Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA

by Sam Kean

Locked inside the DNA of every species that ever lived are endless stories - about origins, ancestors, fate, and much more. Until recently, these secrets were completely inaccessible. But with the help of new technologies, scientists are now reading the hidden history of DNA, making remarkable discoveries about ourselves and our fellow species. Your gateway to this treasure trove of information is Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA, 12 informative and accessible lectures delivered by New York Times best-selling author Sam Kean. Assuming the viewer has no prior background in science, these detailed but delightful half-hour lectures cover the fundamental properties of DNA, the techniques that have unraveled its mysteries, the exciting revelations that have resulted, and the very human stories of the scientists involved - many of whom won Nobel Prizes and sparked fierce controversies along the way.

You start in the mid-19th century with Austrian monk Gregor Mendel, who pioneered the science of genetics with experiments on pea plants, and the almost-forgotten discovery of DNA by Friedrich Miescher. Proceeding briskly through decades when the connection between genes and DNA were pieced together, you learn about the discovery of DNA, the race to determine its structure, and the Human Genome Project, which mapped all three billion base pairs of our DNA. Then you dig deeply into our genome to mine its secrets, including our surprising relationship to Neanderthals, when we first started wearing clothes, genetic influences on language, and our kinship with viruses. You also excavate new historical details about King Tut, Genghis Khan, King Richard III, and Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Warren Harding. Finally, you examine today’s cutting-edge DNA technology, notably a genetic engineering technique called CRISPR heralded as holding the potential for science fiction-like manipulation of our species. Genetics has come a long way since Gregor Mendel’s humble pea plants.

PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biology, History

CD-ROM

About the author

Sam Kean is the New York Times-bestselling author of seven books. He spent years collecting mercury from broken thermometers as a kid, and now lives in Washington, D.C. His stories have appeared in The Best American Science and Nature Writing, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Slate, among other places, and his work has been featured on NPR’s “Radiolab”, “Science Friday”, and “All Things Considered.” The Bastard Brigade was a “Science Friday” book of the year, while Caesar’s Last Breath was the Guardian science book of the year.
from SamKean.com


(Un)Official Bio:
Sam Kean gets called Sean at least once a month. He grew up in South Dakota, which means more to him than it probably should. He’s a fast reader but a very slow eater. He went to college in Minnesota and studied physics and English. At night, he sometimes comes down with something called “sleep paralysis,” which is the opposite of sleepwalking. One of his books appeared in an iPhone commercial once. Right now, he lives in Washington, D.C., where he earned a master’s degree in library science that he will probably never use. He feels very strongly that open-faced sandwiches are superior to regular ones.

Reviews

[Surya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and crisp history of the DNA.
This course covers the discovery, the origins and some of the recent issues including the invention/ discovery of CRISPR CAS 9.

One hopes this course gets updated regularly.

[Chad Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be my favorite science audiobook from The Great Courses! It was quite interesting, and went over a lot I didn't know before. About the drama surrounding the discovery of DNA. How Gregor Mendel's successor thought so poorly of him that he burned all his notes. That neanderthals aren't the only hominids humans interbred with. That humans have shockingly little genetic diversity compared to other species, which implies a mass extinction event in our past. Lots of great stuff here, and the author does a good job of making it approachable. Recommended!

[Vojtěch Tatra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Assembled and entertaining. A bit of history, a bit of science that are explained in a way that layman can easily understand, a pinch of funny interesting curiosities and facts. Pleasurable speech.

[Johnathan Henley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great short history of DNA and some of the scientists and stories of discoveries. I very much enjoyed it

[Nilendu Misra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this during an 11 hr round trip. Fascinating. Had no idea guanine was named after bird poop (in hindsight, obvious!). Also, Linus Pauling missed out the Nobel for DNA (confiscated passport) but won another on Peace (same year). Why there are only 20 amino acids with 64 three-letter bases, the non-coding DNA and difference between epigenetic and genetic changes explained with brilliant metaphors and captivating narratives - Golden State Killer story kept me alert on a desolate late night freeway. Superb!

[Spencer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not the quality that I expect from TGC. I was expecting a college level course with a focus on molecular evolution in DNA. What I got was a beginner level book about the history of humans interacting with DNA, and a single chapter including molecular evolution. It might have been fine if I hadn't had the expectations, but I feel like the title is very misleading; there is nothing hidden about most of the history contained in this course.

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlocking the Hidden History of DNA by Sam Kean was an enjoyable, tightly packed foray into the subject. If anything, it was too tightly packed. I have no idea why it is as short as it is. This course could easily have been twice as long and still been just as great. Kean does a good job. He is a popularizer rather than a professor, but its hard to tell just from listening to his lectures alone.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Great narration and interesting topic. Not quite what I was expecting, though. It was a bit more of just straight history of how DNA was discovered. That's probably my bad for not fully reading the synopsis. It was on sale at Audible and I saw the title and the author and was sold. Sam Kean did a great job with each revisiting of history putting the events into more historical context.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series of lectures about the race of scientific discoveries that are genetics and understanding how DNA works and changed during life and reproduction. This was learned in a brief amount of time. They are lessons of recent history as well as biological and chemical explanations.

[Ross Blocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

More detailed review to come.