Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts

by Emily Anthes

For centuries, we've toyed with our creature companions, breeding dogs that herd and hunt, housecats that look like tigers, and teacup pigs that fit snugly in our handbags. But what happens when we take animal alteration a step further, engineering a cat that glows green under ultraviolet light or cloning the beloved family Labrador? Science has given us a whole new toolbox for tinkering with life. How are we using it?

In "Frankenstein"'"s Cat," the journalist Emily Anthes takes us from petri dish to pet store as she explores how biotechnology is shaping the future of our furry and feathered friends. As she ventures from bucolic barnyards to a "frozen zoo" where scientists are storing DNA from the planet's most exotic creatures, she discovers how we can use cloning to protect endangered species, craft prosthetics to save injured animals, and employ genetic engineering to supply farms with disease-resistant livestock. Along the way, we meet some of the animals that are ushering in this astonishing age of enhancement, including sensor-wearing seals, cyborg beetles, a bionic bulldog, and the world's first cloned cat.

Through her encounters with scientists, conservationists, ethicists, and entrepreneurs, Anthes reveals that while some of our interventions may be trivial (behold: the GloFish), others could improve the lives of many species--including our own. Sowhat does biotechnology "really "mean for the world's wild things? And what do our brave new beasts tell us about ourselves?

With keen insight and her trademark spunk, Anthes highlights both the peril and the promise of our scientific superpowers, taking us on an adventure into a world where our grandest science fiction fantasies are fast becoming reality.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Biology, Animals, Technology, Audiobook, Nature

243 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

Emily Anthes is an award-winning science journalist and author. Her new book, The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness, will be published in June 2020 by Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Her previous book, Frankenstein’s Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech’s Brave New Beasts, was long-listed for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Wired, Nature, Slate, Businessweek, and elsewhere. Emily has a master’s degree in science writing from MIT and a bachelor’s degree in the history of science and medicine from Yale, where she also studied creative writing. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmilyAnthes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyanthes/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emily.anthes
Newsletter: https://emilyanthes.substack.com

Reviews

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Q:
By randomly disabling the rodents’ genes, the scientists here are churning out hundreds of odd animals, assembly-line style. They have created mice studded with skin tumors and mice that grow tusks. There’s a mouse with male-pattern baldness, hair everywhere save for a lonely bare spot on its head. Some of the mice have strange behavioral quirks—they endlessly bury marbles, for instance, or make only left turns. One strain ages at warp speed. Another can’t feel pain. (c)
Q:
While some of the rodents have obvious abnormalities, others reveal their secrets over time. One variety appears normal on the outside, with thick white fur and healthy pink ears and noses. But the animals are klutzes. They are clumsy and spectacularly uncoordinated. They fail miserably when researchers put them through their paces at a special rodent boot camp. In one test, the mice are tasked with standing on top of a rotating rod for as long as they can manage, the rodent equivalent of a log-rolling challenge. It’s not an easy undertaking, but normal mice eventually find their footing. The mutant mice never do. They also have trouble balancing on a narrow wooden beam and keeping their grip when suspended, upside down, from a wire screen. And they have strange gaits—taking abnormally wide steps and holding their tails at odd angles, curved up toward the ceiling, instead of letting them simply drag along the floor behind them, as mice usually do.
Even stranger, perhaps, are the Lonely Hearts Club mice. The males of this strain look like regular rodents, but the females consistently refuse to mate with them. The poor guys, lacking some certain je ne sais quoi, simply have no sex appeal, and they are rejected time and time again.
These mice are just a small sample of the more than 500 different kinds of mutants the Fudan team has created. (c)
Q:
Unless you are an expert on the cold calculus of culling wild turkeys or an aficionado of the tender lovemaking habits of the New Zealand mud snail, Fish and Game meetings can be brain-deadening experiences. (c)

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read. The last time I really covered biotechnology was one of my modules on my undergraduate degree (what feels like an age ago!) and it was great reading up on all sorts of the weird and wonderful (and not so wonderful) technological advances of biotech.
It’s amazing and horrifying the things they can do with science. From biotech saving our pets, bionic dogs, cloning and genetics to robotics, electronic tagging and prosthetics! Very interesting book.

[Camille McCarthy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really disliked this book because it was mostly about a subject I detest (messing with nature through genetic engineering and other types of engineering) but also because it was written in a really irritating style full of cliches and words that annoy me such as "pooches" and "critters". I disliked the way the author tried to put a positive slant on genetic engineering because she did not come across as much of an authority on anything in this book and personally if one does research in the field of cloning and genetically modifying animals specifically for scientific research and does not find it sickening I feel there is something wrong with that person. The book contained information on tagging animals, cloning, genetically engineering lab animals to have disabilities, using animals as robots by attaching wires to their brains and remote controlling them, and creating prosthetic limbs for animals. The only parts I didn't find so disturbing were on tagging animals and giving them prosthetic limbs. I wouldn't recommend this book and I only read it because I wanted to view the pro-engineering side and see if they made any sense. The author really tried to make a pro-"technology" case, but it was not convincing to me at all. Also I dislike the constant comparison of selective breeding to genetic modification- while humans are in control in both cases, I really do not think they should be compared as if they are the same thing.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pop science survey for voters, consumers, and parents of future scientists. Not technical, no charts or illustrations or bibliography. Thorough notes and index. A quick and fascinating read. I had some idea of some of what's been going on, but there was plenty of new information, too.

