Short Stuff: Genetic Mutations

Every part of our bodies, from toenails to hair and everything in between, is built based on the instructions coded into our genes. Therefore, understanding what genes are and how they work is crucial to understanding our bodies, our health, and even our identities. Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote The Gene to give the average reader a basic grounding in the history and the science of genetics.

Mukherjee is an immunologist and geneticist known for his work in cancer research, a field closely linked to genetics. The Gene explores scientists’ efforts to learn about people by studying the genes that create us: The book traces the history of genetics from Darwin’s Origin of Species to modern gene sequencing technology, as well as taking a brief look at what genetic engineering might mean for humanity’s future. Our commentary will provide background information and explanations to help readers understand the science behind The Gene. We’ll also examine advancements in genetics since The Gene’s publication in 2016.

Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and author, Dawkins argues that biology’s focus on organisms is misguided, and that life should instead be considered from the point of view of individual genes trying to perpetuate themselves through countless generations.

Though the book begins with the premise that biologists think too large (organisms instead of genes), it ends with the surprising idea that they think too small—that genes have much greater impacts on the world than simply creating bodies to inhabit. Dawkins offers compelling arguments for why we should think about biology as ranging from the microscopic to the wider world.

Why does life work the way it does? Are life’s features the product of random genetic mutations, or did organisms have to evolve a certain way to overcome specific physical and chemical challenges? In The Vital Question, Nick Lane argues that genetics can’t give us the answer by itself. To explain the origin of life, we have to understand how cells make use of energy and what environmental conditions gave rise to the molecular power plants found in every living thing.

In this guide, we’ll explore the biochemistry of cells and how it may have developed on the very young Earth. We’ll explain why Lane believes all complex life emerged from a single instance of symbiosis between two very different single-celled creatures. We’ll expand on fundamentals of biology and genetics, discuss alternate views to some of Lane’s proposals, and point to the directions research is now taking to gain a fuller understanding of life’s origins.

Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and author, Dawkins argues that biology’s focus on organisms is misguided, and that life should instead be considered from the point of view of individual genes trying to perpetuate themselves through countless generations.

Though the book begins with the premise that biologists think too large (organisms instead of genes), it ends with the surprising idea that they think too small—that genes have much greater impacts on the world than simply creating bodies to inhabit. Dawkins offers compelling arguments for why we should think about biology as ranging from the microscopic to the wider world.

Every part of our bodies, from toenails to hair and everything in between, is built based on the instructions coded into our genes. Therefore, understanding what genes are and how they work is crucial to understanding our bodies, our health, and even our identities. Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote The Gene to give the average reader a basic grounding in the history and the science of genetics.

Mukherjee is an immunologist and geneticist known for his work in cancer research, a field closely linked to genetics. The Gene explores scientists’ efforts to learn about people by studying the genes that create us: The book traces the history of genetics from Darwin’s Origin of Species to modern gene sequencing technology, as well as taking a brief look at what genetic engineering might mean for humanity’s future. Our commentary will provide background information and explanations to help readers understand the science behind The Gene. We’ll also examine advancements in genetics since The Gene’s publication in 2016.

In his bestselling book The Sports Gene, David Epstein uses science to support the claim that our genes play a determining role in our success in sports. He opens by refuting the idea that enough practice is a virtual guarantee of success. He then spends the rest of the book citing research on genes and performance, taking the reader around the world and over evolutionary time, all to explain why the book’s title is an impossibility. There is no single “sports gene,” just as there is no “perfect athlete.” There are, however, fortuitous pairings of the right genes and the right circumstances in the right sports that together create the remarkable and diverse feats of athleticism that we see on the elite stage.

Our guide reorganizes the wealth of content in The Sports Gene by theme to help clarify Epstein’s major arguments. To provide more grounding, our commentary includes supplemental research as well as explanations of scientific concepts in the fields of genetics and evolution.

Though we don’t like to think about it, we’re all going to get old. But in Ageless, physicist-turned-biologist Andrew Steele contends that aging isn’t as inevitable as it seems. Steele argues that we can treat—and even cure—aging. He explains that scientists are on the cusp of discovering anti-aging therapies and treatments that could lengthen the human lifespan and enable us to live many more years in good health, thus ensuring our health is no longer dependent on our chronological age.

In this guide, we’ll examine Steele’s explanations of the processes that make us grow sicker and slower as we age, the treatments you can expect to see in the future, and the scientifically proven steps you can take right now to slow your own aging process. We’ll also put Steele’s ideas into the context of the latest research in the field, and we’ll compare his predictions to those of other experts. (Spoiler alert: Steele is very optimistic about your chances of living a long and healthy life!)

Every part of our bodies, from toenails to hair and everything in between, is built based on the instructions coded into our genes. Therefore, understanding what genes are and how they work is crucial to understanding our bodies, our health, and even our identities. Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote The Gene to give the average reader a basic grounding in the history and the science of genetics.

Mukherjee is an immunologist and geneticist known for his work in cancer research, a field closely linked to genetics. The Gene explores scientists’ efforts to learn about people by studying the genes that create us: The book traces the history of genetics from Darwin’s Origin of Species to modern gene sequencing technology, as well as taking a brief look at what genetic engineering might mean for humanity’s future. Our commentary will provide background information and explanations to help readers understand the science behind The Gene. We’ll also examine advancements in genetics since The Gene’s publication in 2016.

Cancer is one of the most frightening diseases in the world today; it’s deadly and often extremely hard to cure. As such, doctors and researchers have spent enormous amounts of time and money trying to figure out exactly what cancer is, how it works, and how to cure it. The Cancer Code by Jason Fung is an overview of scientists’ major discoveries about cancer, starting from ancient times and continuing to the present day. This guide will help you be more informed about this deadly disease.

Fung divides research trends into three different models of cancer, explores the strengths and weaknesses of each model, and discusses their implications for future cancer research and treatment. Our commentary will expand on some of Fung’s key ideas, offer counterpoints to others, and suggest some other books for further reading on this complex topic. We’ll also examine the current effectiveness of a number of cancer treatment methods and what recent discoveries might imply about future treatment options.