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GMO Sapiens: The Life-Changing Science of Designer Babies
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) including plants and foods are a hot topic of debate today, but soon related technology could go much further and literally change what it means to be human. Scientists are on the verge of being able to create people who are GMOs.
Should they do it? Could we become a healthier and 'better' species or might eugenics go viral leading to a real, new world of genetic dystopia? GMO Sapiens tackles such questions by taking a fresh look at the cutting-edge biotech discoveries that have made genetically modified people possible.
Bioengineering, genomics, synthetic biology, and stem cells are changing sci-fi into reality before our eyes. This book will capture your imagination with its clear, approachable writing style. It will draw you into the fascinating discussion of the life-changing science of human genetic modification.
Undergraduate biology majors, graduate biology majors, non-experts interested in GMOs, biologists and teenagers interested in cloning and human genetic modification. ***2015 Indiefab Science Book of the Year Bronze Winner***
Should they do it? Could we become a healthier and 'better' species or might eugenics go viral leading to a real, new world of genetic dystopia? GMO Sapiens tackles such questions by taking a fresh look at the cutting-edge biotech discoveries that have made genetically modified people possible.
Bioengineering, genomics, synthetic biology, and stem cells are changing sci-fi into reality before our eyes. This book will capture your imagination with its clear, approachable writing style. It will draw you into the fascinating discussion of the life-changing science of human genetic modification.
Undergraduate biology majors, graduate biology majors, non-experts interested in GMOs, biologists and teenagers interested in cloning and human genetic modification. ***2015 Indiefab Science Book of the Year Bronze Winner***
282 pages, Paperback
Published November 26, 2015
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193 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 11, 2016
I first heard about this book after watching a Kurzgesagt video about CRISPR gene editing technology on YT. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhjP...) In the description, the creators of the video referenced this book to learn more, so I picked it up.
The book was overall quite good but suffered from a great deal of repetition. The author has a clear agenda on whether and how we should go down this path and kind of beats the reader over the head with it at every opportunity.
Knoepfler's position is that there should be strict oversight over human gene editing research. In addition, there should be an international agreement across the board that this technology should not be used in any clinical applications because of ethical concerns as well as the fact that the technology is just not ready yet. (There are times when the wrong sequence is edited. There are other times that the right sequence is edited incorrectly.) And the whole idea that one gene = one trait is generally flawed, so even if the editing process goes smoothly, it could have unintended consequences for the health of the baby. His biggest concern is if these changes are made in a way that they'll be passed down to future generations, they could propagate and we'll never be able to go back. What's most worrying for Knoepfler is that the tech is readily accessible and as of the writing of the book completely legal in the US, so there's a chance a rogue biologist will just give it a whirl. (In fact, Chinese biologists have done some tests on human embryos, so it's already happening.)
There was some good overview of gene editing technologies including CRISPR, 3-person IVF, parthenogenesis (creating an offspring just from an egg- without the need for sperm). This was the part I enjoyed the most. Another highlight was the history of eugenics and drawing parallels between that movement and the so-called transhumanism movement - a movement in support of gene editing so that humans can guide sidestep evolution and establish a new and improved version of humans.
I had a few gripes about the book in addition to the repetition of the central position of the book. First, the organization was not always clear. Knoepfler would often get ahead of himself and refer the reader to later chapters or bring up a point about a previous chapter and refer back to that. The chapters are made of up subsections, and one subsection only had 1 picture. I think the author couldn't find a better place for it and didn't have anything else to say about it, so he just shoehorned it in. Second, I felt that he was a bit dismissive of other perspectives. He gave them coverage but then would add something like, "I, however, am not as optimistic thing will turn out so well." Yes, we get it. You've been saying you're not so optimistic for the last 200 pages! He also talks about the ethics of using viable human embryos but never really articulates why their use would be unethical. It was mostly just hand-wavy statements like we'd be "crossing a line." He often paints people who are interested in pursuing this technology (like George Church) as being a bit reckless, but when he quotes them directly, they don't seem all that far off from what Knoepfler is saying. At least among US academics, there doesn't seem to be *that* much controversy about how to proceed. They just differ a bit in the details.
All of that said, I'm glad I took the time to read this book. Knoepfler clearly understands the issues involved and breaks it down in a way that a non-specialist can understand. It's a bit one-sided, so I'd like to read a book by someone from the other side for a more balanced perspective.
The book was overall quite good but suffered from a great deal of repetition. The author has a clear agenda on whether and how we should go down this path and kind of beats the reader over the head with it at every opportunity.
