book and had it fill many gaping voids in my understanding of the gene. Subhash Sharma, Palampur, Kangra HP

As someone who has had to study genetics in considerable detail, both for school and work, as well as for personal interest, I can confirm that most books on this subject are dry. Sahara dry. Reading most of them is a chore, and paying attention as the chapters unfold is difficult. Most "mass market" books on the subject, whether anchored on some person or event, or simply a historical view, tend to be light on science and heavy on narrative. So, when a book comes along that changes those models, is actually interesting to read and informative, it's worth blowing the trumpets. Consider the trumpets being blown at high volume! The Gene is well researched: despite having studied this field for decades (although it's not my specialty) there's details here I didn't know (or possibly remember). From the start of Medellian genetic experiments through to current gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR, this book cover it accurately, with no sensationalism, and in a way that make it both easy to read and easy to understand for those without a science or medical background. And while it's packed with content, it never feels as though you are being force-fed technical details. Because I stay current with the literature, I didn't come across too much radical or different, but after having read literally dozens of genetics books over the years, I can say this is the best I've ever picked up. Part text book, part narrative, part history, and part science, The Gene does a wonderful job of leading you through the history of genetics, what has gone right or wrong, and what the future holds (potentially). The writing style is engaging and interesting, and never once did I want to take a break to give myself a rest from reading through. Sure, there are other books that are more detailed, and some that are more radical, but none combine the readability and science as well as The Gene. Whether you are just interested or this is your passion, here's a book for all to enjoy.