Regenesis

*A full executive summary of this book is available here:  An Executive Summary of George M. Church and Ed Regis's 'Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves' DNA was only discovered about a century ago, and its structure remained a mystery until about half a century ago, but since this time our knowledge and understanding of DNA has grown immensely (indeed exponentially). What's more, this understanding has evolved to include not just an understanding of how DNA works, but also how it can be manipulated to help advance our ends. The most glaring example here is the phenomenon of genetically modified food. Though not without controversy initially (and some fringe opposition that lives on to this day), it is fair to say that genetically modified food was one of the major scientific advances of the 20th century. Over and above this, our understanding of DNA appeared to reach its most impressive manifestation with the successful sequencing of the human genome in the year 2000.For the genetics professor and pioneering genetic engineer George Church, however, genetically modified food and the Human Genome Project are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of genomics. Indeed, since the year 2005, the exponential growth rate in our ability to read and write DNA has increased from 1.5-fold per year (a rate that matches Moore's law), to the incredible rate of 10-fold per year (p. 243). This explosion in scientific and technological progress has resulted in dramatic advancements in the areas of biochemicals, biomaterials, biofuels and biomedicine. What's more, advancements in these technologies are but in their incipient stage, and the future of genomics promises to dwarf these initial achievements. In his new book 'Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves' George Church takes us through the developments that have occurred recently in the area of genomics, and also where these developments are likely to take us in the future.When it comes to the current state of the field, manipulating DNA has already allowed us to produce organisms with new features, such as foodstuffs with novel properties, greater productivity and nutritional value, and resistance to pathogens. Over and above this, micro-species have been programmed to do such things as detect impurities in drinking water, produce electricity from waste-water (and purify the waste-water in the process), produce blood, produce vaccines, take pictures, and even store information. Indeed, the potential to use DNA as a store of information is already recognized to be the likely next leap in computer science, and is poised to initiate a revolution in informatics (just imagine storing all of the information in Wikipedia [in every language] on a chip the size of a blood cell, for a cost of $1 for 100,000 copies [p. 197]).And, of course, the potential to manipulate genomes does not end with other species: it can also be extended to our own. Actualizing this potential is not far off, and includes such things as increasing intelligence, gaining full immunity to any pathogen (real or hypothetical), and dramatically extending the lifespan (if not removing mortality altogether).In addition to manipulating genomes for the purpose of creating new biological features, the productive capacity of the genome can also be exploited to produce new substances and materials, such as chemicals, plastics, fuels, drugs, and vaccines. Successes in each of these areas has already been achieved, and the field is on the cusp of scaling-up these processes to an industrial scale. What's more, manipulating genes shows the promise of expanding the current repertoire of the building blocks of substances and materials to produce a whole new array thereof.Church's book both is both invigorating and inspiring. However, it should be noted that the book is fairly technical throughout, and will only be easily-digested by a reader who already has a fairly deep understanding of the field. Having said that, an educated general reader equipped with a good amount of patience will have no trouble following the argument, and should learn a great deal in the process. A full executive summary of the book is available here:  An Executive Summary of George M. Church and Ed Regis's 'Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves'

What is Good:-Covers so many different concepts in this emerging field of biology, from the stuff already in existence, to the potentials in the not-so-distance future. Author actually does a solid job of helping people realize some things are a lot closer to reality than they may have realized before, though I will say, is overly optimistic in some other areas.- Author is quite passionate about the biology and the science.- Very little other options out there quite as up-to-date as this book (at least as of Oct 2015).What is NOT so Good:- This book's pacing is terrible.- The author spends a LOT of time trying to give background history on the basics of biology, which isn't necessarily bad, but instead, it comes across as extraordinarily fluffy, and often repeats itself, and half the time, is probably unnecessary.- It jumps back and forth a LOT and repeats itself a lot.- It seems to lack depth. I almost feel bad about saying this because you can tell the author painstakingly included so many details and put so much effort forth, but I just feel like it maybe would have been more intriguing if it included more ethical analysis of some of these emerging techniques, from both sides. Instead, it makes for a very dry read. It's an informative read, but a rather dry one.Final Word:- In terms of writing quality, this is probably not really a 4/5 star book. It's not bad, but it is a challenging read, and not just because of the complicated science at-hand, but in overall flow and style the author gives us. However, there isn't really anything quite like it, or as up-to-date as it on the market, and the extraordinary level of detail the author gives deserves credit. Thus, I would definitely say this is more of a 3/5 star book, quality-wise, but the sheer knowledge gained after reading this deserves an extra bump to 4 star. Just be warned, this is not an easy book to stick into, and if you already have a biology background, it may be even harder to jump into when he spends chapters on the basics of DNA and so on.

It’s a fascinating topic, and the only book in synthetic biology that I am aware of. The first author is a first character in that area, a singular and fascinating biologist, and therefore he tells the story with profound knowledge. However, I found the writing disappointing. Long paragraphs or pages hard to understand, boring, unnecessarily concrete, and with little substance to take home. Also, I often missed diagrams to fully understand.

Awesome and in very good condition

A fascinating book from a genius scientist whose incredible breadth of work has made - and will continue to make - major contributions towards solutions to humanity's greatest challenges.

When I saw that George Church - known for the genetic "killswitch", the 3D structure of the ribosome and much more - had written a book, I ordered it the next day. When it arrived, I was anything but disappointed.True to reputation, Church takes his readers on a journey through existing technologies and possibilities many of us would never dream of. Think carpets manufactured by bacteria, Eco-friendly bioplastics, seed-grown houses, bringing extinct species back to life, induced viral immunity, DNA cryptography, and turning your compost or toilet into a power plant. He presents the living organism as a programmable machine much like a computer - a thrilling and horrifying idea all at once.Although I am quite familiar with molecular biology, one does not need to be to read Regenesis.To those without a background in biology, the book may be a bit dense, but it is perfectly accessible. For example, in order to explain how one would actually go about inducing immunity to all viruses (reversing an entire organism's stereochemistry), Church explains what stereochemistry is, why it is important, and how (by altering an organism's genetic code) we could bring about a "mirror" organism that viruses would not be able to infect. All of the information one needs to understand how powerful synthetic biology can be (and its limitations) are contained between this book's two covers, even if it is a lot to digest at once.While the difference between "can" and "aught to" statements in the book are not always clearly outlined, by no means does Church shy away from ethical discussions. While his ultimate conclusions with regards to what we *should* do moving forward are subjective, he does give voice to the other side of the equation albeit briefly.A worthwhile and important read - this book will almost certainly inspire awe (and perhaps a bit of fear) in you, and no doubt will give you the tools you need to understand a great deal the science that is being discussed in many modern news articles.

Non ho ancora finito di leggerlo ma già lo recensisco come uno dei libri più chiari e pieni di idee su genomica e biotecnologie in rapporto al futuro dell'umanità che ho letto negli ultimi anni.Consigliato anche per i neofiti nel campo della genetica, anche se in alcune pagine (ma poche) può risultare molto tecnico.Scoperto grazie ad "Estinzione" Di James Rollings!