Cracking the Code

Over the past three decades, advances in our knowledge of DNA have transformed our understanding of the living world and reached into every corner of biological research. This text takes the reader on a guided tour of this ongoing scientific revolution and its impact on our daily lives. Geneticist David Suzuki and biologist and science writer Joe Levine reveal how scientists' ability to crack and manipulate the genetic code, learning which genes do what and how, is transforming medicine, especially the treatment of inherited diseases. They show us how this knowledge is leading to experimental treatments such as gene therapy, introduce us to the brave new world of "designer" plants and transgenic animals, and examine the contentious field of human behavioural genetics, asking whether it is reasonable to suggest that genes can fine-tune subtle aspects of personality and be linked to complex conditions such as alcoholism and schizophrenia.