One thing I should have known but didn't is that wolves weren't reintroduced to Yellowstone just for their own sake. The elk were overpopulating the park, eating the trees... now that the wolves are back, the elk herds are of a more manageable size. This was mentioned to get the reader to think about how extinct animals leave holes in the 'webs' of ecosystems, and to offer justification to consider cloning as one tool to help conservation efforts.

Besides cloning, pharming, genetic engineering, prostheses, embedded trackers, and several other techniques and strategies are surveyed. I do recommend this quick read.

Btw, one of the few (only?) books mentioned is one of my favorites on the subject: Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals, which I highly recommend.

[Cleo · Rating 2 out of 5]

"For centuries, we’ve toyed with our creature companions, breeding dogs that herd and hunt, housecats that look like tigers, and teacup pigs that fit snugly in our handbags. But what happens when we take animal alteration a step further, engineering a cat that glows green under ultraviolet light or cloning the beloved family Labrador? Science has given us a whole new toolbox for tinkering with life. How are we using it? In Frankenstein’s Cat, the journalist Emily Anthes takes us from petri dish to pet store as she explores how biotechnology is shaping the future of our furry and feathered friends. As she ventures from bucolic barnyards to a “frozen zoo” where scientists are storing DNA from the planet’s most exotic creatures, she discovers how we can use cloning to protect endangered species, craft prosthetics to save injured animals, and employ genetic engineering to supply farms with disease-resistant livestock. Along the way, we meet some of the animals that are ushering in this astonishing age of enhancement, including sensor-wearing seals, cyborg beetles, a bionic bulldog, and the world’s first cloned cat. Through her encounters with scientists, conservationists, ethicists, and entrepreneurs, Anthes reveals that while some of our interventions may be trivial (behold: the GloFish), others could improve the lives of many species—including our own. So what does biotechnology really mean for the world’s wild things? And what do our brave new beasts tell us about ourselves?"

There were many fascinating aspects to this book; the subject is so, so interesting, and the book could have been an intriguing and absorbing look at various new techniques for altering and creating animals. Instead, I was annoyed by the author's writing and use of tacky language, as well as by her heavily, heavily biased slant (more on all of this later).

What Anthes is writing about should be astonishing to anyone; the very idea that humans would be able to say control animals' movements through their brains is such a new one. This is just one of the many mindblowing technologies covered in Frankenstein's Cat, and I certainly enjoyed reading about them. For that alone, this book would get a good rating. But even though the author has a master's degree in science writing, she doesn't know how to write well. Her diction is simply cringe worthy, and I winced many times as I read the book. She uses words like "critters" and "pooches" and at one point talks about using eggs from "plain ol' tabbies". The only reason I finished the book was because what she was writing about interested me immensely. If I had been any less interested, I would have put it down after a few chapters. As it was, I learned a lot, but the experience wasn't exactly enjoyable. The mediocrity of the writing got harder and harder to ignore as the book progressed; perhaps that kind of folksy writing is to some people's taste, but it certainly isn't to mine, especially in a science book. That's not to say that science writing can't use humor to great effect, but this wasn't humor; I don't even know what it was. Perhaps Anthes speaks like this, or perhaps she was trying to interest readers.

The author also churns out painful similes in another attempt to relate to readers. Or something. I don't even know. I also found at least a few portions of the book that seemed somewhat inaccurate to me; at the very least, these passages were vague and misleading. For example: "Consider the enormous variation among human beings, all the different traits possessed by the people in your family, or in your state, or in Mozambique, Sri Lanka, and Iceland." I'm probably just being nitpicky, but despite our physical differences in fact there's not actually a whole lot of genetic variation among humans due to the fact that we all originate from a small original band of Homo sapiens. I get the point she was trying to make (if a lot of individuals of a species are wiped out, there's less genetic variation), but the whole comparison just fell apart for me. Also, she goes on to imagine that only you and the people on your block survive a meteor hitting the earth. But in fact there might be comparatively large genetic diversity on your block (especially if you have the good fortune to live in a city like New York).

And my last criticism: the author's heavy, heavy bias. Inevitably the author's opinion is always a part of a book, but in this case her constant cutting in to talk about her own opinions annoyed me. That actually happens in many science books (in fact many science books are written to persuade people of things), but with such complicated issues, scientific and ethical, at the heart of this book, I couldn't help wondering if there were negative aspects of bioengineering that Anthes was leaving out.

Something about the whole tone of the book set my teeth on edge. I don't understand the recognition it's received or how the serious science community (like Science magazine) can endorse this book. The topic's fascinating, and I suppose Anthes is pretty comprehensive, but the writing to me was atrocious. I wouldn't recommend this one at all unless you're a fan of corny language. It's a shame; the book could have been really intriguing and enjoyable.

www.novareviews.blogspot.com

[Aiyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is popular science writing at its best. Anthes takes us on a journey of where life meets the cutting edge of technology, from genetically engineered pets like glo-fish to cloned cats to bionic rats. We learn about deep sea creatures tagged with sensors to give us information about the ocean floor, cryonic tanks full of endangered species DNA, a make-your-own robo-roach kit, and a rescued dolphin with a prosthetic tail.

Antes brings up ethical questions about whether we should or shouldn't modify the world at this level, but ultimately points out that we have already made so many changes of this magnitude that the real question is no longer "should we or should we not?" but "when and why should we make certain changes rather than others?"

The book is written in layman's language, assuming no more than junior high level science in the reader, and I wish dearly that it went into more depth and detail in places. For all that, it covers an impressive range of topics well enough to answer many of the questions I had about them.

As a science person myself, I was also deeply impressed by the notes section of the book. This author did her research and then some. Usually I can tell a thoroughly researched book by the large (sometimes mind-numbing) number of facts and statistics quoted. This book took me by surprise with just how much information it contained, tucked away in concise, everyday language.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

**3.5 Stars**

Ok, I wasn't sure about this book because I hated the first chapter, so let me break it down by chapter:

Go Fish - I found it a horrible idea and concept that we could eventually get to the point where we were ordering designer pets; pets displaying our team colors or that glow in the dark.

Got Milk? - Phasinating. I really liked reading about Pharming and all the benefits there are to adding antibodies into goat and cow milk. The medical application can become limitless (as long as approved).

Double Trouble - Ok, interesting chapter. I agreed with a lot of aspects of cloning, until it came down to pets. I think that there is a huge benefit in cloning for farm animals and endangered species.

Nine Lives - Really enjoyed this chapter. It is nice to see that we are trying to do everything we can to bring endangered species back from extinction. I also found the project in Russia interesting; reterriforming the environment simply by reintroducing animals that had lived there in the past.

Sentient Sensors - Good chapter about the tracking and monitoring of all sorts of animals. I did not realize that we were tracking fish, but it makes sense.

Pin the tail on the Dolphin - Wow, just wow. We have come so far with prosthetics. What I find odd is that people disagree with the use of prosthetics in animals like Winter who only benefit from the outcome.

Robo Revolution - Another chapter I did not like, because I did not agree with the concept. Yes, I think being able to send rats into areas to check for explosives is a good thing, but I would prefer it be nonanimal. Also, there is a massive invasion of privacy that I think comes up. No one can say that the government would use these robobugs strictly for what they are advertising.

Overall, really good book and I'm glad I stuck with it after the first chapter. I enjoyed how ethics was brought up in every chapter and arguments made for both sides. It really let me form my own opinion.

[Georg Gerstenfeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite mediocre writing and a muddle of anecdotes, this book is worth reading. What science can do and is doing to animals needs to be debated in a much more public way. Some of the examples are disturbing, especially the way companies exploit genetic modification to create designer pets that glow in the dark. In the absence of public debate and intelligent discourse, emotional responses by government regulators and their constituents often lead to these genetic engineering technologies migrating to less secure nations where fewer controls could wreak more havoc. Murky as the ethics are, opportunities for tremendous benefits abound with medical breakthroughs, resuscitation of extinct species and the reduction of debilitating agricultural impacts on the environment. The author kick starts the imagination of what's possible and the dilemma's ensuing from our relentless need to tinker with the planet. I would have liked better storytelling and more in-depth analysis of the moral trade-off's. But as it stands, this book is a must read because the science is happening in our world, whether we want to face it or not.

[Brian Clegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my experience, more scientists like dogs than cats (a dangerous assertion, I admit), which is why, perhaps, a cat ended up on the receiving end of the most famous thought experiment in history, Schrödinger’s Cat. Although the cat in Emily Anthes’ title obviously owes its existence to its hypothetical quantum cousin, though, this isn’t a book about thought experiments, but the real things. From fluorescent fish to cyborg animals, this is the story of what we are really doing – or planning to do – to modify nature.

For me, Anthes gets the balance just right in the book (though that ‘Frankenstein’ in the title is totally misleading in this respect). There are real moral issues to be considered in what we do to animals for our own benefit, but provided we take animal welfare into account, there is really no reason why we shouldn’t modify animals for our purposes. After all, we’ve been doing it for millennia through selective breeding – this is just a matter of doing it much more quickly and effectively.

Anthes covers all sorts of possibilities, and is at her best when she’s dealing with the everyday life side of the experience. So, for instance, her opening story of the fluorescent Glo-fish (despite headlines beloved of tabloid editors, they don’t glow in the dark, they re-emit light at a different frequency) is totally fascinating in part because of the legal challenges faced by the entrepreneurs looking to bring the fish to market (something that still isn’t legal, for instance, in the EU).

