I should be more willing to just quit reading a book. This one for sure> I found this book just plain tedious, which makes me worry that this is an author trait. Also this book is out of date and or wrong on bunches of issues. As well as including unnecessary side points which I was constantly looking up in order to validate them. It's not that there were no good elements of this book. It's they were outweighed by irritating elements. And then the last chapter should be deleted. Not recommended.

Тасарчихсан ном байна. Үнэхээр таалагдлаа.

Олон талаар нүд нээхүйц хэрнээ хачин сонирхолтой ч дотор хүйт даам түүх нэг нэгээр цуварна. Анх хэвлэлтээс гарснаас хойш нилээд удсан ч тийм их хоцрогдоогүй. Харин ч генетикийн судалгааны түүхийг олон бодит үйл явдлаар дамжуулан энгийнээр тайлбарласан нь маш сонирхолтой.

Генетикийн салбарт нэг мөсөн дурлачих шиг боллоо шүү.

Recommended reading list (on genetics):
★★★★★ She Has Her Mother's Laugh
★★★★★ The Emperor of All Maladies
★★★★★ The Genome Odyssey: Medical Mysteries and the Incredible Quest to Solve Them
★★★★☆ The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
★★★★☆ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
★★★★☆ The Gene: An Intimate History
★★★★☆ The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
★★★★☆ A Planet of Viruses
★★★☆☆ Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To
★★★☆☆ Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are - bit too technical
★★★☆☆ The Telomere Effect
- The Body: A Guide for Occupants
- No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality

This is extremely dated. I knew it was going to be, published in 1999, since the science of genetics took off from just about that time as a rocket ship, with the sequencing of the human genome. So I expected the science to be dated. But what really bugged me were the opinions of the author which range from slightly unpalatable to downright insulting.

The science is quite interesting, bringing together genetic studies done the hard way, such as twin studies and searching for genes affecting diseases, with (at the time) up-to-date genetic knowledge. However, I have no idea which of his conjectures is valid nowadays, and which one is the result of his conservative ideas.

It would be a decent book if it was not peppered with his prejudices on gender, homosexuality, free market, pro genetic engineering bias, and occasional flippant disregard for people with disabilities or allergies. (What does it matter if a couple Americans with a rare allergy die if we can make a better growing soybean to feed people? Let's just let anyone genetically splice nuts onto soybeans. Ugh.)

The book ends with two chapters that are solely Ridley's mouthpiece about eugenics and free will. I can't really make heads or tales of his viewpoints, they seems inconsistent to me, but the major problem is that I don't care. I wanted science, not moralizing.

I would have given three stars because the science was interesting. However, on second thought, it is too old to be reliable and I need to find a newer book. And his ideas are simply unnecessary, so two stars it is.

Ridley tells a little about each gene in order & focuses on one specific part of each to discuss their workings & significance. He doesn't limit himself to our physical make up, but discusses the historical, sociological, & political. It's a fascinating tour & he leaves as many questions as he answers.

Huntington's Disease is well known & mapped. Most of us have less than 36 repeated glutamines in a specific spot on chromosome 4. If you have more, you're more likely to get it & they can even pin down when. It's an awful death & they can test for it. Would you? Should a doctor or anyone else tell you? Ridley discusses that at some length.

He comes back to this again with chromosome 21 when dealing with Down Syndrome which is also easily tested for, but he opens the can of eugenic worms. He does a great job reporting the arguments, in which he points out a lot of flaws, & the facts leaving the reader to make up their own mind. Very well done.

He also puts a lot of the fears of genetic tinkering to rest by showing just how the data is being used. Often knowing the genetic code, what works (It usually always does.) & what is broken or different allows medicine to alleviate or even fix the problem with more conventional means. He also briefly explains the various methods used for genetically modifying various organisms.

This book is 20 years old, so there's been a lot of progress, but it is still relevant since he's dealing with a lot of basics & shows how our expanding knowledge is making life better. I can't remember the exact quote, "Scientists live for ignorance; finding the answers. Knowledge is boring." or something like that & adds that every discovery only creates more questions. It was great because he summed up our technological leaps of the past few centuries so well.

Very well narrated & highly recommended in any format.

