Nowhere do ethics and science converge more dramatically than in the field of medical genetics. Basing her book on over 150 interviews with patients, physicians, and researchers, Wingerson presents case studies which describe the transmission and diffusion of hereditary diseases over generations. Scientists painstakingly track occurrences of the disease, then, back in the laboratory, employ rigorous techniques to attempt to isolate the gene that conveys the affliction. The grandest project in molecular biology today is the human genome project: a massive, government-funded program to map every gene in human DNA. The author writes in clear, conversational prose; technical concepts are easily understood. Recommended for public libraries.
- Gregg Sapp, Montana State Univ. Lib., Bozeman ( )