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Inheritance: How Our Genes Change Our Lives—and Our Lives Change Our Genes
Award-winning physician and New York Times bestselling author Sharon Moalem, MD, PhD, reveals how genetic breakthroughs are completely transforming our understanding of both the world and our lives.
Inheritance
Conventional wisdom dictates that our genetic destiny is fixed at conception. But Dr. Moalem's groundbreaking book shows us that the human genome is far more fluid and fascinating than your ninth grade biology teacher ever imagined. By bringing us to the bedside of his unique and complex patients, he masterfully demonstrates what rare genetic conditions can teach us all about our own health and well-being.
In the brave new world we're rapidly rocketing into, genetic knowledge has become absolutely crucial. Inheritance provides an indispensable roadmap for this journey by teaching
-Why you may have recovered from the psychological trauma caused by childhood bullying-but your genes may remain scarred for life.
-How fructose is the sugar that makes fruits sweet-but if you have certain genes, consuming it can buy you a one-way trip to the coroner's office.
-Why ingesting common painkillers is like dosing yourself repeatedly with morphine-if you have a certain set of genes.
-How insurance companies legally use your genetic data to predict the risk of disability for you and your children-and how that impacts the coverage decisions they make for your family.
-How to have the single most important conversation with your doctor-one that can save your life.
And
-Why people with rare genetic conditions hold the keys to medical problems affecting millions.
In this trailblazing book, Dr. Moalem employs his wide-ranging and entertaining interdisciplinary approach to science and medicine-- explaining how art, history, superheroes, sex workers, and sports stars all help us understand the impact of our lives on our genes, and our genes on our lives. Inheritance will profoundly alter how you view your genes, your health--and your life.
Inheritance
Conventional wisdom dictates that our genetic destiny is fixed at conception. But Dr. Moalem's groundbreaking book shows us that the human genome is far more fluid and fascinating than your ninth grade biology teacher ever imagined. By bringing us to the bedside of his unique and complex patients, he masterfully demonstrates what rare genetic conditions can teach us all about our own health and well-being.
In the brave new world we're rapidly rocketing into, genetic knowledge has become absolutely crucial. Inheritance provides an indispensable roadmap for this journey by teaching
-Why you may have recovered from the psychological trauma caused by childhood bullying-but your genes may remain scarred for life.
-How fructose is the sugar that makes fruits sweet-but if you have certain genes, consuming it can buy you a one-way trip to the coroner's office.
-Why ingesting common painkillers is like dosing yourself repeatedly with morphine-if you have a certain set of genes.
-How insurance companies legally use your genetic data to predict the risk of disability for you and your children-and how that impacts the coverage decisions they make for your family.
-How to have the single most important conversation with your doctor-one that can save your life.
And
-Why people with rare genetic conditions hold the keys to medical problems affecting millions.
In this trailblazing book, Dr. Moalem employs his wide-ranging and entertaining interdisciplinary approach to science and medicine-- explaining how art, history, superheroes, sex workers, and sports stars all help us understand the impact of our lives on our genes, and our genes on our lives. Inheritance will profoundly alter how you view your genes, your health--and your life.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2014
163 people are currently reading
3226 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Moalem
17 books260 followersSharon Moalem, MD, PhD, is an award-winning physician-scientist and geneticist. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Survival of the Sickest and Inheritance, an Amazon Best Science Book of the Year, among other books. His work brings together evolution, genetics, and medicine to revolutionize how we understand and treat disease, and his clinical research led to the discovery of two new rare genetic conditions, and to his discovery of a first-in-class antibiotic which targets ‘superbug’ infections. His books have been translated into more than 35 languages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
January 27, 2016
I really wanted to like this book, but it fell short for me. The science was fascinating, what little bit of it there was in between pop culture references, anecdotes and analogies, but it seemed to be a set of sweeping statements without a lot of follow-up other than to tell us a cool story about some rare genetic disorder. It felt like a podcast that was trying to be cool rather than a book that really delivered on its premise.
I did like the discussion of Mendel and how the common dominant-recessive pattern is just not all there is to it. And the stories of rare genetic disorders were fascinating. One chapter talked about two different cases where a person inherited genes that kept them from feeling pain. Sounds great, right? But without the warnings that pain delivers, the girl he calls Gabby ended up gouging out one of her eyes and having to have the other sewn shut for a time. She gnawed her tongue to bits and chewed on her fingers as a baby and toddler, damaging them greatly. The other case was a boy in Pakistan who entertained crowds by impaling himself with swords and doing other daredevil things. He died by jumping off a building trying to impress his friends.
Very interesting: Stories about proteins gone awry, people who have Stone-Man disease, a chef who nearly killed himself after switching to a "healthier" diet of fruits and vegetables because genetically, he lacked the ability to digest fructose. But I kept waiting to get to the part where I really understood it all and didn't just have a collection of interesting genetic stories that I could pass along to my husband on our next date night, and it never got there.
I felt like a lot of stories and insights were cut short. For example, after a long explanation of right-handed and left-handed amino acids and telling us that we have more left-handed ones is a mystery that can be solved by NASA scientists, we learn that on a meteorite, the same conditions of amino acids were found. We are left hanging as to what exactly that implication means -- do scientists think that our world inherited amino acids from another world? How and when? Why would this happen? But nope, next we move on to another story, another anecdote and another rare case. The chapter that talked about gender was frustrating for the same reasons. The fact that some identify as a third gender is explored through a series of conversations he has with a male-born-now-acting-as-female prostitute in Thailand and how she can tell by body posture, Adam's apples and the like which women in the bar are actually men. Not exactly science, but interesting, I guess? And the one case study he talks about, a boy named Ethan who actually has two XX chromosomes in a rare mutation but didn't develop as a girl because of some other mutation was short on details. The genetalia of the boy were not intact as a male and he required surgury, but did he have testes? semen? A uterus? Seems like if you want to make sweeping statements about what we can learn from such a case, we ought to know a bit more about it. The discussion of gender from a scientific perspective was really limited and it felt like the author just wanted to show how progressive he was by bringing it up in the first place.
I did like the discussion of Mendel and how the common dominant-recessive pattern is just not all there is to it. And the stories of rare genetic disorders were fascinating. One chapter talked about two different cases where a person inherited genes that kept them from feeling pain. Sounds great, right? But without the warnings that pain delivers, the girl he calls Gabby ended up gouging out one of her eyes and having to have the other sewn shut for a time. She gnawed her tongue to bits and chewed on her fingers as a baby and toddler, damaging them greatly. The other case was a boy in Pakistan who entertained crowds by impaling himself with swords and doing other daredevil things. He died by jumping off a building trying to impress his friends.
Very interesting: Stories about proteins gone awry, people who have Stone-Man disease, a chef who nearly killed himself after switching to a "healthier" diet of fruits and vegetables because genetically, he lacked the ability to digest fructose. But I kept waiting to get to the part where I really understood it all and didn't just have a collection of interesting genetic stories that I could pass along to my husband on our next date night, and it never got there.
