Purchase
The Revolution in DNA Sequencing and the New Era of Personalized Medicine
Free Press
September 2010
On Sale: September 7, 2010
352 pages ISBN: 1416569596 EAN: 9781416569596 Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction
In 2000, President Bill Clinton signaled the completion of
the Human Genome Project at a cost in excess of $2 billion.
A decade later, the price for any of us to order our own
personal genome sequence—a comprehensive map of the 3
billion letters in our DNA—is rapidly and inevitably
dropping to just $1,000. Dozens of men and women—scientists,
entrepreneurs, celebrities, and patients—have already been
sequenced, pioneers in a bold new era of personalized
genomic medicine. The $1,000 genome has long been considered
the tipping point that would open the floodgates to this
revolution. Do you have gene variants associated with
Alzheimer’s or diabetes, heart disease or cancer? Which
drugs should you consider taking for various diseases, and
at what dosage? In the years to come, doctors will likely be
able to tackle all of these questions—and many more—by using
a computer in their offices to call up your unique genome
sequence, which will become as much a part of your medical
record as your blood pressure. Indeed, many experts are
advocating that all newborns have a complete genome analysis
done so that preventive measures and preemptive medicine can
begin early in life. How has this astonishing achievement
been accomplished? And what will it mean for our lives? To
research the story of this unfolding revolution, critically
acclaimed science writer Kevin Davies has spent the past few
years traveling to the leading centers and interviewing the
entrepreneurs and pioneers in the race to achieve the $1,000
genome. He vividly brings to life the extraordinary drama of
this grand scientific achievement, revealing the masterful
ingenuity that has transformed the process of decoding DNA
and delivering the information it possesses to the public at
large. Davies also profiles the future of genomic medicine
and thoughtfully explores the many pressing issues raised by
the tidal wave of personal genetic information. Will your
privacy be protected? Will you be pressured, by insurance
companies or by your employer, to get your genome sequenced?
What psychological toll might there be to discovering you
are at risk for certain diseases like Alzheimer’s? And will
the government or the medical establishment come between you
and your genome? One thing that is not in question is that we are moving
swiftly into the personalized medicine era, and The $1,000
Genome is an essential guide to this brave new future.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|