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When a Gene Makes You Smell Like a Fish: ...and Other Amazing Tales about the Genes in Your Body
From the gene that causes people to age prematurely to the "bitter gene" that may spawn broccoli haters, this book explores a few of the more exotic locales on the human genome, highlighting some of the tragic and bizarre ways our bodies go wrong when genes fall prey to mutation and the curious ways in which genes have evolved for our survival.
Lisa Seachrist Chiu has a smorgasbord of stories to tell about rare and not so rare genetic quirks. We read about the Dracula Gene, a mutation in zebra fish that causes blood cells to explode on contact with light, and suites of genes that also influence behavior and physical characteristics; the Tangier Island Gene, first discovered after physicians discovered a boy with orange tonsils (scientists now realize that the child's odd condition comes from an inability to process cholesterol); and Wilson's Disease, a gene defect that fails to clear copper from the body, which can trigger schizophrenia and other neurological symptoms, and can be fatal if left untreated. Friendlier mutations include the Myostatin gene, which allows muscles to become much larger than usual and enhances strength and the much-envied Cheeseburger Gene, which allows a lucky few to eat virtually anything they want and remain razor thin.
While fascinating us with stories of genetic peculiarities, Chiu also manages to effortlessly explain much of the cutting-edge research in modern genetics, resulting in a book that is both informative and entertaining. It is a must read for everyone who loves popular science or is curious about the human body.
Lisa Seachrist Chiu has a smorgasbord of stories to tell about rare and not so rare genetic quirks. We read about the Dracula Gene, a mutation in zebra fish that causes blood cells to explode on contact with light, and suites of genes that also influence behavior and physical characteristics; the Tangier Island Gene, first discovered after physicians discovered a boy with orange tonsils (scientists now realize that the child's odd condition comes from an inability to process cholesterol); and Wilson's Disease, a gene defect that fails to clear copper from the body, which can trigger schizophrenia and other neurological symptoms, and can be fatal if left untreated. Friendlier mutations include the Myostatin gene, which allows muscles to become much larger than usual and enhances strength and the much-envied Cheeseburger Gene, which allows a lucky few to eat virtually anything they want and remain razor thin.
While fascinating us with stories of genetic peculiarities, Chiu also manages to effortlessly explain much of the cutting-edge research in modern genetics, resulting in a book that is both informative and entertaining. It is a must read for everyone who loves popular science or is curious about the human body.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
14 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
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May 18, 2024I don’t know if i can consider this as read….
October 11, 2012
This is a rather technical book on human genetics. Recent research is described, with plenty of names of researchers and institutions of research. A background in college biology would be helpful for understanding most of the material. It is mainly about diseases that are caused by defective genes, including: (1) Metabolic diseases that cause smelly or colored chemicals to be excreted in urine and sweat, (2) Wilson's disease, which involves copper metabolism, (3) Marfan Syndrome, which affected one of my favorite actors, Vincent Schiavelli, (4) Huntington's Disease, which runs in families, (5) Fragile X Syndrome, which causes mental retardation, (6) the blood-clotting disease hemophilia, and (7) male-pattern baldness. Some genetic diseases more common among some ethnic groups, such as Amish cerebral palsy, Mennonite maple syrup urine disease, and Celtic hereditary hemochromatosis.
The author also discusses epigenetics, which is about whether a gene is turned on or off. Since females have two X chromosomes and men only one, in females one of the two X chromosomes is turned off, so males and females will produce equal amounts of the gene's protein product. However, which of the two X chromosomes is turned off, the one from the woman's mother, or the one from the woman's father, varies from cell to cell in the body. Thus all females are chimeras, which gives rise to calico cats.
The author mentions the recently discovered recombination activating genes (RAG1 and RAG2), that are involved in creating a wide diversity in the antigen-binding specificity of antibodies and cellular adaptive immunity. It appears that they were transferred from a virus or a bacteria by horizontal evolution to a primitive fish millions of years ago.
The Japanese people are a combination of the original Jomon inhabitants of the islands and Korean immigrants called Yayoi. The Ainu of Hokkaido are similar to the Jomon. The inhabitants of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu are more similar to the Koreans. The author claims that the Japanese language is an isolate, but the physiologist Jared Diamond and some linguists have written elsewhere that Korean and Japanese have a common ancestor.
Lactose intolerance is the rule for most peoples of the world. When children grow up, they generally stop making the enzyme for digesting the milk sugar lactose. However, some peoples, such as northern Europeans, have developed a tolerance for milk into adulthood. It appears to have evolved among a cattle-herding people, the Udmerts (Votyak), who lived between the Ural mountains and the Volga river several thousand years ago. Drinking cow milk by adults and lactose tolerance then spread to Europe.