I felt like a lot of stories and insights were cut short. For example, after a long explanation of right-handed and left-handed amino acids and telling us that we have more left-handed ones is a mystery that can be solved by NASA scientists, we learn that on a meteorite, the same conditions of amino acids were found. We are left hanging as to what exactly that implication means -- do scientists think that our world inherited amino acids from another world? How and when? Why would this happen? But nope, next we move on to another story, another anecdote and another rare case. The chapter that talked about gender was frustrating for the same reasons. The fact that some identify as a third gender is explored through a series of conversations he has with a male-born-now-acting-as-female prostitute in Thailand and how she can tell by body posture, Adam's apples and the like which women in the bar are actually men. Not exactly science, but interesting, I guess? And the one case study he talks about, a boy named Ethan who actually has two XX chromosomes in a rare mutation but didn't develop as a girl because of some other mutation was short on details. The genetalia of the boy were not intact as a male and he required surgury, but did he have testes? semen? A uterus? Seems like if you want to make sweeping statements about what we can learn from such a case, we ought to know a bit more about it. The discussion of gender from a scientific perspective was really limited and it felt like the author just wanted to show how progressive he was by bringing it up in the first place.
May 16, 2016
Very quick, fun, educational, and entertaining read about the world of genetics. If you are looking for a quick explanation of epigenetic modification of genes but don't want to get too bogged down in the science, this book is for you. It's fairly light on science but heavy on information you might not be familiar with. (If you want a science heavy book on epigenetics, I suggest Nessa Carey or Eva Jablonka).
Moalem chose, what were to me, obscure cases that fascinated me to an incredible degree. At times I was bothered by the bragging nature of the author. He was really impressed with his usual abilities and talked down to the reader at times. He was far too often congratulatory. However, he wrote such a great book, that his bragging became less bothersome.
Here are some highlights:
Bees
Queen, forager, and nurse bees have the same DNA. However, queens are fed the royal jelly for longer. This changes her body shape, size, fuzziness, and ability. There is more than one would-be queen. The sisters fight it out, physically trying to destroy each other in a battle to the death. The murderous one reigns supreme.
Nurse bees take care of the larva. If nurse bees die, foragers can take their place. Researchers took away all the nurse bees while foragers were out finding food. Upon their return, the bees noticed the nurses were gone and the larva had no bees to care for them. Very quickly, the genes inside some of the foragers were tagged with epigenetic markers, and the bees morphed into different body types with different abilities, and began caring for larva in their new role and physical identity of nurse bees.
Mice and learned helplessness
Baby mice taken from their mothers were stressed for 2 week period. Other mice were not. The mice in the stressed condition grew up and failed to identify and avoid risky situations. The control mice assessed risk appropriately and avoided bad situations when possible.
Researchers put stressed mice in stressful situations. Previously stressed mice failed to fight back or employ any coping strategy. They merely gave up. Non stressed mice fought or employed strategies to cope or change their situation.
The best part of this study -- mice who gave up passed down the giving up gene expression to their offspring, even though their offspring never experienced the stress condition. These offspring transmitted giving up behaviors to their offspring and so on.
Thus, the author concluded that what the great great grandparent mice experienced was passed down to their children, grand children, great grand children, and so on-- even though their descendants had a better life than they did. And so, Moalem explained, trauma in one generation transmitted down the line. Similar phenomena have been observed in humans as well.
Bullying in twins indicated that the bullied twin released less cortisol during stressful situations later in life (I would like to know how they isolated bullying as the causal factor- not 100% buying it)
Your physical features
After reading this book, you will begin looking at yourself and everyone you know, reading their bodies in order to figure out if they have a genetic disorder. It was fun to read about the many tel tale traits that signify a problem.
Gaining weight
Teens were sent to fat camp. Based on epigenetic markers, researchers were successfully able to predict which teens would not be able to lose weight, despite following the same diet as the other teens.
This book flew by. Before I knew it, I was at the end. Extremely easy read.
Moalem chose, what were to me, obscure cases that fascinated me to an incredible degree. At times I was bothered by the bragging nature of the author. He was really impressed with his usual abilities and talked down to the reader at times. He was far too often congratulatory. However, he wrote such a great book, that his bragging became less bothersome.
Here are some highlights:
Bees
Queen, forager, and nurse bees have the same DNA. However, queens are fed the royal jelly for longer. This changes her body shape, size, fuzziness, and ability. There is more than one would-be queen. The sisters fight it out, physically trying to destroy each other in a battle to the death. The murderous one reigns supreme.
Nurse bees take care of the larva. If nurse bees die, foragers can take their place. Researchers took away all the nurse bees while foragers were out finding food. Upon their return, the bees noticed the nurses were gone and the larva had no bees to care for them. Very quickly, the genes inside some of the foragers were tagged with epigenetic markers, and the bees morphed into different body types with different abilities, and began caring for larva in their new role and physical identity of nurse bees.
Mice and learned helplessness
Baby mice taken from their mothers were stressed for 2 week period. Other mice were not. The mice in the stressed condition grew up and failed to identify and avoid risky situations. The control mice assessed risk appropriately and avoided bad situations when possible.
Researchers put stressed mice in stressful situations. Previously stressed mice failed to fight back or employ any coping strategy. They merely gave up. Non stressed mice fought or employed strategies to cope or change their situation.
The best part of this study -- mice who gave up passed down the giving up gene expression to their offspring, even though their offspring never experienced the stress condition. These offspring transmitted giving up behaviors to their offspring and so on.
Thus, the author concluded that what the great great grandparent mice experienced was passed down to their children, grand children, great grand children, and so on-- even though their descendants had a better life than they did. And so, Moalem explained, trauma in one generation transmitted down the line. Similar phenomena have been observed in humans as well.
Bullying in twins indicated that the bullied twin released less cortisol during stressful situations later in life (I would like to know how they isolated bullying as the causal factor- not 100% buying it)
Your physical features
After reading this book, you will begin looking at yourself and everyone you know, reading their bodies in order to figure out if they have a genetic disorder. It was fun to read about the many tel tale traits that signify a problem.
Gaining weight
Teens were sent to fat camp. Based on epigenetic markers, researchers were successfully able to predict which teens would not be able to lose weight, despite following the same diet as the other teens.
This book flew by. Before I knew it, I was at the end. Extremely easy read.
May 11, 2014
A breezy read on the state of genetic research today. I think the author's goal was not so much to give us lots of answers but to explain to us, "it's complicated". It depends. I relished the chance to read this in a world in which the media, in an effort to shrink everything down to digestible sound bytes, oversimplifies genetics (and so so many other things). The book is meant to be an eye-opener, and man, it works for that.
It definitely left me wanting to know more, though. It seems to skim across the surface of several topics, and there was a rhythm to the chapters, as though the author took a workshop on how to write punchy popular nonfiction and obeyed the pointers bullet-point by bullet-point.
But a book can't be all things to all people, and I'm certainly glad I took the time to read this one. It's a great introduction to how complicated cutting-edge genetic research has become, even in the last 10 years.
It definitely left me wanting to know more, though. It seems to skim across the surface of several topics, and there was a rhythm to the chapters, as though the author took a workshop on how to write punchy popular nonfiction and obeyed the pointers bullet-point by bullet-point.
But a book can't be all things to all people, and I'm certainly glad I took the time to read this one. It's a great introduction to how complicated cutting-edge genetic research has become, even in the last 10 years.
June 18, 2017
I don't have a science background, so what I needed from the author was basically for him to write "genes for dummies" but without over-simplifying the issues. What I found was an immensely readable book. It sounds strange to say this was a book that I stayed up late finishing because I didn't want to put it down, but it's true.
