Herding Hemingway’s Cats: Understanding How Our Genes Work
According to the standard version of genetics that kids learn in school, inheritance is a roll of the dice. Let’s say a person (or a toad) has received one version of a gene from his mother—call it A—and a rival version of this gene—A1—from his father. Then any child of his will have even odds of inheriting an A or an A1, and so on. With each new g
... See moreElizabeth Kolbert • Under a White Sky
With CRISPR, biologists have already created, among many, many other living things: ants that can’t smell, beagles that grow superhero-like muscles, pigs that resist swine fever, macaques that suffer from sleep disorders, coffee beans that contain no caffeine, salmon that don’t lay eggs, mice that don’t get fat, and bacteria whose genes contain, in
... See moreElizabeth Kolbert • Under a White Sky
It is remarkable that nearly every scientist in genetics research is also engaged in the commerce of biotechnology. There are no detached observers. Everybody has a stake.
Michael Crichton • Jurassic Park: A Novel
While your genome is immutable, at least for the near future, gene expression can be influenced by your environment and your behaviors.