Masterminds - Genius, DNA, and the Quest to Rewrite Life

James Watson, J. Craig Venter, Francis Collins, Cynthia Kenyon . . . you may not know them, but you should. They are the masterminds of genetics and biotechnology who want you to live to be 150 years old, to regenerate your heart and brain, to create synthetic life. For better or worse, they are about to alter life on earth forever. Award-winning journalist David Ewing Duncan tells the remarkable stories of cutting-edge bioscientists, revealing their quirky, uniquely fascinating, sometimes vaguely unsettling personas as a means to understand their science and the astonishing implications of their work. This book seamlessly combines myth, biography, scholarship, and wit that poses the all-important question: Can we actually trust these masterminds?

About the author

David Ewing Duncan is the author of five books, including the international bestseller Calendar, and writes for Wired, Discover, and The Atlantic Monthly. He is a freelance producer and correspondent for ABC's Nightline, and a commentator on NPR's Morning Edition. He also writes the popular "Biotech and Creativity" column for the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2003, he won the Magazine Journalism Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He lives in San Francisco, California.

Product details

• Authors: David E. Duncan, David Ewing Duncan
• Publisher: Harper Perennial USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 02.05.2006
• EAN: 9780060537395
• ISBN: 978-0-06-053739-5
• No. of pages: 288
• Dimensions: 135 mm x 203 mm x 17 mm
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Biology > Genetics, genetic engineering; SCIENCE: Life Sciences / Biology, SCIENCE: Life Sciences / Botany, SCIENCE: Life Sciences / Zoology / General, SCIENCE: Life Sciences / Cell Biology, SCIENCE: Life Sciences / Marine Biology, SCIENCE: Life Sciences / Genetics & Genomics, SCIENCE: Life Sciences / Microbiology, SCIENCE: Life Sciences / Molecular Biology, SCIENCE: Life Sciences / Developmental Biology