From my perspective, the book was pitched at the right level for me. It explained core concepts in a simple way without, in my opinion, over-simplifying. I suspect those with greater science knowledge than me may find the book a bit lacking.
There were areas I had hoped for a little more depth however. For example, give part of the title is "...and our lives change our genes", I hoped for further information in this. What was included was interesting but I would have liked more. Instead, there was quite a lot of page time given to various genetic illnesses. Whilst very interesting it wasn't exactly what I expected or hoped for.
I've only recently read 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'. When reading that I was very disturbed by how biological material was used without knowledge or consent of either Henrietta or her family. This issue was raised for me in this book, when the author spoke of DNA sequences being shared amongst scientists, albeit without identifying information. It became very frightening when it was shown that, despite the lack of identifying information, that those strands of DNA sequencing can be used to identify and find people via genealogy websites. Scary stuff.
All in all, I really enjoyed this read and think it is simple enough for those of us who are curious but don't necessary have a lot of science knowledge. I suspect it will be too basic for those with greater knowledge.
From my perspective, the book was pitched at the right level for me. It explained core concepts in a simple way without, in my opinion, over-simplifying. I suspect those with greater science knowledge than me may find the book a bit lacking.
There were areas I had hoped for a little more depth however. For example, give part of the title is "...and our lives change our genes", I hoped for further information in this. What was included was interesting but I would have liked more. Instead, there was quite a lot of page time given to various genetic illnesses. Whilst very interesting it wasn't exactly what I expected or hoped for.
I've only recently read 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'. When reading that I was very disturbed by how biological material was used without knowledge or consent of either Henrietta or her family. This issue was raised for me in this book, when the author spoke of DNA sequences being shared amongst scientists, albeit without identifying information. It became very frightening when it was shown that, despite the lack of identifying information, that those strands of DNA sequencing can be used to identify and find people via genealogy websites. Scary stuff.
All in all, I really enjoyed this read and think it is simple enough for those of us who are curious but don't necessary have a lot of science knowledge. I suspect it will be too basic for those with greater knowledge.
May 23, 2021
This book was really fun. As a popular science pick I was really happy with this as an afternoon read. As an overall work I think it was a little rambly and not well formed as a connection of specific ideas. Having said that I still rather enjoyed this.
January 13, 2022
uzun zamandır okunmak için bir köşede bekleyen kitaplardan birini daha eritmiş bulunuyorum böylelikle.
kitabın yazarı olan doktorumuz genetik bilimci aslında; bu genetik bilgisini de nadir hastalıkların teşhisinde ve tedavisinde kullanıyor. meslek hayatında karşılaştığı vaka örneklerinden yola çıkarak hazırladığı kitabı da oldukça ilgi çekici çünkü cidden, insan denilen canlı öyle ilginç bir mekanizmaya sahip ki...
açık söylemek gerekirse ben insanın meydana gelişini, anne karnındaki o geçirdiği süreci hep mucizevi bulurdum. bu kitabı okurken de bu kanaatimi daha da güçlendirdim çünkü o oluşum esnasındaki harflerle ifade edilen eşleşmelerdeki ufacık kaymaların nelere sebep olabileceğini tekrar tekrar gözler önüne sermişti doktor Moalem. diğer yandan sahip olduğumuz gen mirası, aile geçmişimizin önemi gibi mevzular bol bol gündemdeydi.
tüm bunlar beni ciddi manada paranoyak yaptı desem yalan olmaz. hatta kitabın ortalarında sırf bu yüzden yarım mı bıraksam diye oturup düşündüm ama diğer yandan da işte kahrolası merak... gizli bir hastalığın belirtisi olabilecek fiziksel küçük kusurları aramayı acilen bir kenara bırakmam lazım ☹
kitabın yazarı olan doktorumuz genetik bilimci aslında; bu genetik bilgisini de nadir hastalıkların teşhisinde ve tedavisinde kullanıyor. meslek hayatında karşılaştığı vaka örneklerinden yola çıkarak hazırladığı kitabı da oldukça ilgi çekici çünkü cidden, insan denilen canlı öyle ilginç bir mekanizmaya sahip ki...
açık söylemek gerekirse ben insanın meydana gelişini, anne karnındaki o geçirdiği süreci hep mucizevi bulurdum. bu kitabı okurken de bu kanaatimi daha da güçlendirdim çünkü o oluşum esnasındaki harflerle ifade edilen eşleşmelerdeki ufacık kaymaların nelere sebep olabileceğini tekrar tekrar gözler önüne sermişti doktor Moalem. diğer yandan sahip olduğumuz gen mirası, aile geçmişimizin önemi gibi mevzular bol bol gündemdeydi.
tüm bunlar beni ciddi manada paranoyak yaptı desem yalan olmaz. hatta kitabın ortalarında sırf bu yüzden yarım mı bıraksam diye oturup düşündüm ama diğer yandan da işte kahrolası merak... gizli bir hastalığın belirtisi olabilecek fiziksel küçük kusurları aramayı acilen bir kenara bırakmam lazım ☹
June 15, 2021
3.5 bintang.
June 7, 2014
Fascinating. What was once believed to be a static thing - your DNA - that is inherited in mathematically determined ways from mom and dad, is in dinky more complex than we have all learned in middl school, high school, and even college. Everything, literally everything, can affect the expression of your DNA. In good ways and in bad.
There is a lot going on in this book and it can get heavy at times. I suspect for someone with a less academic interest in genetics than me it would be very hard to read in places. But it is still worth the attempt. If only to hear about the hundreds of rare genetic diseases that are out there. If you forget how rare they are though, I can see this becoming a real downer of a read. And fast.
It is well written, heavily researched and annotated, and full of cool information. Everything a good science book should be.
There is a lot going on in this book and it can get heavy at times. I suspect for someone with a less academic interest in genetics than me it would be very hard to read in places. But it is still worth the attempt. If only to hear about the hundreds of rare genetic diseases that are out there. If you forget how rare they are though, I can see this becoming a real downer of a read. And fast.
It is well written, heavily researched and annotated, and full of cool information. Everything a good science book should be.
April 19, 2014
Easy read on genetics - superficial look at the impact of genes on our lives and how environment and history can change our genes. Mainly focuses on genetic disorders.
August 9, 2021
Even though I read this book for school, I actually really enjoyed it!! I thought that the way that it was written stayed interesting. Often the facts had me saying "WHOOAAA!" (literally). I liked learning about the patients Dr. Moalem worked with. Plus epigenetics are so cool - who knew!? Learning more about Mendel, Queen Bees, submarines' SONAR, and more made this read really fun.
I really enjoyed this book and I'd recommend it for an interesting, informative, mind-blowing read.
I really enjoyed this book and I'd recommend it for an interesting, informative, mind-blowing read.
June 2, 2018
Great read for anyone without a science background but interested in genomics and epigenetics.
June 16, 2014
Since I recently had my DNA done (by Ancestry and 23 & me)...I was pretty fascinated by this book. There's WAY more than Mendel's peas here! It's very readable, although I admit to skimming the last few chapters since I had a library copy and had to return it. Chapter titles were enticing: Chp 2 - When Genes Misbehave (What Apple, Costo, and a Danish Sperm Donor Teach Us about Genetic Expression) or Chp 10- Mail-Order Child (The Unintended Consequences of Submarines, Sonar, and Duplicated Genes)
This quote from the book is the thesis: (p 35)
We are now awakening to a new understanding of our genetic selves and even our evolutionary lineage. Far from being enslaved to a destiny encoded within our DNA, like an obsolete iPod eternally stuck on a requiem, we are learning that there is considerable flexibility within all of us. An inborn ability to change tunes, play our music differently, and, in doing so, overcome some of our previous understanding of our somewhat binary Mendelian genetic destiny.
The author, entertainingly, includes interesting info on how we change our own DNA through nutrition, life experiences, environmental exposures, etc., that are then passed down to succeeding generations. And I was left in awe at the miracle of life that is expressed with such complexity in each of us.
This quote from the book is the thesis: (p 35)
We are now awakening to a new understanding of our genetic selves and even our evolutionary lineage. Far from being enslaved to a destiny encoded within our DNA, like an obsolete iPod eternally stuck on a requiem, we are learning that there is considerable flexibility within all of us. An inborn ability to change tunes, play our music differently, and, in doing so, overcome some of our previous understanding of our somewhat binary Mendelian genetic destiny.
The author, entertainingly, includes interesting info on how we change our own DNA through nutrition, life experiences, environmental exposures, etc., that are then passed down to succeeding generations. And I was left in awe at the miracle of life that is expressed with such complexity in each of us.
December 8, 2016
Easy to read, describe a broad range of medical cases. However, I wish it could provide a greater depth in analysis and on how connecting gen mutations to diseases, and new medications. It would be interesting to compare this book with Groopman's How Doctors Think, in which readers get to know how doctors diagnose diseases given misleading and baffling symptoms, a critical thinking process. In this book, I am seeing a lot of facts, leading us for a better understanding of our gen and to improve our lives. That is good and it is value of the book. To Know what you only need memory; to know how requires an additional level of skills. That is difference separating this book and How Doctors Think. Later chapters of this book mention about some rare genetic diseases help us understand how our gen works, and developing new cures for other diseases unexpectedly. I think it is a very interesting topic, and author could use with more pages, or may expand it to a new book, in which we could find more valuables - creative thinking processes.
August 23, 2014
It's incredibly depressing that genetic sequencing will remain a fairytale for the majority of people on our planet. Having a diet and health care based on your genes is futuristic for most, but if you have the money, all of this is not only possible but essential. The gap widens and widens...makes you wonder what the point is.
I suppose this book is written for the US market; so the chit chatty style could be annoying.
There are many sad examples of when your genes go wrong, but also the benefit of that to further study. How imperfection will lead to perfection and cures for our current diseases.
Don't read this if you are pregnant, but also don't forget to take you folic acid and eat all you leafy greens!
I suppose this book is written for the US market; so the chit chatty style could be annoying.
There are many sad examples of when your genes go wrong, but also the benefit of that to further study. How imperfection will lead to perfection and cures for our current diseases.
Don't read this if you are pregnant, but also don't forget to take you folic acid and eat all you leafy greens!
March 31, 2014
Lamarck was right! Non-mendelian inheritance exists!
Inheritance by Sharon Moalem is three books in one: 1) A memoir of a medical geneticist specializing in rare diseases, 2) An infomercial for genetic testing, and, finally, 3) A resurrection of Lamarck and Lysenko.
For the case histories alone, this is a fascinating read, along with be a persuasive reminder of both the power and limitations of genetics.
For more see: http://bit.ly/O9quwV
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway on March 15, 2014. I received the book ob March 25, 2014.
Inheritance by Sharon Moalem is three books in one: 1) A memoir of a medical geneticist specializing in rare diseases, 2) An infomercial for genetic testing, and, finally, 3) A resurrection of Lamarck and Lysenko.
For the case histories alone, this is a fascinating read, along with be a persuasive reminder of both the power and limitations of genetics.
For more see: http://bit.ly/O9quwV
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway on March 15, 2014. I received the book ob March 25, 2014.
February 7, 2019
More of a rambling monologue about examples of patients and random facts that the author finds to be interesting than a book a science.
I felt like I was listening to my dad go on about random things he read about than actually reading an informative book on genetics.
I felt like I was listening to my dad go on about random things he read about than actually reading an informative book on genetics.
October 19, 2018
While not as good "survival of the sickest," this book does have great stories to show how our genes are affected by our lives. The mechanics of gene expression are made really clear in this readable book.
March 30, 2019
This book is an interesting outlook on how our genes are so fundamental to everything in our life. Genes are powerful indicators of every aspect of who we are, how do we look, how do we behave, what diseases do we get, what personality traits do we have, and how do we feel. But the incredible thing about genes, is that you can change and adapt them. I believe this is the most important fact you can get from this book.
July 5, 2014
Excellent, excellent must read for everyone, practitioners and lay persons alike. Entertaining and informative, easy to understand even for those that do not have a degree in a science or health related field. Fascinating look at epigenetics and gene expression, how everyday life events change our genes. It is becoming more apparent that nurture is having a greater impact on our genes than nature and these changes are inherited. Your DNA is constantly being modified and these switches are turning on and off all in response to what you are seeing, doing, feeling, experiencing and being exposed to.
Bullied as a child? The stress actually causes epigenetic changes that you can pass on to your child.
They can inherit your trauma. Think about that for a moment.
Think that the field of medicine is one size fits all? How about pharmaceuticals? That line of thinking can endanger your life. All practitioners should now be required to take continuing education in and understand pharmacogenetics. Many people have small genetic mutations that impact how certain medications are metabolized in their body and testing for these mutations should be mandatory prior to your doctor prescribing. Some of the medications effected by your specific genetic mutations are coumadin, codeine, valium, nexium, lopressor, certain chemo agents, prilosec, paxil, dilantin, propranolol, risperidone and tamoxifen. You can either wind up with a toxic level of medication or a non therapeutic dose, either scenario is dangerous.
As the author states in his conclusion:
"Through it all, we saw how our genetic inheritance can change and be changed by what we experience.
We know that in our lives-as it is for all life on this planet-flexibility is the key. And rigidity, as we've learned, can be the surprising enemy of strength."
"As we're discovering, our genetic strength isn't just a matter of receiving the genes handed down to us from previous generations. It's derived from the opportunity to transform what we get and what we give. And in doing so completely change the course of our lives."
Bullied as a child? The stress actually causes epigenetic changes that you can pass on to your child.
They can inherit your trauma. Think about that for a moment.
Think that the field of medicine is one size fits all? How about pharmaceuticals? That line of thinking can endanger your life. All practitioners should now be required to take continuing education in and understand pharmacogenetics. Many people have small genetic mutations that impact how certain medications are metabolized in their body and testing for these mutations should be mandatory prior to your doctor prescribing. Some of the medications effected by your specific genetic mutations are coumadin, codeine, valium, nexium, lopressor, certain chemo agents, prilosec, paxil, dilantin, propranolol, risperidone and tamoxifen. You can either wind up with a toxic level of medication or a non therapeutic dose, either scenario is dangerous.
As the author states in his conclusion:
"Through it all, we saw how our genetic inheritance can change and be changed by what we experience.
We know that in our lives-as it is for all life on this planet-flexibility is the key. And rigidity, as we've learned, can be the surprising enemy of strength."
"As we're discovering, our genetic strength isn't just a matter of receiving the genes handed down to us from previous generations. It's derived from the opportunity to transform what we get and what we give. And in doing so completely change the course of our lives."
April 17, 2014
Dr. Moalem has a deliberately folksy, daytime talk show writing style that’s, on the one hand, a little too Dr. Phil for my taste (“I’m going to do for you what I did for Jeff. I’m going to give you an examination.”) but on the other hand makes difficult scientific concepts easy for a lay audience to understand. His basic thesis is this: Your genes are NOT your destiny. You have the ability to turn on and off certain genes through your own behavior, and this turning on and off (“genetic expression”) makes a big difference in who you are. The DNA of your genes themselves can also change overtime, in ways both good and bad. Think of exposure to the sun or secondhand tobacco smoke.
At the end of the day, despite all the cutting edge breakthroughs in genetic research, Dr. Moalem’s prescriptions are essentially common sensical: eat right and exercise. The big gaping difference is he also strongly recommends that readers get their genes sequenced. But do it anonymously! So that insurers and corporations can’t use your genetic information for malicious purposes. Evidently Congress passed an “anti-Gattaca” law but it has glaring loopholes. The point of the sequencing is to contemplate a diet and exercise regime that’s right for you. For instance, if you are one of the few who have fructose intolerance, then a diet of fruits and vegetables, far from being healthy, can actually kill you.
What I came away from, somewhat frustratingly, is that genetic sequencing still has a long way to go before it becomes a practical reality for most people. What Moalem also doesn’t mention is how difficult and often unreliable today’s commercially available gene sequencing can be. And fortunately most of us don’t suffer from genetic disorders. But it does seem clear we are headed in the direction of this brave new world. In the meantime, it might be useful to start contemplating the difficult moral and ethical questions that will inevitably come along the way.
At the end of the day, despite all the cutting edge breakthroughs in genetic research, Dr. Moalem’s prescriptions are essentially common sensical: eat right and exercise. The big gaping difference is he also strongly recommends that readers get their genes sequenced. But do it anonymously! So that insurers and corporations can’t use your genetic information for malicious purposes. Evidently Congress passed an “anti-Gattaca” law but it has glaring loopholes. The point of the sequencing is to contemplate a diet and exercise regime that’s right for you. For instance, if you are one of the few who have fructose intolerance, then a diet of fruits and vegetables, far from being healthy, can actually kill you.
What I came away from, somewhat frustratingly, is that genetic sequencing still has a long way to go before it becomes a practical reality for most people. What Moalem also doesn’t mention is how difficult and often unreliable today’s commercially available gene sequencing can be. And fortunately most of us don’t suffer from genetic disorders. But it does seem clear we are headed in the direction of this brave new world. In the meantime, it might be useful to start contemplating the difficult moral and ethical questions that will inevitably come along the way.
April 6, 2015
I'm pretty much penalising this book for not being the book I wanted it to be, which, of course, may not be at all fair. What I wanted was a book that explained the mechanics of epigenetics - how the body stores information and remembers functions that exist outside of our DNA. What I got was a book about the wonders of genetic diseases and the huge variety of how our bodies react to them.
Moalem writes with an engaging, storytelling style, heavy on the anecdote, displaying a keen interest in and affection for people, with just a small dose of conceit to remind you that he's an elite doctor. But it is his field, not himself, that the book is designed to show off - a little like those science specials in current affairs programs, that give you just a taste of this exciting world, strengthening belief that all. is. well. with. medicine. And like those shows, by the latter half of the book it starts to feel as if you are being more reassured than informed - the purpose is to keep you happy and impressed, not to give the reader information to make up my own mind. But I can be a grumpy sod of a reader and YMMV.
Moalem does explain concepts that back up his work - the ides of how gene expression works - but there's just very little on the mechanics. Where he does brush over it - the differences in enzyme production for example, it is frustratingly brief for those of us with no background. In the end, while I enjoyed the read well enough, and a couple of the stories will stick with me, I'm still on the hunt for something that will help me understand epigenetics to an even cursory level.
Moalem writes with an engaging, storytelling style, heavy on the anecdote, displaying a keen interest in and affection for people, with just a small dose of conceit to remind you that he's an elite doctor. But it is his field, not himself, that the book is designed to show off - a little like those science specials in current affairs programs, that give you just a taste of this exciting world, strengthening belief that all. is. well. with. medicine. And like those shows, by the latter half of the book it starts to feel as if you are being more reassured than informed - the purpose is to keep you happy and impressed, not to give the reader information to make up my own mind. But I can be a grumpy sod of a reader and YMMV.
Moalem does explain concepts that back up his work - the ides of how gene expression works - but there's just very little on the mechanics. Where he does brush over it - the differences in enzyme production for example, it is frustratingly brief for those of us with no background. In the end, while I enjoyed the read well enough, and a couple of the stories will stick with me, I'm still on the hunt for something that will help me understand epigenetics to an even cursory level.
April 15, 2015
A generation ago, revered genetic dogma intoned that there’s no such thing as the inheritance of acquired characteristics—what happens to you during your life will not be passed on to the genome of your unborn children. Whew, that’s a relief. Like most simple, comforting, even enlightening scientific explanations—Newtonian physics, for example—this one turns out not to be quite so simple after all.
This book is not about just genetics, but also epigenetics: the science of how, when, and even if a gene will express itself in an individual. Unlike your genome, your epigenetic profile can be altered by the processes of living, and the changes can be passed on to your children and influence how the genome expresses itself. Not even identical twins are genetically identical anymore.
Moalem’s depth and breadth of research, knowledge, and clinical experience is impressive. His approach to the subject in this book, however, is more anecdotal than expository. He makes genetics and epigenetics vivid through a hopscotch series of case histories, but at the end, I didn’t feel I had absorbed much systematic knowledge about epigenetics. Of course, it’s possible that the subject is still too young to have amassed much of it. But even so, it seemed too much space went to details of the examples and not enough to mechanisms, theories, and so on.
The writing is clear, lively, and easy to follow. The book is a terrific intro to epigenetics but may be disappointing for those who want as much hard science as is available.
This book is not about just genetics, but also epigenetics: the science of how, when, and even if a gene will express itself in an individual. Unlike your genome, your epigenetic profile can be altered by the processes of living, and the changes can be passed on to your children and influence how the genome expresses itself. Not even identical twins are genetically identical anymore.
Moalem’s depth and breadth of research, knowledge, and clinical experience is impressive. His approach to the subject in this book, however, is more anecdotal than expository. He makes genetics and epigenetics vivid through a hopscotch series of case histories, but at the end, I didn’t feel I had absorbed much systematic knowledge about epigenetics. Of course, it’s possible that the subject is still too young to have amassed much of it. But even so, it seemed too much space went to details of the examples and not enough to mechanisms, theories, and so on.
The writing is clear, lively, and easy to follow. The book is a terrific intro to epigenetics but may be disappointing for those who want as much hard science as is available.
March 31, 2014
Inheritance: How Our Genes Change Our Lives--and Our Lives Change Our Genes provides a glimpse into the fascinating world of epigenetics, the study of how genes are activated or inactivated due to environmental changes. The majority of the book focuses on discoveries that have changed the way science handles conventional approaches to genetics (e.g. think Punnett squares for Mendel's pea plants) and how these discoveries present new dilemmas in pharmacology, nutrition and ethics.