Manusia memiliki dua perangkat genom yang tiap perangkat mengandung dua puluh tiga pasang kromosom yang sama. Tiap pasang kromosom memiliki 30.000 hingga 80.000 gen yang sama juga. Mustahil untuk memaparkan dengan rinci setiap gen yang ada dalam buku tipis ini, jadi kita harus cukup puas dengan perwakilan gen untuk setiap kromosom. Lagipula, selalu ada informasi baru tentang gen yang berdatangan dari riset terbaru sehingga buku-buku tentang genom akan selalu ketinggalan zaman dan harus diperbarui setiap saat. Walau riset tentang gen terutama didorong oleh desakan pengobatan bagi penyakit-penyakit turunan maupun umum seperti kanker yang didorong gen, namun seperti yang disampaikan Penulis berulang kali: gen tidak hadir untuk menimbulkan penyakit.

Buku ini memang hanya menceritakan secuil kisah singkat tentang salah satu atau dua gen dalam tiap kromosom, tapi buku ini berhasil membangkitkan keingintahuan saya terhadap gen-gen lain yang belum diceritakan. Buku ini juga membuat saya semakin mengagumi suatu keajaiban bernama kehidupan. Kita—manusia—sendiri adalah misteri kehidupan terbesar yang perlu dipecahkan. Genom tidak lain adalah sebuah resep untuk membuat makhluk hidup. Pemahaman terhadap genom manusia sama artinya dengan selangkah lebih dekat pada rahasia kehidupan.

I really enjoyed this book. I would say it is so far the best book I have read this year and a great introduction to genetics. Quite a lot of the stuff in this book has been covered in other books I have read, most notably by Richard Dawkins, however the writing was fresh and I learned a hell of a lot of stuff throughout this book. For example, did you know that the placenta is actually a parasite, the result of male antagonistic genes battling the female's X chromosomes by redirecting more resources to the baby? And in response the female releases insulin in an attempt to counter this intrusion and moderate the resources? I didn't! What about the fact that male sperm has an agenda and that chemicals within enter the female's brain, lowering her sex drive and adjusting the timings of her menstrual cycle in an attempt to stop her mating with others? At the same time, the female's genes have attacked the poor Y chromosome to such an extent that it has all but shut down, being a tiny little stub of a gene. Fascinating!

Many issues are explored in this book, from reproduction, disease to Eugenics and the politics of science and academia. There is also quite a bit of history, and not just the usual mention of Darwin on the Galapagos islands with his finches. There were many occasions in this book when I stopped to read a paragraph out to my wife who was also fascinated.

My only minor criticism of this book would be that the final chapter seems slightly rushed. Additionally, I don't like it when authors start name dropping a lot of people (particularly the self declared intellectuals we call philosophers). I find name dropping is often used as a diversion from fact, and I feel the last chapter lacked some of the magic of the 22 chapters before it. I feel the author did this in an attempt to cover too many topics and round the book with a nice conclusion, one that wasn't needed. You see, each chapter tells the story of a chromosome! The book is accessible but does get progressively more difficult and there is quite a bit of genetic code mentioned, but most people will not have a problem understanding it since the book does educate so well.

Written at the turn of the century, the book is 10 years old and with the exception of the first human genome being transcribed, to a lay person like me it doesn't seem dated at all. I have since ordered more books on the subject and I am once again interested in evolutionary biology! I am now reading The prehistory of the mind : a search for the origins of art, religion, and science By Steven Mithen.

The book just missed 5 stars for me as I feel the final chapter didn't quite gel with the rest, however this book is on par with any book by Richard Dawkins, Bill Bryson, Marcus Chown, Richard Feynman or any other well known popular science writer you can name. If you are interested in science, biology or evolution just a little bit then read this, you won't be disappointed.

