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The Epigenetics Revolution (2000)

by Nessa Carey(Favorite Author)

4.1 of 5 Votes: 1

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review 1: This book was a great introduction to a complicated topic. What does the term "epigenetics"? It's not your DNA, exactly, and it can change over the span of your life. But, you can inherit epigenetic changes from your parents, or even grandparents. Epigenetics could be called Lamarck's Last Laugh, but really it's a term for how the functioning of DNA is way more complex than "DNA = book of life" would indicate.It's not easy to move from molecular-level descriptions of how DNA gets modified to population-level descriptions of how the Dutch famine of 1944-45 impacted children born after World War 2, perhaps even a generation after. Nessa Carey does it very well. Add into that a description of just what stem cells are, why we care, and some history of how we came to know... more all this. There is a lot of new knowledge packed into this book, and at times it felt like I was reading an introduction to the operating system of life.In fact, the sheer range of knowledge, concepts, and ideas covered by this book defies summary. Which, to be perfectly honest, is maybe a bit of a flaw, given that any one of these topics could profitably have been expanded to two to three times its size, and made a book of its own. Hopefully Dr. Carey will consider doing that in the future. In the meantime, if you want your brain stretched, and you are not a lazy reader, consider picking this one up. I am pretty sure it is a field we'll be hearing a lot more from in the next decade.
review 2: Epigenetics is the study of the mechanisms which control genetic expression in cells and organisms. Scientists have recognized the control mechanism as being the tools which connect genetic expression with the outside world and help the organism to adapt to its environment. The science presented in the book is lively and is accessible to the law reader, even one without a strong academic science background. Nessa Carey does a great job of keeping our interest up with just enough biochemistry to be enlightening, but not to overwhelm our limited knowledge.Each chapter offers a new, surprising mechanism and set of effects. By the time we come to brain chemistry and behavior, we are totally enthralled. Read the book and get educated on what is probably the most exciting science project in our collective lives. less

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