The author also discusses epigenetics, which is about whether a gene is turned on or off. Since females have two X chromosomes and men only one, in females one of the two X chromosomes is turned off, so males and females will produce equal amounts of the gene's protein product. However, which of the two X chromosomes is turned off, the one from the woman's mother, or the one from the woman's father, varies from cell to cell in the body. Thus all females are chimeras, which gives rise to calico cats.
The author mentions the recently discovered recombination activating genes (RAG1 and RAG2), that are involved in creating a wide diversity in the antigen-binding specificity of antibodies and cellular adaptive immunity. It appears that they were transferred from a virus or a bacteria by horizontal evolution to a primitive fish millions of years ago.
The Japanese people are a combination of the original Jomon inhabitants of the islands and Korean immigrants called Yayoi. The Ainu of Hokkaido are similar to the Jomon. The inhabitants of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu are more similar to the Koreans. The author claims that the Japanese language is an isolate, but the physiologist Jared Diamond and some linguists have written elsewhere that Korean and Japanese have a common ancestor.
Lactose intolerance is the rule for most peoples of the world. When children grow up, they generally stop making the enzyme for digesting the milk sugar lactose. However, some peoples, such as northern Europeans, have developed a tolerance for milk into adulthood. It appears to have evolved among a cattle-herding people, the Udmerts (Votyak), who lived between the Ural mountains and the Volga river several thousand years ago. Drinking cow milk by adults and lactose tolerance then spread to Europe.
June 12, 2024
copying chance’s dates. i didn’t actually finish this book. also it was boring
November 9, 2021
I have a microbiology degree that required several classes in genetics. Now, to be fair, these were bacterial molecular genetics, not human genetics, but some of the theory and basic terminology overlaps.
I still had a hard time reading this book. It was interesting, to be sure, but there were just some places where I had to backtrack and reread a section multiple times. This is especially true in places where a lot of acronyms were used. Maybe if this was my copy of the book & I could highlight in it, I'd find it easier? But it was a library book, and I won't be That Person. ;)
I still had a hard time reading this book. It was interesting, to be sure, but there were just some places where I had to backtrack and reread a section multiple times. This is especially true in places where a lot of acronyms were used. Maybe if this was my copy of the book & I could highlight in it, I'd find it easier? But it was a library book, and I won't be That Person. ;)
July 31, 2019
I, with my honours degree in biology, enjoyed it, but it doesn't cut it as a "popular science" book, it's waaaay too technical for the layperson. The "genetics primer" at the back will not help with that.
Would have liked a bit more depth in gene regulation, and sometimes she mentions a disease off hand (in comparison with the one the section is about) without describing it.
That said, if you have studied biology, it's super interesting and I would recommend it.
Would have liked a bit more depth in gene regulation, and sometimes she mentions a disease off hand (in comparison with the one the section is about) without describing it.
That said, if you have studied biology, it's super interesting and I would recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2020
This book is like DNA: densely packed with information. I believe the author could have easily written 2 books with the material in this one book just by adding some extra explanatory pictures and some white space for layout. The downside of this compact format is that it's sometimes tough to read.
February 1, 2019
It may have been due to my finishing some great history books, but this one was a real slog. There's loads of biology jargon and case studies, but I didn't find any of it compelling. If you like detailed biology books, you might like it, but I prefer more story than formulas.
November 29, 2017
very informative to say the least . a bit long winded but hang in there its a quick read .
February 11, 2016
The book starts off promising enough with the case of Sandy who smelled, as the title of the book proclaims, like a fish. The author takes the reader through the biology behind trimethylaminuria (TMAU) also known as the fish-odor syndrome.
I had hoped that the rest of the book would be case studies of unusual genetic diseases; instead, the author takes a highly technical approach of biological genetics.
As most of you know, I’m majorily fond of medical history especially genetic disease and while I enjoyed the book on the first read, I didn’t quite enjoy it as much on the second read, hence my downgrading the rating from 5 to 4 stars.
This isn’t a book for the casual reader as it is much too technical.
But for those who are seriously into genetics and gene consequences, this is definitely the book for you!
I had hoped that the rest of the book would be case studies of unusual genetic diseases; instead, the author takes a highly technical approach of biological genetics.
As most of you know, I’m majorily fond of medical history especially genetic disease and while I enjoyed the book on the first read, I didn’t quite enjoy it as much on the second read, hence my downgrading the rating from 5 to 4 stars.
