Genomic Quirks: The Search for Spelling Errors

by Ramesh Hariharan

This is a book of real stories about the search for genomic spelling errors that have stark consequences -- infants who pass away mysteriously, siblings with misplaced organs, a family with several instances of vision loss, sisters whose hearts fail in the prime of their youth, a boy whose blood can’t carry enough oxygen, a baby with cancer in the eye, a middle-aged patient battling cancer, and the author’s own color blindness. The search in each case proves to be a detective quest that connects the world of medical practice with that of molecular biology, traversing the world of computer algorithms along the way.

354 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 4, 2017

Reviews

[Arunothia Marappan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read only 5/9 of the stories given in the book. The book is a compilation of stories of various genomic disorders faced by some families and gives a detailed explanation of the solution arrived at by STRAND Life Sciences Team. It is a pretty interesting read as it gives us an insight into the biological complexities that arise in solving such cases. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in bioinformatics or the likes.

[Vittal Kashyap · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye opener for someone new to genes

Very well written book by Prof Ramesh Hariharan
He carefully wades through a very complex subject of genetics and computer science used to decipher it, explaining in depth the beauty and fragility of the genomic characters. Highly recommended for understanding the basic functioning of genes, mapping to protein amino acids and how they play a role in shaping us, through several case studies.

[Ravi Masalthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prof. Hariharan’s style of teaching the the reader about the rare genetic disorders is treat to any reader. I especially loved learning the basic concepts about how our systems work that the author exploit so simplistically and completely. This is a book for all readers, needs zero background in genomics or computation.