Author: COOK-DEEGAN, ROBERT
Title: The Gene Wars: Science, Politics, and the Human Genome
Description: W. W. Norton & Company. 1994. (ISBN: 9780393035728). Hardcover, 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches. Launched in 1990 with federal support, the Human Genome Project to map the genetic code embodied in the six feet of DNA coiled inside every human cell holds the promise of identifying the genes involved in specific diseases. Cook-Degan, a physician and consultant who directed a 1988 Congressional study on genome research and is now with the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, tracks the program's early history and politics in this absorbing study. James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA's double-helix structure, was the genome project's first director; his status as the "father of DNA" helped win funding from Congress by mollifying critics who deemed the project overcentralized Big Science of dubious practical value. As the project became a global collaborative effort, U.S. scientists clashed with Japanese researchers eager to wed its goals to corporate biotechnology interests. Yet a similar process now seems to be underway in the U.S. with the expanding role of commercial investment in genome research. Cook-Degan weighs the ethical issues surrounding the genome project, which raises the specter of discrimination in employment and insurance through genetic screening and testing. This accessible account of the Human Genome Project is as much about the politics, economics, and personalities as it is about the science of this $3 billion, 15-year project to map the 100,000 chromosome sequences of the human genome. However, more discussion of the potential clinical implications and controversies surrounding the decision to map the entire genome, including sequences with no currently known purpose, would have been helpful. Cook-Deegan, Executive Director for the Biomedical Ethics Advisory Committee when funding was cut, is occasionally an intrusive narrator, concerned about his own career prospect. He could also have reserved mention of newly appointed director Francis Collins to the epilog. But he knows the players and has seen much of the story unfold firsthand. Recommended for its relatively rare inside glimpse into the world of big science, big politics, and big money. Hardback with dustjacket - 1994 - good condition - - used books, secondhand books, for sale, out of print books, hard to find books, second-hand books, college books, student books, nonfiction, non-fiction books delivered world wide. Used: Acceptable.

Keywords: 9780393035728


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