The Mysterious World of the Human Genome

Description

How could a relatively simple chemical code give rise to the complexity of a human being? How could our human genome have evolved? And how does it actually work? Over the past 50 years we have deciphered the inner workings of the human genome. From the basic structure of DNA through to the complete sequence of the code, what first appeared to be simple is actually a complex and beautiful three-dimensional world that makes each of us who we are. In The Mysterious World of the Human Genome acclaimed science writer Frank Ryan leads us through the most exciting scientific discoveries of the last 50 years, revealing how this science has unlocked the cure of some genetic diseases, developed the use of DNA in forensic science and paternity testing, helped us trace our ancestors and provided a definitive map for the movement of humans out of Africa. This scientific journey has had a profound impact on our understanding of the evolution of life itself, through the role of the most ancient of organisms in our basic biology all the way to the revelation that our most recent ancestor, Homo neanderthalensis, lives on in many of us. In the ever more complicated world of the human genome, this is the first book to explain how the human genome actually works as a whole and how that knowledge will have a profound effect on our understanding of where we have come from and where we are likely to be going in the future.

Originally qualified as a doctor, Frank Ryan is now one of the pioneers of the role of viruses in evolution. He was recently made Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffiled, with the express purpose of developing his evolutionary concepts and helping to translate evolutionary science into medicine. He is the author of four general books, including a New York Times Non-Fiction Book of the Year (Tuberculosis: The Greatest Story Never Told).

'An enlightening account of past and present knowledge and the future possibilities of human heredity.' Kirkus Reviews Praise for Frank Ryan: 'Extremely well written... Frank Ryan has the page-turning and spine-chilling ability of a good novelist' Matt Ridley, Sunday Telegraph 'Very good at making technical matters comprehensible to the lay reader but more impressive still is the way he conveys the intellectual excitement and elation of scientific discovery' Literary Review 'Ryan takes us through the drama of discovery and challenges the notion that certain questions are too appalling to contemplate' New Scientist 'Spellbinding, intellectually adventurous, difficult to put down' Nature