The $1,000 Genome: The Revolution in DNA Sequencing and the New Era of Personalized Medicine

by Kevin Davies

Overview

In this essential guide to the brave new future, Dr. Kevin Davies, author of Cracking the Genome, reveals the masterful ingenuity that transformed the process of decoding DNA and vividly brings the extraordinary drama of the grand scientific achievement to life.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton signaled the completion of the Human Genome Project at a cost in excess of $2 billion. A decade later, the price for any of us to order our own personal genome sequence—a comprehensive map of the 3 billion letters in our DNA—had already dropped to just $1,000.

Dozens of men and women—scientists, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and patients—have already been sequenced, pioneering a bold new era of personalized genomic medicine. The $1,000 genome has long been considered the tipping point that would open the floodgates to this revolution.

How has this astonishing achievement been accomplished? To research the story of this unfolding revolution, critically acclaimed science writer Kevin Davies traveled to the leading centers and interviewed the entrepreneurs and pioneers in the race to achieve the $1,000 genome. Davies also profiles the future of genomic medicine and thoughtfully explores the many pressing issues raised by the tidal wave of personal genetic information.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416569619
Publisher:	Free Press
Publication date:	08/18/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Kevin Davies, PhD, is the author of The $1,000 Genome. His previous book Cracking the Genome was translated into fifteen languages. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Bio•IT World, a trade magazine covering the role of technology in the life sciences. He was the founding editor of Nature Genetics, the world's leading genetics journal, which he headed for its first five years. He has also written for The Times (London), The Boston Globe, New England Journal of Medicine, and New Scientist, among others. His first book, Breakthrough (coauthored with Michael White) told the story of the race for the BRCA1 breast cancer gene. Davies holds an MA in biochemistry from the University of Oxford and a PhD in molecular genetics from the University of London. He held postdoctoral fellowships at MIT and Harvard Medical School before moving into science publishing as an editor with Nature magazine. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Johnny Heller reads with fluency and fluidly." —-Library Journal Audio Review

Editorial Reviews

"Johnny Heller reads with fluency and fluidly." ---Library Journal Audio Review

From the Publisher

&'grave;The great impact of a new technology – from cotton underwear to the jet to the computer – comes not when it is invented, but when it becomes cheap enough to be within the reach of everybody. Gene sequencing has now reached that point. With unrivalled knowledge of the people who made this possible, Kevin Davies eloquently explains how it came about, and hints at what will come next.’’

Matt Ridley

How is it that less than a decade after the first human genome sequencing project was completed, anyone will shortly be able to purchase a personal genomic sequence for just $1000? Molecular biologist Davies (Cracking the Genome) discusses the path of human genomics from government project to commercial product, touching on ethical issues, medical uses, and the psychological implications of learning one's DNA results. The fascinating and clearly presented information is only slightly marred by frequent, unnecessary restatements of the text. Two-time Audie Award winner Johnny Heller reads with fluency and fluidly, even when faced with polysyllabic technical terms. For anyone interested in modern science, especially medical or ethical issues. ["An important overview," read the review of the Free Pr: S. & S. hc, LJ 9/1/10.—Ed.]—I. Pour-El, Des Moines Area Community Coll., Boone, IA

Library Journal

Producing the first human genome—the DNA sequence—took 13 years and cost millions of dollars. With advances in technology, start-up companies hope to do it for individuals in a doctor’s office and charge less than $1,000. Since certain sequences correlate with known disease states, experts hope to provide patients with predictive and prophylactic actions to prolong their lives. Narrator Johnny Heller dominates the audiobook’s dense technical language. As always, Heller’s sandy voice moves quickly, even when the science gets heavy. He employs plausible accents for characters of Serbian, Australian, and British descent. Heller cannot, however, give meaning to the author’s excessive use of acronyms—SNP, EGFR, and PGD—all defined at some point but easily forgotten. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2010 - AudioFile