Abraham Lincoln's DNA and Other Adventures in Genetics

Description

• Author: Philip R. Reilly

"Reilly uses Abraham Lincoln's DNA to teach the science's basics." - USA Today



From The New England Journal of Medicine, March 8, 2001

Like Matt Ridley's approach in his book Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters (New York, HarperCollins, 1999; reviewed in the June 8, 2000, issue of the Journal), Reilly has assembled an enjoyable series of vignettes that are understandable to the novice but contain lessons for the professional geneticist. The early chapters explain the fundamental tools of the modern genetic detective, such as the polymerase chain reaction, mutation analysis, and the difference between mendelian and nonmendelian inheritance. The lessons are delivered in the course of fascinating historical tales (including an especially enjoyable chapter on Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec) with a hint of Lewis Thomas-like awe and fascination with the power of genetic analysis. We can diagnose diseases that afflicted Abraham Lincoln by analyzing DNA recovered from the shaft of a single hair. Evidence capable of identifying the perpetrator of a crime is invariably contained in tiny molecules of DNA shed from the skin or deposited by the touch of a finger. Reilly is trained in both genetics and law, and these advances are marvels that offer unprecedented investigative powers both for the scientist and for the police detective. At the same time, we are faced with disquieting challenges to our privacy. Do these scientific capabilities mean that the banking of DNA samples from every citizen is inevitable? You will be convinced by Reilly's arguments that we are moving rapidly in that direction unless we educate ourselves and choose to object.



CONTENTS



PART 1

History: Using DNA to Understand the Past

1. Abraham Lincoln: Did He Have Marfan Syndrome?

2. Kings and Queens: Genetic Diseases in Royal Families

3. Toulouse-Lautrec: An Artist despite His Genes

4. Old Bones: DNA and Skeletons

PART 2

Justice: The DNA Revolution in the Courts

5. DNA Detectives: The New DNA Evidence

6. Cold Hits: The Rise of DNA Felon Databanks

7. Genes and Violence: Do Mutations Cause Crime?

8. Wrongful Birth: What Should the Doctor Know?

PART 3

Behavior: Do Genes Make Us the Way We Are?

9. Mental Illness: How Much Is Genetic?

10. Personality: Were We Born This Way?

11. Talent: Nature or Nurture?

12. Gay Genes: What's the Evidence?

PART 4

Plants and Animals: Genetic Engineering and Nature

13. Genetically Modified Organisms: The Next Green Revolution?

14. Transgenic Animals: New Foods and New Factories

15. Endangered Species: New Genes Beat Extinction

16. Xenotransplantation: Animal Organs to Save Humans

vii

viii CONTENTS

PART 5

Diseases: The Genetic Revolution in Medicine

17. Cystic Fibrosis: Should Everyone Be Tested?

18. Breast Cancer: The Burden of Knowing

19. Alzheimer Disease: Are You at High Risk?

20. Gene Therapy: The Dream and the Reality

PART 6

Dilemmas: Genetic Technologies and Individual Choice

21. Genetic Testing and Privacy:Who Should Be Able to

Know Your Genes?

22. Frozen Embryos: People or Property?

23. Cloning:Why Is Everyone Opposed?

24. Eugenics: Can We Improve the Gene Pool?

Bibliography

Index

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