Dr. Moalem proposes that everyday factors from the things we eat to the people we encounter in childhood can impact the expression of our genes. You'll be entertained by quirky anecdotes such as when Dr. Moalem uses the facial features of a dinner party's hostess to diagnose her with Noonan syndrome. You'll also be surprised by case studies of rare genetic anomalies. In one chapter, he describes a child who is genetically female (XX) but presents with male genitalia because of extra copies of a gene.
Genetic disorders provide glimpses into the way our bodies behave at a cellular level. As Dr. Moalem emphasizes many times throughout the book, we rarely stop to ponder the factors involved in how our bodies function until something goes awry. Overall, I found the book to be an enjoyable read with easy-to-understand analogies and illustrations (perfect for people with or without a science background).
Dr. Moalem proposes that everyday factors from the things we eat to the people we encounter in childhood can impact the expression of our genes. You'll be entertained by quirky anecdotes such as when Dr. Moalem uses the facial features of a dinner party's hostess to diagnose her with Noonan syndrome. You'll also be surprised by case studies of rare genetic anomalies. In one chapter, he describes a child who is genetically female (XX) but presents with male genitalia because of extra copies of a gene.
Genetic disorders provide glimpses into the way our bodies behave at a cellular level. As Dr. Moalem emphasizes many times throughout the book, we rarely stop to ponder the factors involved in how our bodies function until something goes awry. Overall, I found the book to be an enjoyable read with easy-to-understand analogies and illustrations (perfect for people with or without a science background).
May 23, 2014
What to call a book that both strengthens and knocks down some huge assumptions about life?
Playing the role of historian and epigeneticist, Dr. Moalem explores the wonderfully complex interaction of our genes and the environment around (and within!) us. He takes a position that seems to go against all you've learned about genetics in the past. Making suggestions that, at first, seem to share a lineage to the bad science of Phrenology, Dr. Moalem changes the expectations and prejudice we have towards things like "the right diet" "the right medicine" and "the right lifestyle".
Learning how your genes influence you, and how you influence your genes becomes more than an academic endeavor as you work through this book. Dr. Moalem paints an exciting picture of this quickly growing area of study, constantly relating it real world examples that matter and you can relate to.
Best yet, this book reads like war journalism. Dr. Moalem isn't looking at this subject as an outsider and reporting on what he sees. Dr. Moalem is actually one of the principle insiders, almost like if General Patton ran a blog.
I call this book, 5 stars. General Moalem managed to take an emerging scientific field and make it readable by the masses without seemingly losing a single bit of clarity. How you use the information in this book will vary as much and your genes and environment, but I can say with certainty, you will use the information in this book in some way.
Playing the role of historian and epigeneticist, Dr. Moalem explores the wonderfully complex interaction of our genes and the environment around (and within!) us. He takes a position that seems to go against all you've learned about genetics in the past. Making suggestions that, at first, seem to share a lineage to the bad science of Phrenology, Dr. Moalem changes the expectations and prejudice we have towards things like "the right diet" "the right medicine" and "the right lifestyle".
Learning how your genes influence you, and how you influence your genes becomes more than an academic endeavor as you work through this book. Dr. Moalem paints an exciting picture of this quickly growing area of study, constantly relating it real world examples that matter and you can relate to.
Best yet, this book reads like war journalism. Dr. Moalem isn't looking at this subject as an outsider and reporting on what he sees. Dr. Moalem is actually one of the principle insiders, almost like if General Patton ran a blog.
I call this book, 5 stars. General Moalem managed to take an emerging scientific field and make it readable by the masses without seemingly losing a single bit of clarity. How you use the information in this book will vary as much and your genes and environment, but I can say with certainty, you will use the information in this book in some way.
October 29, 2015
i've read turkish version.. a perfect book for understanding of the genome, epigenome, rare diseases and their contributions to our knowledge... turkcesi "genler unutmaz" gercekten harika bir kitap, harika sekilde yazilmis ve tercume edilmis... bir klinik genetikci olan yazarin kendi hastalarindan yola cikarak anlattigi anektodlarla bezenmis muhtesem bir bilimsel yolculuk.. okunmasi kolay, tibbi jargonu cok karisik degil.. genom ve epigenomun ne oldugunu merak eden herkese oneririm... herseyin hem genom oldugunu hem de olmadigini ve cevresel faktorlerin neleri degistirebildigini cok guzel orneklerle anlatiyot.. hem de cok mutevazi bir sekilde.. cok sey biliyoruz ama cok daha fazlasini da bilmiyoruz... bilimsel kitaplari seviyorsaniz muhakkak okuyun
April 20, 2018
because of the topic, there was definitely some jargon introduced, but overall, I think the author did a marvelous job on introducing epigenetics to people (non-medical/scientific) quite well in a friendly manner
December 20, 2021
this was literally so good I ❤️ Sharon 💅
January 8, 2018
page 2 | location 23-30 | Added on Monday, 5 October 2015 22:47:35
Ever since Gregor Mendel’s mid-nineteenth-century* investigations into the inherited traits of pea plants were used to set the foundations for our understanding of genetics, we’ve been taught that who we are is a resolutely predictable matter of the genes we’ve inherited from previous generations. A little from Mom. A little from Dad. Whip it up, and there’s you. That calcified view of genetic inheritance is what students in middle school classrooms are still studying to this day when they map out pedigree charts in an effort to make sense of their fellow students’ eye color, curly hair, tongue rolling, or hairy fingers. And the lesson, delivered as though on stone tablets from Mendel himself, is that we don’t have much of a choice in the matter of what we get or what we give, because our genetic legacy was completely fixed when our parents conceived us. But that’s all wrong.
page 4 | location 47-50 | Added on Monday, 5 October 2015 22:50:12
War, peace, feast, famine, diaspora, disease—if our ancestors went through it and survived, we’ve inherited it. And once we’ve got it, we’re that much more likely to pass it on to the next generation in one way or another. That might mean cancer. It might mean Alzheimer’s disease. It might mean obesity. But it might also mean longevity. It might mean grace under fire. And it might just mean happiness itself.
page 34 | location 512-516 | Added on Tuesday, 6 October 2015 22:48:23
All of which prompts us to ask, why the difference in expression? Because our genes do not respond to our lives in a binary fashion. As we will come to learn, and contrary to Mendel’s findings, even if our inherited genes seem set in stone, the way they express themselves can be anything but. Whereas our inheritance may have been initially understood through a black-and-white Mendelian lens, today we’re starting to understand the power of seeing things in full and genetically expressive color.
page 223 | location 3415-3417 | Added on Wednesday, 7 October 2015 21:52:58
Doucleff (2012, Feb. 11). Anatomy of a tear-jerker: Why does Adele’s “Someone Like You” make everyone cry? Science has found the formula. The Wall Street Journal.
page 40 | location 603-607 | Added on Wednesday, 7 October 2015 21:56:16
But there is plenty of room for improvisation built into our lives. Timing. Timbre. Tone. Volume. Dynamics. Through tiny chemical processes, your body is using each gene you carry like a musician uses an instrument. It can be played loudly or softly. It can be played quickly or slowly. And it can even be played in different ways, as needed, in much the way that the incomparable Yo-Yo Ma can make his 1712 Stradivarius cello play everything from Brahms to bluegrass. That’s genetic expression.
page 132 | location 2013-2017 | Added on Thursday, 15 October 2015 23:08:46
To understand ciliopathies, it’s important to understand cilia and the genetics that are behind them. And to do that, first you must know that cilia are everywhere—and I mean absolutely everywhere. While you might never have heard of them, they’ve been looking out for you and your well-being since before you were born. Like a modified form of touch, some of your cells even use cilia to physically sense their way around their microscopic world. However, there are other compelling examples of the importance of using touch to make sense of the world around us.
page 205 | location 3138-3142 | Added on Wednesday, 21 October 2015 22:55:02
A good way to visualize this is to picture a football stadium in which almost everyone is wearing a white shirt, save for every single person in every tenth row—those people are all wearing red. Look around the stadium. What do you see? A sea of red. Now imagine that everyone wearing a red shirt is also holding an envelope. And imagine that in every envelope there is a piece of paper with a sentence on it. And imagine that all of those sentences, put together, tell a story about everyone else in the stadium. That’s how genetic research into rare diseases works.