Knoepfler's position is that there should be strict oversight over human gene editing research. In addition, there should be an international agreement across the board that this technology should not be used in any clinical applications because of ethical concerns as well as the fact that the technology is just not ready yet. (There are times when the wrong sequence is edited. There are other times that the right sequence is edited incorrectly.) And the whole idea that one gene = one trait is generally flawed, so even if the editing process goes smoothly, it could have unintended consequences for the health of the baby. His biggest concern is if these changes are made in a way that they'll be passed down to future generations, they could propagate and we'll never be able to go back. What's most worrying for Knoepfler is that the tech is readily accessible and as of the writing of the book completely legal in the US, so there's a chance a rogue biologist will just give it a whirl. (In fact, Chinese biologists have done some tests on human embryos, so it's already happening.)
There was some good overview of gene editing technologies including CRISPR, 3-person IVF, parthenogenesis (creating an offspring just from an egg- without the need for sperm). This was the part I enjoyed the most. Another highlight was the history of eugenics and drawing parallels between that movement and the so-called transhumanism movement - a movement in support of gene editing so that humans can guide sidestep evolution and establish a new and improved version of humans.
I had a few gripes about the book in addition to the repetition of the central position of the book. First, the organization was not always clear. Knoepfler would often get ahead of himself and refer the reader to later chapters or bring up a point about a previous chapter and refer back to that. The chapters are made of up subsections, and one subsection only had 1 picture. I think the author couldn't find a better place for it and didn't have anything else to say about it, so he just shoehorned it in. Second, I felt that he was a bit dismissive of other perspectives. He gave them coverage but then would add something like, "I, however, am not as optimistic thing will turn out so well." Yes, we get it. You've been saying you're not so optimistic for the last 200 pages! He also talks about the ethics of using viable human embryos but never really articulates why their use would be unethical. It was mostly just hand-wavy statements like we'd be "crossing a line." He often paints people who are interested in pursuing this technology (like George Church) as being a bit reckless, but when he quotes them directly, they don't seem all that far off from what Knoepfler is saying. At least among US academics, there doesn't seem to be *that* much controversy about how to proceed. They just differ a bit in the details.
All of that said, I'm glad I took the time to read this book. Knoepfler clearly understands the issues involved and breaks it down in a way that a non-specialist can understand. It's a bit one-sided, so I'd like to read a book by someone from the other side for a more balanced perspective.
September 17, 2022
This was such a cool book to read. I read this as a source for my senior thesis on designer babies. Going into this topic I had no idea really about anything regarding genetic modification. This book gave me everything I needed to know and more!
May 16, 2018
Another fascinating book on genetic engineering, focuses more on ethical aspect of several gene editing technologies and yet still manages to fill its readers with simplified technical information on these technologies.
I've always been adoring Dr Jennifer Doudna and her tremendous effort investing in exploring and improving CRISPR-Cas9 technology and I've been living with a naive belief that CRISPR-Cas9 is an extremely precise and efficient tool in editing DNA and it can, in theory, do anything including adding wings to a human body or giving us the ability to breathe under water. I can't be so wrong. "GMO Sapiens" has opened my eyes to the harsh reality of major technical issues and the terrifying consequences from fatal mistake if editing procedure goes wrong, which it often does. Scientists have been working hard to improve CRISPR-Cas9 and I do believe this technology will soon lives up to its reputation of being the most accurate and efficient gene editing tools. Until then there will be much to do in term of regulating the application of this technology on plants, animals and human.
I've always been adoring Dr Jennifer Doudna and her tremendous effort investing in exploring and improving CRISPR-Cas9 technology and I've been living with a naive belief that CRISPR-Cas9 is an extremely precise and efficient tool in editing DNA and it can, in theory, do anything including adding wings to a human body or giving us the ability to breathe under water. I can't be so wrong. "GMO Sapiens" has opened my eyes to the harsh reality of major technical issues and the terrifying consequences from fatal mistake if editing procedure goes wrong, which it often does. Scientists have been working hard to improve CRISPR-Cas9 and I do believe this technology will soon lives up to its reputation of being the most accurate and efficient gene editing tools. Until then there will be much to do in term of regulating the application of this technology on plants, animals and human.
September 7, 2021
Was a Good Book to get a first glance into the topic, however it was repetitive in parts and stayed rather on the surface area. I appreciated the ethical questions raised by the text and think it is a good read for someone starting to look into the topic. However, I was reading it for my thesis and for that it was not too great of a source...
August 2, 2019
Such an interesting book, bit slow at times and a bit repetitive but very well informing. Definitely would recommend anyone that has an interest in this and wants to broaden their knowledge.
October 14, 2019
This is an informative and entertaining book, even if you are not interested in scientific papers it does allow the base for many thought experiments and discussions.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews