The Language of Life: DNA and the Revolution in Personalized Medicine
by Francis S. Collins
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A medical revolution is upon us, and leading geneticist Collins explains its dimensions here. Our knowledge of the genetic basis for disease has increased exponentially in recent years, and we are now able to understand and treat diseases at the molecular level with personalized medicine--care based on an individual's genetic makeup. Collins presents cutting-edge science for lay readers who want to take control of their medical lives. He discusses cancer, obesity, aging, racial differences, show more and a host of other concerns, as well as the medical advances directly attributable to the Human Genome Project. He is also not shy about taking on large political issues: he points out problems with our current health-care system, discusses stem-cell research, and in a cogent commentary, recommends--with caveats--direct-to-consumer DNA testing. He does a superb job of humanizing a complex scientific and medical subject.--From publisher description. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
My employer (Vanderbilt University Medical Center) is the world's leader in implementing the ideas around personalized medicine, so I picked up this audiobook to educate me on what's going on around me while I drove to and from work. In it, I found interesting stories from patients combined with weighty data from the human genome.
Collins maintains a warm bedside manner as well as a writer as he does as a researcher, NIH leader, and physician. His homespun manner makes his writing relatable and engaging. It is obvious that he cares about patients as the center of all his work - a nice trait for a driven, big-time researcher to have.
The science described in this book continued trends I sensed while I was a medical student. The question of show more who-has-what-genes will likely guide science for the better part of my life. Collins engages these questions with the latest (as of the time of his writing) science has to offer. Genetics is indeed a fun field to follow.
Genetics opens up a whole host of research and ethical questions that is currently engaging us as a society. Is gene therapy (which surely is coming) ethical? To what extent do genomics play God? And to what extent are our genes reflections on our experience as much as our heredity? Is religion going to play the role of being merely against technology or will it sublimate itself to aid healing? What will the medical clinic look like in 2050? Also, what will the birth process (and the electronic medical record) look like in 2050?
Collins' book is a good primer to these issues. Listening to it has been a joy for the past couple of weeks. show less
Collins maintains a warm bedside manner as well as a writer as he does as a researcher, NIH leader, and physician. His homespun manner makes his writing relatable and engaging. It is obvious that he cares about patients as the center of all his work - a nice trait for a driven, big-time researcher to have.
The science described in this book continued trends I sensed while I was a medical student. The question of show more who-has-what-genes will likely guide science for the better part of my life. Collins engages these questions with the latest (as of the time of his writing) science has to offer. Genetics is indeed a fun field to follow.
Genetics opens up a whole host of research and ethical questions that is currently engaging us as a society. Is gene therapy (which surely is coming) ethical? To what extent do genomics play God? And to what extent are our genes reflections on our experience as much as our heredity? Is religion going to play the role of being merely against technology or will it sublimate itself to aid healing? What will the medical clinic look like in 2050? Also, what will the birth process (and the electronic medical record) look like in 2050?
Collins' book is a good primer to these issues. Listening to it has been a joy for the past couple of weeks. show less
Pretty good introduction to personalized medicine and genomics. I wouldn't recommend it to folks who have read more than one or two books in the area, but I did enjoy hearing the voice of Francis Collins, one of the more famous leaders in the field.
If you could learn whether you had a genetic pre-disposition to a disease, would you want to know? Would it make a difference?
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8+ Works 3,307 Members
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., is a pioneer gene hunter. He spent fifteen years as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he led the international Human Genome Project to a successful completion. For his revolutionary contributions to genetic research he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, and the show more National Medal of Science in 2009. He is the Director of the National Institutes of Health. show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2010-01-05
Classifications
- Genres
- Science & Nature, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality
- DDC/MDS
- 616.042 — Technology Medicine & health Diseases Pathology; Diseases; Treatment Genetic and hereditary diseases Genetic Diseases
- LCC
- RB155.65 .C65 — Medicine Pathology Pathology Theories of disease. Etiology. Pathogenesis
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 184
- Popularity
- 176,114
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.86)
- Languages
- 6 — Czech, English, Estonian, French, Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 4