Making pets more interesting to look at may be fairly trivial (though as Anthes points out, it is surely more humane to make happy, healthy glowing fish than it is to distort goldfish into weird shapes so they have pop-eyes, as selective breeders have done for years), but we also meet much more useful possibilities in pharming – animals that have been modified so, for instance, their milk contains medically important proteins. Inevitably some animal rights types will moan, but surely it’s easier to justify keeping goats to produce medicine (in a normal and pleasant enough goaty life) than keeping rabbits as pets in cages (for instance).

Then we get to the real heavy stuff – implants that turn animals into controllable devices. Here, rightly, the moral discussion comes very much to the fore. However, where the animals in questions are insects, as many of them are, most of us have relatively few qualms. I’d certainly rather an insect was wired up as a drone than was used for entertainment in I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here. Again, it’s the entrepreneurs that fascinate – specifically a pair that sell a ‘control your own cockroach’ kit to turn a cockroach into a remote controlled object and learn a bit about neuroscience along the way.

Just occasionally I found the interest levels dropping a bit, and the way the book is pitched is just a little too casual for me with not quite enough science. But this is a very important area that is not going to go away and that we all ought to be thinking about. The way we have handled GM crops has been disastrous, resulting in the pathetic scene of supposedly humanitarian organizations preventing the use of crops that could help millions of people survive. We need to do better with modified animals – and this book is a good eye opener on the possibilities and the debates we will face. Recommended.

Review first published on www.popularscience.co.uk and reproduced with permission

[Ralph McEwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful but quick read. The touches on the good and bad in today's technology and looks hopefully at what the future may hold.

[Eti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Отношението на науката към животните трябва да се промени! Посланието трябва да се чуе, но начинът, по който е представено не е много добър...

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really sure what my view on this kind of biotech, but this book was interesting nonetheless. I am a bit wary of the ethics tho.

[Midu Hadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glowing Fish & Bucketfuls of Spider Silk in Goat Milk, Frankenstein’s Cat by Emily Anthes Showcases Some of the Wonders of the Biotechnological World While also Raising Some Important Questions!

The penultimate installment in Project Frankenstein was a joy to read. It was relatively short and full of stuff that I find interesting. I am dividing this review into three parts:

1. Here is a Snippet from the book:



2. Then there were these Sciency Bits that I enjoyed ruminating upon:

Cloning other adult mammals reinforced the discovery that nuclear transfer can reset genes contained in specialized cells back to their embryonic state.

It meant that the genetic clock could supposedly be turned back if things didn’t go so well the first time!

It is my content that the northern grasslands would have remained viable…had the great herds of Pleistocene animals remained in place to maintain the landscape.

This occurred to me for the first time. Yes, the Ice Ages may have changed the landscape physically but it also caused the extinction of the grazers and caused changes in a roundabout way.

…(tuna) are warm-blooded, which makes them oddities in the fish world but keeps them toasty…

They are what?! Why are you doing this to me world? I was so happy, thinking all fish are cold-blooded but no! I hate nature!

International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)

While The Sixth Extinction left me without hope, this book helped me see that we aren’t all bad eggs. Yes, humans have brought the onset of Anthropocene and change environment wherever they go…

We have harvested so many of these large deer, elk, and sheep over the centuries that many species have evolved smaller body and horn sizes. Similarly, fish have adapted to human harvesting by developing thinner bodies capable of sneaking out of nets.

Yet, organizations like ICCAT are keeping track of the number of bluefin tuna that are being pulled out of water annually. The Integrated Ocean Observing System is tagging elephant seals and other swimmers to gather information about the marine environment. Then there is Ocean Tracking Network that has been busy installing underwater listening stations that will pick up on tagged animals. The list of scientists and researchers trying to collect information goes on and on. There is even an attempt to engage the public and increase awareness via animal Facebook profiles. The point is, it took us decades if not more to wreck things. We will need some time to put them back together and it is a pity if nature doesn’t grant us that respite.

3. And a Franken-Bit that I shook an admonitory finger at:

The manufacturers of AquAdvantage salmon think that by producing only sterile female fish, they can keep them from reproducing or passing along their genes.



Even though the book raises pertinent questions about whether animals can incur psychological damage from being tagged, it doesn’t answer them. To be fair, most of us won’t be able to say no to a drug, if it would save a loved one, even if one or two clauses of animal rights weren’t observed!

Could you?

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before officially cracking open the pages, my first impressions were that I would (1) hopefully enjoy this book and (2) learn something new. As a person who works with genetically engineered organisms, I’ve never taken a step back to see what the layman viewed my work as and this book hopefully is an eye opener - both in terms of bioethics and scientific discovery. Right from the bat, I can tell that it’s referencing heavily to science fiction tropes: Frankenstein’s “cat” and Brave New “Beasts”. I took a quick glance at many people’s reviews and I already figured that this was a controversial book. And as expected so, much of today’s “biotechnology” work is seen as science fiction to people outside the field.

