The Engineer in the Garden, Genes and Genetics: From the Idea of Heredity to the Creation of Life

by Colin Tudge (Author), Colin Tudge (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1993

  $3.22

  After nuclear power, genetic engineering is probably the single most controversial idea in science. It is associated with sinister medical schemes and terrible, radical experiments. It provokes passionate argument, because now we have the ability to alter the capacities of living things. One of the difficulties in understanding the issues at stake is the sheer complexity of genes in living organisms. They occur in bewildering permutations and can cause very different effects, depending on their location. Many biologists claim that they are also the irreducible units of natural selection. Colin Tudge attempts to deliver a clear introduction to modern biology and genetics for non-scientists. He argues that because gene behaviour cannot be predicted in new environments, we are engaged in genetic gardening not genetic engineering. The dangers of ad hoc tinkering and breeding are dramatically described. The author carrries on to explore the laberatory and utopian possibilities of a new created life. Colin Tudge wrote Last Animals at the Zoo , which was shortlisted for the 1992 Science Book Prize.

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $3.22

  Today we are developing a science that could change the world - for good or ill - more quickly and more profoundly than ever before. The science of genetics promises - or threatens - nothing less than the creation of life. Colin Tudge leads the reader gently through the deepest intricacies of genetics. He traces its history. He explores its awesome power and its current applications. And he speculates on its thrilling - or terrifying - future. He has written an essential book for anyone interested in the future of the human race.