Ever since Gregor Mendel’s mid-nineteenth-century* investigations into the inherited traits of pea plants were used to set the foundations for our understanding of genetics, we’ve been taught that who we are is a resolutely predictable matter of the genes we’ve inherited from previous generations. A little from Mom. A little from Dad. Whip it up, and there’s you. That calcified view of genetic inheritance is what students in middle school classrooms are still studying to this day when they map out pedigree charts in an effort to make sense of their fellow students’ eye color, curly hair, tongue rolling, or hairy fingers. And the lesson, delivered as though on stone tablets from Mendel himself, is that we don’t have much of a choice in the matter of what we get or what we give, because our genetic legacy was completely fixed when our parents conceived us. But that’s all wrong.
page 4 | location 47-50 | Added on Monday, 5 October 2015 22:50:12
War, peace, feast, famine, diaspora, disease—if our ancestors went through it and survived, we’ve inherited it. And once we’ve got it, we’re that much more likely to pass it on to the next generation in one way or another. That might mean cancer. It might mean Alzheimer’s disease. It might mean obesity. But it might also mean longevity. It might mean grace under fire. And it might just mean happiness itself.
page 34 | location 512-516 | Added on Tuesday, 6 October 2015 22:48:23
All of which prompts us to ask, why the difference in expression? Because our genes do not respond to our lives in a binary fashion. As we will come to learn, and contrary to Mendel’s findings, even if our inherited genes seem set in stone, the way they express themselves can be anything but. Whereas our inheritance may have been initially understood through a black-and-white Mendelian lens, today we’re starting to understand the power of seeing things in full and genetically expressive color.
page 223 | location 3415-3417 | Added on Wednesday, 7 October 2015 21:52:58
Doucleff (2012, Feb. 11). Anatomy of a tear-jerker: Why does Adele’s “Someone Like You” make everyone cry? Science has found the formula. The Wall Street Journal.
page 40 | location 603-607 | Added on Wednesday, 7 October 2015 21:56:16
But there is plenty of room for improvisation built into our lives. Timing. Timbre. Tone. Volume. Dynamics. Through tiny chemical processes, your body is using each gene you carry like a musician uses an instrument. It can be played loudly or softly. It can be played quickly or slowly. And it can even be played in different ways, as needed, in much the way that the incomparable Yo-Yo Ma can make his 1712 Stradivarius cello play everything from Brahms to bluegrass. That’s genetic expression.
page 132 | location 2013-2017 | Added on Thursday, 15 October 2015 23:08:46
To understand ciliopathies, it’s important to understand cilia and the genetics that are behind them. And to do that, first you must know that cilia are everywhere—and I mean absolutely everywhere. While you might never have heard of them, they’ve been looking out for you and your well-being since before you were born. Like a modified form of touch, some of your cells even use cilia to physically sense their way around their microscopic world. However, there are other compelling examples of the importance of using touch to make sense of the world around us.
page 205 | location 3138-3142 | Added on Wednesday, 21 October 2015 22:55:02
A good way to visualize this is to picture a football stadium in which almost everyone is wearing a white shirt, save for every single person in every tenth row—those people are all wearing red. Look around the stadium. What do you see? A sea of red. Now imagine that everyone wearing a red shirt is also holding an envelope. And imagine that in every envelope there is a piece of paper with a sentence on it. And imagine that all of those sentences, put together, tell a story about everyone else in the stadium. That’s how genetic research into rare diseases works.
February 28, 2019
Not a great book. From the cover copy to the first few chapters, the writing is reminiscent of a self-help book: "You think your genes are your destiny, but we're finding out that a genome is more flexible than we ever could have guessed. You can overcome your genes. Here's how." (Spoilers: he doesn't tell you how.) Along with some case studies/patient anecdotes that give an air of self-promotion (establishing the author as an expert), and some overdramatization that is misleading if not irresponsible* (every time you fly your DNA is damaged!), and I think this book is one to avoid.
But there are some interesting bits, interspersed, so I'll spare you the trouble and list the high points:
--Your genome isn't static. Genes are constantly turning on or off in response to your environment, what you eat, if you're under stress, etc. Some terms for this are "gene expression," and "regulation," and "epigenetics."
--Some of these changes take place early in development (in the womb, during childhood) and thus make even identical twins not so identical.
--Some of these changes are permanent switches for a person's lifetime. The flasihiest example is that in persons with two X chromosomes, normally, one whole X chromosomes is shut off early in development, such that every cell has just one X that's doing anything.
--A very few of these "epigenetic" changes _may_ even be inheritable across generations!
--Everyone is different. "The human genome" is an average and doesn't actually represent any given individual.
--As a result, although _most_ people react predictably to _most_ things (e.g., fruit is good for you), some people will have genetic differences that flip the script (e.g., someone with an altered gene preventing them from breaking down fructose will suffer from eating sweet fruits).
--We're entering an era of personalized medicine, but we have a long way to go. We've just touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we know relates to what, in genetic terms. The systems are complex and so far, we mostly know only about single-gene effects. Long story short: it's complicated.
--Vitamin supplements can be fine, but they can also be useless. Besides genetic factors that might affect your personal ability to take advantage of the vitamin, we don't know as much as we'd like about what co-factors the body needs to most effectively use the vitamin. Nature (in the form of foods) does a better job providing the nutrients we need, in conjunction with each other.
--Getting your genome sequenced is a possibility now, and the info could help you in many ways. But you will also discover the "bad," and how you react to that is important. Is it better not to know, or to know and make lifestyle adjustments? Sometimes, there is no adjustment to be made, and your only solace is to not be blindsided by (say) Huntington's Disease.
--At time of writing, there are some protections related to discrimination on the basis of genetic information, but life insurance and disability insurance are not included in those protections. Just another factor to account for when deciding if you want to take any non-anonymous genetic tests.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now you don't need to read the book! The science is interesting--it's just scattered and presented poorly in this particular work. If you're into this sort of stuff, instead I recommend Genome: An Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley. Much more entertaining, much more informative, and just as approachable (if not more!). Longer, though---but you can skip around.
*As a one-time grad student in genetics, I can assert with authority that some of the author's statements are oversimplified but presented in a way that leads the reader to assume they are clear-cut. Science that is still very much in development is stated as settled fact; extreme edge cases are given as if they are the everyday norm. I consider this to be irresponsible writing.
But there are some interesting bits, interspersed, so I'll spare you the trouble and list the high points:
--Your genome isn't static. Genes are constantly turning on or off in response to your environment, what you eat, if you're under stress, etc. Some terms for this are "gene expression," and "regulation," and "epigenetics."
