Updating DNA’s Life Story – The New York Times – New York Times

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It is incredible enough that anyone ever discovered the structure of DNA. (James D. Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962 for their research on the subject.) But the progress that has since been made in sequencing and editing our genetic building blocks is perhaps even more dizzying.

An updated edition of Watsons book DNA: The Story of the Genetic Revolution, first published in 2003, includes a new chapter on the progress in cancer research and another on the latest science in (and implications of) personal genomics. In 2007, Watson was one of the first people to have his own genome completely sequenced. He estimates that about 400,000 others have now been done.

Watson, 89, retired as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island in 2007 after an uproar that followed offensive remarks he made generalizing about the intelligence of people of African descent. Not often in the public eye since then, he uses the opportunity of the new version of DNA to opine on developments in the field.

Watson writes in one new part of the book: I for one wholeheartedly endorse consumers right to know their personal genetic information and to take what measures seem appropriate. But when he had his own DNA mapped, there was one thing even he didnt want to know: whether he had the gene associated with a heightened risk of Alzheimers disease. I had absolutely no desire, he writes, to waste time worrying about having some genetic predisposition to such a hideous disease.

Quotable

I do not think novels are necessarily more worthwhile than games. A novel can be a trivial waste of time, and a game can teach. . . . At their best, novels and games serve as vehicles for discovery. Allegra Goodman, in an interview with Commonweal

Tall Waves and Deep Thoughts

James Ryerson reviews Aaron Jamess Surfing With Sartre this week. Something about chasing a good wave does seem to lend itself to deep thoughts. Jaimal Yogiss new memoir, All Our Waves Are Water, seeks profound spiritual lessons in the ocean. In addition to earnestly New Age-y moments, like ruminating on the scientific similarity between amniotic fluid and saltwater, Yogiss approach makes room for self-deprecation. Its also not just about him; Yogiss previous memoir, Saltwater Buddha, detailed his running away from home to surf and join a monastery as a teenager. Much of this new book revolves around his friendship with a displaced Tibetan named Sonam, and so, Yogis writes, surfing and Zen are just big characters among many.

A version of this article appears in print on August 20, 2017, on Page BR4 of the Sunday Book Review.

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Updating DNA's Life Story - The New York Times - New York Times