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Loading... A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life (Penguin Press Science) (original 2007; edition 2008)by J. Craig Venter
Work InformationA Life Decoded by J. Craig Venter (2007)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. First I must say that Venter is rather full of himself which definitely comes through in this book. He thinks of himself as a champion of pure science but he also doesn't like losing. However, the story he has to tell about sequencing the human genome is fascinating, full of details about the science, the feuds between the various groups involved, and something about why the science was so important. If one can get through the first parts covering his early years and his service in Vietnam without totally losing patience, Venter's account of his life in research becomes a lot more interesting. It is quite detailed however and the reader new to genetics and laboratory research in biochemistry and genomics will find some sections hard to follow. Also the infighting and political aspects of the struggle to break new ground in these fields may surprise some readers. Note that several of the LT recommendations that come up for A Life Decoded were written by Venter's competitors in the "race" to sequence the human genome. It might be interesting to compare them. no reviews | add a review
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The story of the man who achieved one of the greatest feats of our era--the mapping of the human genome. After nearly flunking out of high school, Venter went to Vietnam, where the life and death struggles he encountered as a medic piqued his interest in science and medicine. In 1984 he joined the National Institutes of Health, introduced novel techniques for rapid gene discovery, and left in 1991 to form his own nonprofit genomics research center, where he sequenced the first genome in history in 1995. In 1998 he announced that he would successfully sequence the human genome years sooner, and for far less money, than the government-sponsored Human Genome Project would--a prediction he kept in 2001. The tale involves as much politics (personal and political) as science. He also describes the other startling projects he has conducted since.--From publisher description. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)576.5092Natural sciences and mathematics Life Sciences, Biology Genetics and evolution Genetics Biography And HistoryLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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He's had an exemplary (and rather controversial) career, so this one is definitely worth a read, especially for anyone thinking about going into research. ( )