This book is not written for those deeply involved in biological sciences or biotechnology. This is a book written for the public. The science is readable, to discuss the current science and technology, but the explanations of the science was mediocre at best (once again, this is written for the layman). Anecdotes, language, and content all made it quite obvious that the author was heavily pro-biotechnology. I personally did not enjoy her attitude towards some animals, referencing them as “critters” or “pooches”. Andes tended to ignore arguments and blindly showed her enthusiasm for the field. Parts of her scientific explanations were misinformed. Some parts of the book I absolutely hated (see: Introduction) whereas other chapters were absolutely fascinating. One of the things I did enjoy about this book was the diversity of topics covered - from genetically modified organisms to prosthetics.

The material was both fascinating and disturbing (and I work on some of these topics, so imagine how weird it was to be disturbed!). Anthes definitely makes the point several times that biotechnology is simply a tool, neutral of all influences. Whether it’s bad or good depends on how we use biotechnology. This book was definitely thought provoking but lacking. Sadly, this is pop science - readable, with some inconsistencies. All in all, I had an interesting time reading this book – with some conflicted opinions by the end. If you like reading about popular science and bioethics but don’t want to get too technical, this book might be a book to pick up.

[Alyssa Goss · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is readable but not very informative. The author tends to gloss over how the processes she's describing work in favor of waxing poetic about the possibilities such procedures might create. She's also incredibly biased, making a cursory show of trying to argue both sides but not hiding her blind enthusiasm. She ignores arguments that might force her to present an actual case for say genetic engineering of food, such as the fact that genetically engineered plants have already turned up in places they aren't supposed to be and that chemicals used to increase milk production have been shown to damage young human bodies. At least her efforts to hide her biases fail so that the reader can easily pick up on them and keep them in mind while reading. That said, I was entertained even if I didn't get as much information as I had hoped.

[Vaishali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book a shocking read. Against the backdrop of an industry continuing to regard animals as tools for human betterment (Chinese factories mass-producing lab-mice with specific abnormalities?), this messenger has a disturbingly breezy apathy. The author's tone lacks the substance or balance you'd expect from an MIT graduate. Although she touches on some ethical issues, her voice is clear : the new frontier in animal manipulation is both fun and exciting. A rather flippant delivery undermines the credibility of the book's content. It seems Anthes is less interested in sharing multidimensional research than in pitching trends that make cash. As a reader I felt disrespected with the lack of serious, data-driven reporting. An overall chilling and disappointing read.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It taught me so much about the rapidly evolving world of genetics & was written so this layperson could understand the science. I do have to tell you that some of what is done is horrifying...and I get that research has its "costs". But I'm uncomfortable with the tradeoffs yet have no satisfying alternative to offer.

No matter what your interest in science...this book is a must read just so you'll be in the "know" for what's happening. And definitely be more in the know about what's happening that will dramatically change our lives in the future (although it might seem a long way off, I think it will happen much sooner than any of us think).

[Mark Pepp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book that discusses many of the scientific and technological advances that are creating new breeds of living organisms never found in nature... a lot of interesting stuff, but I gotta admit I felt the author comes across as biased in favor of genetically modifying organisms despite the lack of long-term scientific study of consequences thereof

[Cottageunderhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was amazing. It was well researched and written in a style that was easy to understand but not dumbed down enough that a little kid could read it. Definitely a book I would like to own.

[Kam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some years ago, I read a fascinating book by paleontologist Jack Horner, titled How to Build a Dinosaur: The New Science of Reverse Evolution. Since science has proven it is patently impossible to bring back dinosaurs using their DNA (ala Jurassic Park), Horner instead proposes an intriguing alternative: reverse-engineering dinosaurs from birds. The entire book explains how, through evolutionary development (or "evo-devo," as Horner calls it), scientists may genetically manipulate a chicken so that when it hatches, it looks a lot more like the ancient raptor dinosaurs than a bird. Given that birds are considered to be direct evolutionary descendants of dinosaurs, especially the (in)famous raptor species like Deinonychus and Utahraptor, this idea is not too farfetched. This has given me hope of one day owning pet Velociraptors, which are vicious turkey-sized creatures armed with sharp teeth and a large claw on each foot, perfectly adapted for slashing prey open. I would certainly like to see a mugger or rapist attempt to come at me while I have one of those on a leash.

Of course, such a thing can only happen if biotech progresses at a rapid pace, since the techniques Horner says are necessary for reverse-engineering a dinosaur from a bird rely on advances made in that specific field. Unfortunately, biotech is also a field fraught with controversy, since it has some rather complicated ethics, and as a result its developments come in fits and starts, depending on who is doing what and where and how. There are very good reasons for these controversies, of course, and for the constant questioning of ethics, but in Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts, Emily Anthes points out that it wouldn't be wise to "throw out the genetically modified baby with the bathwater." And this is the whole point of her book: to weight the pros and cons of biotech by showing the advances already made in that field, as well as raising vital questions about the ethics of it that lead, most importantly, to humanity's relationship with animals, and nature as a whole.