Sama seperti tren, sains adalah fenomena yang paling cepat mengalami perubahan. Penemuan hari ini bisa langsung dipatahkan oleh penemuan keesokan harinya.
.
Genetika dan DNA boleh jadi merupakan penemuan paling menakjubkan yang berhasil menyingkap sejarah spesies manusia. Melalui "genom", seperangkat gen yang terdapat dalam dua puluh tiga pasang kromosom kita ini, Matt Ridley menceritakan hal itu.
.
Dengan mengambil salah satu gen dalam tiap kromosom sebagai "narator", Ridley mengajak kita melakukan napak tilas sejarah spesies manusia sejak awal kehidupan sampai kemungkinan di masa depan.
.
Buku ini terdiri dari 23 bab yang membahas banyak hal. Mulai daei sejarah, takdir, penyakit, stres, kepribadian, maut, politik, seks sampai kehendak bebas. Dan ya, semua itu dikaitkan dengan peta protein yang ada pada DNA dan RNA.
.
Aku tak menemukan profil penulis di buku ini. Tapi dari caranya bercerita, Riddley lebih terlihat seperti seorang jurnalis dibandingkan ilmuwan. Tapi bagaimana ia bisa melinearkan setiap penemuan (yang bahkan bertentangan) lalu mengkaitkannya dengan isu saat ini saat hebat menurutku. Apalagi dengan banyaknya kepustakaan yang bisa kita jadikan rujukan.
.
Selain itu, pihak @bukugpu sepertinya juga serius banget menggarap terjemahan buku ini. Terbukti dengan bahasanya yang "cukup ringan" untuk buku sekelas ini. Selain itu editingnya juga diserahkan pada ahlinya, seorang doktor

Although I found “The Gene” a slightly better read, I can still highly recommend this book. Especially the last two chapters cover the topics of eugenics & free will in a captivating & thought provoking fashion.

On eugenics: “these things should be kept away from people who think they know best... I am trying to see genetic decisions put in the hands of users, which governments aren’t”

And a great quote on science: “Science is like a hungry furnace that must be fed by logs from the forests of ignorance that surround us. In the process, the clearing we call knowledge expands, but the more it expands, the larger its perimeter and the more ignorance comes into view. [...] A true scientist is bored by knowledge, it is the assault on ignorance that motivates him - the mysteries that previous discoveries have revealed. The forest is more interesting than the clearing.”

This is a really great book - my only qualm is that it might be outdated now, as gene technology and science is moving so quickly forwards. Basically, if you want to know why you are here, what you are and what you´re made of, this book has some pretty convincing answers. Fate, destiny, love, life, death, character, intelligence and illness are all covered and it´s worth pressing on through the quite tough prose to get a better, illuminating, scary but finally comforting picture of the vehicle you´re in for this trip through life. Here´s the thing: even though you´ve got your hands on the wheel, you´re not the driver.

Are your body and brain pre-wired for certain tendencies? That’s one of the questions raised in Matt Ridley’s Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters. Using a gene from each of the 23 pairs of chromosomes that make up our DNA as a launching point, Ridley discusses what we’ve learned about the history of the human race. Some concepts about heredity are confirmed, while others are discarded.

Through the Human Genome Project, scientists have mapped out the complete set of human genes. With that map, we can discover more about the causes of disease, develop therapies, and improve the quality of life. We’re also learning about how our genes impact our behavior, resurrecting the “nature vs. nurture” argument on human behavior.

Ridley is able to write about these technical discoveries and theories in layman’s terms. He emphasizes that gaining knowledge through gene research is important and necessary, even if how we use that knowledge is subject to debate. And as a believer in free will, Ridley writes, “Heritability does not mean immutability.” You, not your genes, control your life.

Rideley's trope is to connect circa 2000 what we are beginning to know about the human geonomes if you will through each of the 23 human chromosomes. Some it works very well, I think I have a much better understanding of the implications of all types issues related to genetics. I also realized afterward that we as a society don't even have the beginnings of a social discussion taking place even as the science races forward. The challenge with a book like Ridley's is that it based on what we knew even just 10 years ago and I can imagine, that there is so much that even now needs to be updated. For instance he has this fascinating chapter on how 2 variations of certain cholesterol distributor or receptors (this is the other thing, you think you understand what he is saying, but it is pretty complex stuff so you can't really summarize the argument)may increase the likelihood of brain diseases in boxers. In all the coverage I have seen of the concussion crisis nothing of the sort has been noted. Is that because those studies were invalidated, is it just too new, should we be thinking about that for dangerous sports? This is not a book that will answer, but instead will push you to wonder what about.

