DNA

Starred review from March 3, 2003
Who better than James Watson to lead a guided tour of DNA? When he and his English colleague, Francis Crick, discovered the double helix structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, little could they imagine that a mere 50 years later scientists would be putting the finishing touches on a map of the human genome. In this magisterial work, Watson, who won the Nobel Prize with Crick for their discovery, guides readers through the startling and rapid advances in genetic technology and what these advances will mean for our lives.Watson covers all aspects of the genome, from the layout of four simple bases on the DNA molecule through their complex construction into genes, then to the mechanisms whereby proteins produced by genes create our uniquely human characteristics—as well as the genetic mutations that can cause illnesses or inherited diseases like Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Huntington's disease.Watson may have mellowed a little over the years since he displayed his youthful brashness in The Double Helix,
but he still isn't shy about taking on controversial subjects. He criticizes biotech corporations for patenting genes, making diagnostic medical procedures horribly expensive and damping further basic research. He notes that while China and other countries with large populations to feed have eagerly grasped the potential of genetically modified foodstuffs, America squandered $100 million on a recall of taco shells and the genetically modified corn used in them. He pleads passionately for the refinement and widespread use of prenatal genetic testing. Watson will probably provoke the most controversy with his criticism of scientists, corporations and government funding sources for their avoidance of important areas of research—notably the genetics of skin coloration—for political reasons. Every reader who wants to understand their own medical future will want to read this book. 100 color and b&w illus. 150,000 first printing; BOMC and History Book Club selection. (Apr. 7)FYI:A five-part PBS series on DNA featuring Watson will air later this year.

Starred review from July 15, 2017
A masterful summary of genetic science past, present, and future, from one of its prime movers.Watson (Father to Son: Truth, Reason, and Decency, 2014, etc.)--who, along with Francis Crick and Rosalind Franklin launched a revolution in biology with their 1953 publication of the double helix structure of DNA--reviews all that has happened since his own earlier accounts, including The Double Helix (1968) and the original version of this book (2003). As the author approaches 90, he chronicles the history of the field, with the assistance of Berry (Evolutionary Biology/Harvard Univ.) and Davies (The $1,000 Genome: The Revolution in DNA Sequencing and the New Era of Personalized Medicine, 2010, etc.). The chapters about the race to discover the structure of DNA capture the excitement of that time, but Watson returns to a critical stance as he recalls how alarmist fears about the dangers of recombinant DNA, which made it possible to incorporate foreign DNA into an organism, curbed research in the 1970s. He also condemns those who would ban genetically modified organisms, and he marshals strong evidence in support of GMOs. A major chapter details the Human Genome Project, which begat yet another race, this time between the government and private enterprise. To a large extent, the fallout of that initiative has fueled advances--which Watson summarizes in later chapters--in forensics (DNA fingerprinting) and medicine (the discovery of disease genes and new approaches to cancer treatments). For each application, the author provides guidebooklike details of methods and examples. Now, with the cost of human genome sequencing plunging, huge databases of genomes can be analyzed, with prospects of precision treatments and discoveries of the causes of complex diseases like mental illness and even analyses of behavioral traits. There is no question that in weighing nature vs. nurture, Watson sides with nature. He would use new gene-editing techniques to correct genetic defects in somatic cells and would have no qualms about considering enhancing future generations by editing germline cells (eggs and sperm). In this bible of DNA information, Watson is as provocative and optimistic as ever.

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