--Some of these changes take place early in development (in the womb, during childhood) and thus make even identical twins not so identical.
--Some of these changes are permanent switches for a person's lifetime. The flasihiest example is that in persons with two X chromosomes, normally, one whole X chromosomes is shut off early in development, such that every cell has just one X that's doing anything.
--A very few of these "epigenetic" changes _may_ even be inheritable across generations!
--Everyone is different. "The human genome" is an average and doesn't actually represent any given individual.
--As a result, although _most_ people react predictably to _most_ things (e.g., fruit is good for you), some people will have genetic differences that flip the script (e.g., someone with an altered gene preventing them from breaking down fructose will suffer from eating sweet fruits).
--We're entering an era of personalized medicine, but we have a long way to go. We've just touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we know relates to what, in genetic terms. The systems are complex and so far, we mostly know only about single-gene effects. Long story short: it's complicated.
--Vitamin supplements can be fine, but they can also be useless. Besides genetic factors that might affect your personal ability to take advantage of the vitamin, we don't know as much as we'd like about what co-factors the body needs to most effectively use the vitamin. Nature (in the form of foods) does a better job providing the nutrients we need, in conjunction with each other.
--Getting your genome sequenced is a possibility now, and the info could help you in many ways. But you will also discover the "bad," and how you react to that is important. Is it better not to know, or to know and make lifestyle adjustments? Sometimes, there is no adjustment to be made, and your only solace is to not be blindsided by (say) Huntington's Disease.
--At time of writing, there are some protections related to discrimination on the basis of genetic information, but life insurance and disability insurance are not included in those protections. Just another factor to account for when deciding if you want to take any non-anonymous genetic tests.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now you don't need to read the book! The science is interesting--it's just scattered and presented poorly in this particular work. If you're into this sort of stuff, instead I recommend Genome: An Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley. Much more entertaining, much more informative, and just as approachable (if not more!). Longer, though---but you can skip around.
*As a one-time grad student in genetics, I can assert with authority that some of the author's statements are oversimplified but presented in a way that leads the reader to assume they are clear-cut. Science that is still very much in development is stated as settled fact; extreme edge cases are given as if they are the everyday norm. I consider this to be irresponsible writing.
May 18, 2024
The forward made me feel like I was about to read a book written by a snake oil salesman. Not excited.
The rest of the book up until the second to last chapter was SUPER interesting, but ALL over the place. If a book could have ADHD, that's would this book would have. It kept things moving and engaging, but sometimes I'd be like, "why did I just read about a submarine explosion and then a baseball player?" and usually those questions would lead to answers about DNA somehow, but sometimes it took a while to get there and it was in a very indirect way.
The chapter about deciding what sex a baby is was strange. It didn't go along or support the modern trans movement in any way, but it somehow still indicated that there are people who are neither male nor female because their genomes didn't fall perfectly with the XX =female and XY = male. The only genetic evidence he gave (besides saying that genetic abnormalities happen and the genitalia gets less obvious sometimes) is the example of one boy who had an X chromosome but absolutely no Y chromosome. This boy turned out to look like a boy (because there is a portion on the X chromosome that is similar to a portion on the Y chromosome - but it is usually "turned off," and this boy happened to have two of that particular gene so that gene actually turned on whereas in the other few kids who've had this problem didn't have that gene on the X turned on), whereas other children (so very few) who have this happen to them turn out to be girls. The point was trying to make is that in our development, things have to happen in a certain way to have the genes play out a certain way, and sometimes if the genes are incomplete (missing, or repetitive) and the environmental situation is abnormal enough to affect things, the normal process of things gets interrupted and things happen that doctors can't really explain yet. This was not convincing to me that there was an actual third gender or sex besides male and female, but it does point out genetic abnormalities happen even with our sex chromosomes. For instance, I knew a boy in high school who was XXY - he had the Y, he was obviously a boy. I'm guessing this topic was WAY less political and dangerous when he wrote this book - although it's not that old of a book - so when he wrote it, I'm sure he wasn't living in the contentious cultural climate around gender that we live in now, so it just felt... different. Like I said, he didn't actually align with the current pro trans movement, but he argued for the acceptance of a third gender in a different way.
Then in the last chapter, he praised himself for being so smart that he came up with a new antibiotic because of things he had learned studying rare genetic disorders. This is really cool! But it felt a little bit like the snake oil salesman was coming out again. It wasn't out or order or out of place, but it felt a little too self congratulatory. Honestly, if it was me, I probably would have done the exact same thing, or more!
Overall, interesting book. Depending on your views about gender and sexual identity, you may enjoy that one chapter more or less. If you are giving this book to your teens to read, you'd definitely want to talk to them about what he is ACTUALLY saying vs what the current cultural trends are arguing since they are not the same thing and the distinction, I think, is important.
The rest of the book up until the second to last chapter was SUPER interesting, but ALL over the place. If a book could have ADHD, that's would this book would have. It kept things moving and engaging, but sometimes I'd be like, "why did I just read about a submarine explosion and then a baseball player?" and usually those questions would lead to answers about DNA somehow, but sometimes it took a while to get there and it was in a very indirect way.
The chapter about deciding what sex a baby is was strange. It didn't go along or support the modern trans movement in any way, but it somehow still indicated that there are people who are neither male nor female because their genomes didn't fall perfectly with the XX =female and XY = male. The only genetic evidence he gave (besides saying that genetic abnormalities happen and the genitalia gets less obvious sometimes) is the example of one boy who had an X chromosome but absolutely no Y chromosome. This boy turned out to look like a boy (because there is a portion on the X chromosome that is similar to a portion on the Y chromosome - but it is usually "turned off," and this boy happened to have two of that particular gene so that gene actually turned on whereas in the other few kids who've had this problem didn't have that gene on the X turned on), whereas other children (so very few) who have this happen to them turn out to be girls. The point was trying to make is that in our development, things have to happen in a certain way to have the genes play out a certain way, and sometimes if the genes are incomplete (missing, or repetitive) and the environmental situation is abnormal enough to affect things, the normal process of things gets interrupted and things happen that doctors can't really explain yet. This was not convincing to me that there was an actual third gender or sex besides male and female, but it does point out genetic abnormalities happen even with our sex chromosomes. For instance, I knew a boy in high school who was XXY - he had the Y, he was obviously a boy. I'm guessing this topic was WAY less political and dangerous when he wrote this book - although it's not that old of a book - so when he wrote it, I'm sure he wasn't living in the contentious cultural climate around gender that we live in now, so it just felt... different. Like I said, he didn't actually align with the current pro trans movement, but he argued for the acceptance of a third gender in a different way.
Then in the last chapter, he praised himself for being so smart that he came up with a new antibiotic because of things he had learned studying rare genetic disorders. This is really cool! But it felt a little bit like the snake oil salesman was coming out again. It wasn't out or order or out of place, but it felt a little too self congratulatory. Honestly, if it was me, I probably would have done the exact same thing, or more!
Overall, interesting book. Depending on your views about gender and sexual identity, you may enjoy that one chapter more or less. If you are giving this book to your teens to read, you'd definitely want to talk to them about what he is ACTUALLY saying vs what the current cultural trends are arguing since they are not the same thing and the distinction, I think, is important.
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