Frankenstein's Cat takes a broad, sweeping look at biotech as it stands today, and asks some interesting questions about what these technologies can do and where they are going. After the Introduction, the first four chapters deal with genetic manipulation: Chapter One deals with genetic manipulation for the pet trade by looking at GloFish; Chapter Two talks about pharming via the story of goats that have been genetically modified to have a certain protein in their milk that will help prevent deadly diarrhea in children and maybe adults; Chapter Three is about cloning pets; and Chapter Four is about cloning for conservation purposes. The next three chapters, on the other hand, are about the other ways by which humans alter animals, but without the use of genetic manipulation: Chapter Five is about tracking devices and sensors used in wildlife research; Chapter Six is about animal prosthetics; and Chapter Seven is about robotizing animals - specifically, tapping right into their brains so they can be controlled by humans. Finally, Chapter Eight is a roundup of everything that has gone before, with special emphasis on the question of ethics and why it's difficult for humans to accept that we love animals and would like to treat them well, but at the same time view them as a resource to be used for whatever purpose we think they are suitable.

The first thing the reader will note in Frankenstein's Cat is the overall positive portrayal of biotech. Anthes structures her book around mostly positive stories that showcase the use of biotech - especially touching is the chapter on animal prosthetics, detailing as it does the tale of Winter the dolphin, who was given a prosthetic tail after she lost hers in a fishing net while she was still a baby. While Winter has not been released into the wild, and will never be released into the wild, the prosthetic tail has certainly improved her quality of life. There are also stories of pet dogs and cats who have lost limbs and been given prostheses, and Anthes makes a reference to sea turtles that have been given prosthetic fins and then released back into the wild.

However, while there are a lot of heartwarming stories in the book that shine a positive light on biotech, Anthes does attempt to balance that positivity by discussing the difficulties involved in biotech (particularly cloning), as well as by constantly raising ethical questions about when biotech is a good solution to a problem, or if using biotech will only create more problems than solve them, or - as is the case with a product called "Neuticles" (the book will relate the whole story) - reveal that oftentimes humans do things to animals that are more for their comfort than the animal that is supposedly "benefiting" from the alteration.

And speaking of humans doing things to animals to please themselves, Anthes brings up the subject of selective breeding. She states that lots of biotech, particularly the genetic-engineering kind, is really no different from selective breeding, except that selective breeding takes much longer and is more limited in its reach than the kind of genetic tinkering that can be accomplished in a lab. She also points out that some of the fears we have regarding the health and welfare of animals that have been genetically engineered are very much applicable to selectively-bred animals, too. She calls out breeders of purebred animals (focusing on dogs, in particular), highlighting the fact that humanity has selectively bred the canine species into its wide and myriad variations for its own purposes, which are not always to the benefit of the animals themselves. After all, Anthes says, no one is going to deny that purebred dogs suffer from a whole host of genetic diseases, and that some, like the brachycephalic dogs such as the bulldog and the Pekinese, have been bred in such a manner as to actually make them suffer (brachycephalic breeds being notorious sufferers of shortness of breath - a result of their extremely short snouts that obviously reduces their quality of life and exacerbates whatever other issues they already carry as purebreds with little genetic diversity). Anthes asks: how is it that people can accept these mutations in dogs, while worrying about the mutations of animals that are genetically-engineered in a lab? Some reviewers hold this comparison against Anthes, but I, for one, commend her for it.

Despite her attempt at balance, however, I do have something of a problem with Anthes' overall tone in her writing. There is a lightness to it that makes it obvious she is very much in favor of biotech - perhaps a little too much in favor. I myself am a proponent of biotech and a believer in all the positive things it can do for humanity and for other species, but even I find Anthes' overall tone a bit problematic. I suppose she wrote the book with that particular tone in order to make the large and admittedly somewhat-frightening concepts behind biotech easier to read and more acceptable, but even when she does include the darker side of biotech, the overall treatment of the book makes it feel like these are problems that can be overcome, or are the result of stubborn, overly-fearful people trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. While I do partially agree with Anthes in this regard, I think the tone of her writing can make it seem like she trivializes the legitimate concerns that people have regarding the widespread use of biotech.

Another thing that puzzles me about this book is that Anthes does not tackle the role of Big Pharma in biotech. As the field continues to advance large pharmaceutical corporations have begun to cash in, going so far as to patent genes for use later on down the line. This is, I think, far more terrifying than mutant creatures that probably wouldn't survive very long outside of a laboratory setting anyway, since it has an enormous impact on the use and distribution of vital medicine and medical treatments in the future. How Anthes could have missed this aspect of biotech, in particular, is beyond me, especially given how great its impact could be in the future.

Overall, Frankenstein's Cat makes for an entertaining read, and, to a degree, an insightful one. Anthes' prose is very easy to read, and many of the stories around which is grounds her investigation into biotech are heartwarming and easy to engage with, particularly for someone who does not yet have an opinion on the matter as a whole. However, that same tone may cause trouble for other readers who already do have an opinion, since some may find it too frivolous of the fears of those who oppose biotech - even readers who are pro-biotech may find themselves occasionally raising an eyebrow at the way Anthes treats these fears, which, after all, exist for a reason and are held even by biotech's proponents. Some (such as myself) may also find it concerning that she does not address the role of Big Pharma in biotech, seemingly treating the whole matter as if Big Pharma has no stake in biotech when, in truth, they are probably the ones who stand the most to gain. Frankenstein's Cat is really just an introduction to current ideas behind biotech, and readers may choose to read more in-depth (albeit more technical) books on biotech for further elaboration on these concepts and other issues connected to it.

