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by Frank Ryan
This groundbreaking book explains that we are on the cusp of an amazing era of disease treatment and eradication.
The human genome is indeed a mysterious world, but, as this fascinating book shows, its vital secrets are now being uncovered. The latest studies are revealing exciting new discoveries, such as how the DNA and related chemical compounds in our cells work together to direct the processes of life. Scientists are not only unraveling how life evolved in the ancient past, but are also finding the keys to creating a healthier future.
How does the minuscule chemical cluster in each of our 100 trillion cells accomplish the amazing feat of creating and maintaining our bodies? Frank Ryan, a physician and an evolutionary biologist, describes the complex ways in which the genome operates as a holistic system and not solely through genes coding for proteins—the building blocks of life. Also involved are elaborate switching mechanisms that regulate and control portions of our DNA, as well as the interplay of retroviruses and bacteria.
"Starred Review. An enlightening account of past and present knowledge and the future possibilities of human heredity." - Kirkus
"Ryan's casual style combined with his distinct grasp of the topics he addresses make this a valuable resource for nonscientists who are trying to gain an understanding of a complex but important discipline." - Library Journal
"Frank Ryan has written the ultimate DNA memoir. In a lively, entertaining voice, Ryan takes us back to a time when no one knew where our hereditary information was kept, and then he puts us on a rollicking ride to the present." - Marc Zimmer, author of Illuminating Disease: An Introduction to Green Fluorescent Proteins
"A first-class introduction to one of the greatest scientific projects and discoveries of our time ... Well worth reading and well worth passing on to students." - Michael Ruse, PhD, Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy and director of the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science, Florida State University, and author of Defining Darwin: Essays on the History and Philosophy of Evolutionary Biology
"Frank Ryan's fascinating book tells the story of our genome in an elegantly straightforward way that anyone can understand. Hop on board the magical train tracks of the chromosomes and enjoy!" - Barbara Oakley, PhD, author of Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother's Boyfriend and A Mind for Numbers
"Ryan's book should have a great appeal to non-scientists and could become a significant instrument in policy formation… Spellbinding, intellectually adventurous, difficult to put down." - Nature
"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
This information about The Mysterious World of the Human Genome was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Dr. Frank Ryan is the bestselling author of The Forgotten Plague - a New York Times Book of the Year - and Darwin's Blind Spot, which was recommended by Charlie Munger at the 2003 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. A consultant physician based in Sheffield, Ryan pioneered the evolutionary concepts of "viral symbiosis" and "genomic creativity" and has contributed to the modern understanding of the evolution of the human genome. He is an honorary Senior Lecturer in the Academic Unit of Medical Education, at the University of Sheffield and a Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the Linnean Society of London.
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