Tubuh manusia terdiri dari 23 kromosom yang berisi ribuan gen dan menerjemahkan dirinya ke dalam rantai protein yang menjalankan fungsi biokimia di dalam tubuh kita. Secara sederhana gen juga merupakan elemen pewaris sifat yang diturunkan dari orangtua ke anaknya. Gen bisa mendefinisikan kualitas fisik, mental, hingga takdir kita sebagai seorang manusia. Setiap kromosom dan gen di dalamnya memiliki sejarah dan ceritanya masing-masing. Kromosom paling besar diberi nomor satu hingga yang terkecil diberi nomor 22. Sedangkan kromosom ke-23 merupakan kromosom XY pada pria dan XX pada wanita yang ditempatkan setelah kromosom nomor 7. Setiap kromosom ini memiliki cerita dan bisa menentukan nasib kita sebagai manusia. Melalui buku ini Matt Ridley ingin berbagi ilmu tentang genom---yang sering kali dianggap rumit dan berat---dengan gaya bahasa yang sederhana dan mudah dipahami oleh orang awam.

Buku ini terbagi menjadi 23 bab yang mewakili 23 kromosom. Setiap bab membahas gen yang terdapat dalam setiap kromosom yang memiliki tema dan cerita tersendiri. Seperti gen pada kromosom pertama yang menceritakan tentang asal-usul kehidupan. Dalam bab ini terbukti jika selama ini buku-buku pelajaran telah keliru jika kehidupan awal makhluk hidup adalah seperti bakteri. Akan tetapi menurut tiga ilmuwan Selandia Baru, organisme pertama adalah protozoa dengan genom-genom yang terfragmentasi dalam beberapa kromosom linear. Kemudian dalam bab kedua menceritakan tentang hubungan kekerabatan manusia dengan simpanse. Di mana manusia memiliki 23 pasang kromosom sedangkan simpanse memiliki 24 pasang kromosom.

Masih banyak bab lainnya yang menceritakan masing-masing sel yang terdapat dalam ke-23 kromosom dalam tubuh kita. Seperti bab 6 yang menceritakan perdebatan mengenai kecerdasan, apakah merupakan warisan genetik atau dapat dibentuk melalui pendidikan dan lingkungan. Dan pada bab terakhir, yaitu bab 22 membahas perdebatan tentang manusia memiliki kehendak bebas atau tidak. Ini berhubungan dengan penuturan pada bab-bab sebelumnya, jika genetik ikut memengaruhi perilaku. Penulis membahas secara padat dan lengkap semua gen yang terdapat dalam 23 kromosom. Setiap bab diperkuat dengan fakta dan sejarah yang berhasil penulis temukan. Maka tak heran jika terdapat catatan referensi di setiap bab.

Buku ini membahas sisi genetika melalui cara dan bahasa yang menarik. Penulis mencoba untuk mengurangi istilah-istilah sains dengan menjelaskan berbagai mekanisme melalui analogi atau bahasa yang disederhanakan. Dengan begitu orang awam yang ingin membaca buku ini bisa lebih paham dan mengerti. Namun sayangnya penulis tidak menambahkan ilustrasi atau gambar yang bisa mempermudah pembaca untuk lebih memahami setiap gen dalam kromosom. Seperti ketika menjelaskan tentang DNA, RNA, virus, penyakit langka dan lainnya.

Secara keseluruhan Genom: Kisah Spesies Manuska Dalam 23 Bab merupakan bacaan yang cocok untuk setiap orang. Apalagi bagi pembaca yang penasaran dengan serba-serbi seputar genom manusia. Disusun dengan rapi dan tematik lewat gaya bahasa yang ringan dan mudah dicerna, menjadikan Genom sebuah bacaan yang menambah ilmu sekaligus menyenangkan. Terjemahan bukunya pun terbilang sangat baik. Tidak sulit bagi kita untuk memahami setiap bab nya. Namun sayangnya bacaan seperti ini bukanlah selera saya. Meskipun disajikan dengan ringan dan informatif, tapi saya tetap tidak bisa menikmati buku ini secara keseluruhan. Bagi kalian yang menyukai ilmu pasti, khususnya tentang genom manusia, saya sangat merekomendasikan buku ini untuk kalian baca.

Selengkapnya : https://www.facebook.com/notes/fahri-...