[CTEP]

I read this book, frankly, for the cover. CUTE! This book is definitely cute and, if you weren’t clued in by the structure and alliteration of the title bearing eerie similarity to every major college essay ever written, it is rather uncomplicated as well. For anyone interested in a rose-colored peak into various avenues of biotechnology, this book is a great primer.

Anthes is clearly writing lay-person science. Fun science! The book is so chock-full of interesting stories, from cloned pets to prosthetic dolphin tails, that it reminds me just a little of “Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul”. Anthe’s looks at the full spectrum here- from the visibly obvious to the unheard of, from genetic mutation and cloning to animal prosthetics and fish-tagging. Tuna trail cables that collect data from the deepest ocean crevasse, teaching oceanographers more about the ocean. Creating a prosthetic dolphin tail helped invent a more effective, sweat-resistant adhesive for human prosthetics. Cats are substantially easier to clone, and clones of wild big cats have been birthed by average housecats. Despite an outcry that lasted about as long as a captive goldfish, the genetically-designed GloFish are now the most popular pet WalMart sells. Anthes covers it all with an optimistic, easygoing style that, for better or worse, mollifies with the constant refrain of “See, it’s not so bad as you feared”.

This book is not for someone who already knows plenty about biotechnology, genetic modification, or is really up on the eco/etho/psycho logical and moral battles being waged between the scientific community and…well, everyone else. Anthes emphasizes the issue of genetically modifying animals, or raising up harvester pigs that contain spare human livers, often puts groups that rarely agree on the same side. Tinkering with nature seems to make almost all of us uncomfortable- the religious evangelicals and the nature-revering modern hippies. Part of me wishes I felt more repulsion, but Anthes doesn’t really write in repulsive terms. Instead, reading this book simply made me marvel at the work that is going on around the world that I never hear anything about.

The collaboration of biologists and cutting-edge engineers leads to advances, inventions, and improvements in so many systems within the scope of this book, and yet I hadn’t heard of any of it before now. While I’ve already said who I wouldn’t recommend this book to- I will say this: If you have any interest in the intersection of the amazing advancements we’ve seen in technology and the natural world, and have no real idea where to start, Frankenstein’s Cat is the place to go. Despite the author’s repeat insistence that “this may make your stomach go sour, indeed, it makes us all uncomfortable on some deep, instinctual level”—I found myself excited and optimistic- and that has lead me to want to know more.

One of the more exciting parts of this book was just how broad and wide these new technologies are reaching into society. Whether engineering hardware into tiny backpacks that can be implanted in a growing bee embryo, to designing software that can track the patterns of tuna deep in the ocean-- the meshing of computer sciences, engineering, and invention are present in everything from espionage, habitat preservation, and endangered zoo keeping to fad-pets and agricultural dominance. Overwhelmingly at my site, when I think of technology literacy, I'm thinking of preparing youth for future careers in media, film, video games, and entertainment software development. Reading this book enlightened and reminded me of all the paths available to a technologically literate and passionate person. Being aware of the possibilities in study and career for young people with a wide range of interests can help make the work we are doing relevant and broaden their understanding of the importance and promise of a field in STEM.

[EVA RUIZ]

I think this is one of the best science books I have ever read by far. It talks about so many ways we have used animals for scientific reasons. Such as ‘mind control’, cloning, spider-goats and glowing! It’s obvious bionic animals are going to take over the planet with their abilities.

The author wrote in some quotes the scientists have said about their projects with explanations. Sure the chapters are a little long, but they are definitely worth it. Each chapter goes into the long detail of how the scientists created these special beings.

Personally, I give this book 4 ½ stars. Only because the book was a little too descriptive to the point where she basically re-wrote what she was saying. But that’s just my outlook. This book is obviously going to mention the usage of animals for science as well as them being used for surgery.

Since this book was written in 2013 (8 years ago) some of the facts may have been modified to a better format. So don’t quote too many things from here since scientists most likely modified their methods. I consider this a very good book for information on cloning and bionic/genetically modified animals.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The topics within this book are fascinating and important. They are issues that society should be paying attention to and entering into serious discussion. Unfortunately, Anthes seems completely uninterested in that conversation. There is a way to argue a perspective without being dismissive and even denigrating of opposing views. Often, Anthes presented critical perspectives as straw men arguments, comparing them to entertaining "apocolyptic fantasies" and using the more ridiculous opposition to obfuscate more serious, nuanced criticism. There were points that I agreed with Anthes, but there were many areas where I felt the ethical issues were much weightier than she wanted to acknowledge. However, the heavy bias with which Anthes approached the various topics implies to the reader that if you disagree with any aspect of her near utopian closing vision, or even harbor some niggling doubts about mind controlling animals for military purposes, you are the same as conspiracy theorists who think that Elvis is still alive or believe they have been abducted and probed by aliens.