This isn’t a book for the casual reader as it is much too technical.
But for those who are seriously into genetics and gene consequences, this is definitely the book for you!
May 26, 2015
I feel like this book would have been a lot more engaging if it was a documentary programme on discovery channel. It certainly reads like one.
A little repetitive and very technical. For the level of textbook-type detail the author delves into, this book should be longer than two hundred pages.
It does introduce a lot of cool genetic concepts like Lyonization, PAMPS and SNPs. Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to retain many of those technical terms and abbreviations...or even the underlying concepts that explain genetic phenomena and that disapoints me!
Not the best format for "the layman's guide to human genetics".
A little repetitive and very technical. For the level of textbook-type detail the author delves into, this book should be longer than two hundred pages.
It does introduce a lot of cool genetic concepts like Lyonization, PAMPS and SNPs. Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to retain many of those technical terms and abbreviations...or even the underlying concepts that explain genetic phenomena and that disapoints me!
Not the best format for "the layman's guide to human genetics".
August 8, 2007
It was really just disease after disease after disease, and although they were interesting, you would probably be familiar with a lot of them if you've read any other books about genetics. If you haven't read Genome, read that instead; it's a few years old now but it covers much of the same ground in a more accessible, less disease-orientated way.
August 11, 2008
See the Genome Book review by Matt Ridley
It is basically the same stuff.
This is written in a LITTLE bit more accessible style to me, and was a bit of an easier read than the Genome book.
I learned A LOT.
I am certainly glad that I don't have this particular gene, you know the one that makes you smell like a fish? But I do have some other banging genes. And I bet you do too.
It is basically the same stuff.
This is written in a LITTLE bit more accessible style to me, and was a bit of an easier read than the Genome book.
I learned A LOT.
I am certainly glad that I don't have this particular gene, you know the one that makes you smell like a fish? But I do have some other banging genes. And I bet you do too.
Want to read
October 10, 2012The synopsis sounds most intriguing. I read the indian Epic Mahabharata a little while ago and in it read about a character called Satyavati, who "smelled like a fish". I dismissed this as another supernatural thing in the epic, but it seems it might have been real after all.
This book is on my list to read.
This book is on my list to read.
December 16, 2007
This book is a review of several genes that have recently (or not so recently) been discovered in the world of molecular biology. Most of the genes reviewed in the book are strange, like the gene that the book is titled after. Some of my favorite are the werewolf gene, and the dracula gene.
June 26, 2010
This was a great little "cocktail party stories" book of random information on genes and genetic disorders – some merely annoying, some fatal. Doesn't every need little bite-sized nuggets of genetics info? I know I do.
April 29, 2011
I was hoping for more of a genetics 101 at the beginning of the book, or of each chapter, for those people like me who "get" science but not so much genetics... but the stories are interesting, she provides good "hooks" to get you into each chapter, and the writing is good.
May 27, 2011
A great book discussing the wonders of your genome. It is facinating and interesting and hard to put down. For anyone who is interested in what makes them unique or wants to know more about how genes work and how they can go wrong then this is the book for you.
October 15, 2014
I found it to be too technical, even I as a geneticist found it hard to keep along in some sections (mainly the ones that talk about immunology). But the overall format is fine. Some really interesting things in there.
March 13, 2007
It's a little dense on the sciency genetic talk, but now I know way more about weird genetic crap that science is still trying to figure out.
October 11, 2007
Some interesting stuff in here, but it's just the wrong side of being too technical for the non-biologist.
February 18, 2008
Interesting in catching up on what has happened in genetic research since I was in college 30 years ago. A bit more than a layman's survey, but not an in-depth tome.
March 21, 2008
Too difficult unless you are studying DNA better
left on the shelfs.
left on the shelfs.
August 14, 2008
Lots of really interesting, well-researched information here, but the writing gets a little dry and technical.
October 9, 2009
Great book if you are into Genetics. Listed as a Young adult book so it reads easy but the science can get a bit hard for a middle schooler
October 23, 2009
Chiu provides a simple review of genetics and protein production while providing some interesting examples.
February 14, 2012
Cool anecdotes & good descriptions of basic genetic principles. A quick read that you'll definitely learn something from.
February 21, 2013
Very interesting book. She doesn't go too far into detail about most of the stuff mentioned, but it is an entertaining and insightful read.
October 9, 2015
Kind of scary at some points. All around interesting. It just kind of scares me how one little gene can affect your whole life
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews