The Deeper Genome: Why there is more to the human genome than meets the eye - Hardcover

Parrington, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199688737 ISBN 13: 9780199688739

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2015

Synopsis

Over a decade ago, as the Human Genome Project completed its mapping of the entire human genome, hopes ran high that we would rapidly be able to use our knowledge of human genes to tackle many inherited diseases, and understand what makes us unique among animals. But things didn't turn out that way. For a start, we turned out to have far fewer genes than originally thought - just over 20,000, the same sort of number as a fruit fly or worm. What's more, the proportion of DNA consisting of genes coding for proteins was a mere 2%. So, was the rest of the genome accumulated 'junk'?

Things have changed since those early heady days of the Human Genome Project. But the emerging picture is if anything far more exciting. In this book, John Parrington explains the key features that are coming to light - some, such as the results of the international ENCODE programme, still much debated and controversial in their scope. He gives an outline of the deeper genome, involving layers of regulatory elements controlling and coordinating the switching on and off of genes; the impact of its 3D geometry; the discovery of a variety of new RNAs playing critical roles; the epigenetic changes influenced by the environment and life experiences that can make identical twins different and be passed on to the next generation; and the clues coming out of comparisons with the genomes of Neanderthals as well as that of chimps about the development of our species. We are learning more about ourselves, and about the genetic aspects of many diseases. But in its complexity, flexibility, and ability to respond to environmental cues, the human genome is proving to be far more subtle than we ever imagined.

About this title

Review

an excellent synthesis of what is currently understood about the human genome. It corrects claims of omniscience and shows just how wrong informed predictions turned out to be (Hamilton McMillan, Books of the Year 2015: Readers' Books of the Year 2015, The Guardian)

recommend ... for a stereoscopic view (Peter Forbes, Christmas round-up 'The 6 best books in science', The Independent)

It's a game-changer and a masterpiece for anyone interested in biology. (Times Higher Education, Charalambos P Kyriacou)

... a good primer on the subtlety and complexity of the genome, especially the human genome, new facets of which emerge on a regular basis from labs around the world. (The Scientist, Bob Grant)

The Deeper Genome... provides an elegant, accessible account of the profound and unexpected complexities of the human genome, and shows how many ideas developed in the 20th century are being overturned. (New Scientist, Clare Ainsworth)

A compelling book that will enrich your knowledge of genetics and its potential. (New York Journal of Books)

Overall, this is a faithful, engaging portrait of the twenty-first-century genome (Nature, Nathaniel Comfort)

This is a brilliant book - a wonderfully entertaining history of molecular biology and the surprises and controversies of a field still very much in flux, from early explorations to the emerging realisation that the human genome may be far more sophisticated than we ever imagined. (John Mattick, Director, Garvan Institute of Medical Research)

About the Author

John Parrington is a University Lecturer in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at the University of Oxford, and a Tutorial Fellow in Medicine at Worcester College, Oxford. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles in science journals including Nature, Current Biology, Journal of Cell Biology, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Development, Developmental Biology, and Human Reproduction. He has extensive experience writing popular science, having published articles in The Guardian, New Scientist, Chemistry World, and The Biologist. As a British Science Association Media Fellow he worked as a science journalist at The Times for 7 weeks where he published 22 articles. He has also written science reports for the public for the Wellcome Trust, British Council, and Royal Society.

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0199688737
• ISBN 13: 9780199688739
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272