As someone who sees great promise and great ethical concerns in biotechnology, believes that this is a reality we are currently facing, and wants to honestly engage in conversation with multiple perspectives, I found Anthes trite treatment of these immensely important issues disappointing.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a whirlwind trip through the emerging realm of biological tinkering, particularly of animals. The book breathlessly divides it time partly in the science of how genetic modification is performed, but also delves into some of the ethical considerations.

To start with it was interesting. After the first chapter (on fish bread to fluoresce day-glow colours), the book for me lost steam. It felt like a bullet pointed list of all that was being done, and all that the mad scientists wanted to be done. It is also pretty gruesome knowing all the damage being done, such as snipping off cockroach antenna so that they can be auto-piloted by kids with a remote control device.

It might have been better to reinforce the message that much of science, when made, is directionless and only finds a purpose years or decades later. But, in these testing circumstances, much of the efforts are difficult to read about and just feel wrong.

An ok book about what should be a fascinating topic.

[Ansar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm kind of in two minds about this book. I think it's an interesting subject worth knowing more about but I feel like if you are interested in this subject this book will just read like a summary of newspaper articles to you. In fact if this was a bunch of articles on say a blog photography probably would have helped create a more engaging "book". The author seems to speak with very little conviction and while she deserves credit for trying to balance the argument and help you see both sides, when she does come out in favour of something it just seems like a very weak and nearly pleading argument. It's certainly not a bad read but it's a very unfulfilling one that seems to be seeking a person that is interested in the subject matter but doesn't know very much about it. Amnesiac Biotech lovers, I've got a good summary/book for you! I would advise you check it out at a library because it is still worth reading. Then maybe find another book on the subject that doesn't turn you into an indifference machine.

[David Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written (& well read) audiobook and very informative. I learned many new and interesting things about animal modifications of various kinds, and the associated history, science, research, and applications. The coverage felt fair, exploring the current and potential long-term benefits of each approach while acknowledging opposing viewpoints and calling out areas posing particularly challenging ethical questions. From previous readings I expected this to focus more on the genetic modification side of things but it expanded my horizons on animals and science by including usages of specialized prosthesis, tradeoffs around all sorts of animals modifications, traditional selective breeding pros/cons, practical applications of various technologies, methods & key-learnings from tracking animals, and quite a bit on animal-machine interfaces.

[Matteo Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho appena finito di leggere questo libro che esplora le nuove frontiere dell’ingegneria genetica applicata agli animali, e devo dire che è stata un’esperienza illuminante. L’autrice offre una panoramica dettagliata e affascinante sullo stato attuale della bioingegneria, mostrando quanto questa disciplina stia evolvendo rapidamente. Ogni capitolo è denso di informazioni e spunti di riflessione, ma è evidente che una certa base di conoscenze in fisiologia è necessaria per apprezzarlo fino in fondo. Per chi lavora nel settore o è un appassionato con solide basi scientifiche, questo libro rappresenta una lettura imperdibile, capace di ispirare e far riflettere su questioni etiche e tecnologiche di grande rilevanza. Lo consiglio caldamente a chi è pronto a immergersi in un testo piuttosto tecnico ma stimolante!

[Richard Gombert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book.
I liked the fact that the author clearly outlines that humans have been genetically modifying plants and animals for millennia. Both food, pets and for "beautification".
She then discusses various advancements in genetic modification as well as prosthetics.
There is a brief discussion about our possible necessity to share our advancements with other species and what that might mean.
The one fault I found is that she never mentions the term for this, uplift (is a developmental process to transform a certain species of animals into more intelligent beings by other, already-intelligent beings.). I'm also surprised that none of the research she talked to in the field referenced the term.

[Adam Tash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking and very interesting as a survey of the inevitable and ongoing integration of tech and biology. Takes readers into real-life applications of these ideas - each chapter goes in-depth about a sub-topic and generally involves a visit to a specific expert (s). As a total outsider and novice many were totally new to me. Personally not interested in the author's thoughts about the topic and often found myself on a different wavelength from her personal views. She is very trusting and optimistic about the current and future of this field which I am not... although it is quite amazing regardless. Good read!!

[C.Elegans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die vielen Modifikationen, die inzwischen an Tieren durchgeführt werden können, überraschten mich zum Teil schon sehr, zumal dieses gut recherchierte Buch im amerikanischen Original schon vor zehn Jahren erschien. Die Autorin, eine Wissenschaftsjournalistin, ist der Wissenschaft merklich zugetan, spart aber dennoch die ethische Frage nach der Notwendigkeit und dem Nutzen und Wohl der Tiere nicht aus. Das ist löblich und so brachten mich die sehr unterschiedlichen Anwendungsmöglichkeiten manchmal tatsächlich dazu, über deren Legitimierung nachzudenken, obwohl ich eigentlich eher gegen zu deutliche künstliche Eingriffe in Lebensformen bin.