A Crack in Creation: Exploring the Unimaginable Power of Gene Editing to Shape Evolution

Ken M: Great layman-friendly explanation of the promise and threat of CRISPr.

Canada on Aug 10, 2023

JL: I bought the book after my son requested it. He is fascinated and found it very interesting.

Australia on Jan 27, 2023

MarsRam: Jennifer Doudna, an accomplished Scientist and Nobel Laureate, is remarkable in many ways. Her father gave her a book, "The Double Helix," by Watson, the Discoverer of the the human Genome. !n grade 6 at the time, she was fascinated by the book, and resolved to pursue a career in science when she grew up. Along the way, she was discouraged by her teachers and advisers. "Girls don't do science they said." Jennifer persisted through all of this, and illuminated the pathway for other girls to follow. Today she stands out as a beacon. The book has been co-authored by a colleague, Sam Sternberg, and is about her and the science that she helped to nurture with the help of her many collaborators.

Canada on Oct 20, 2022

José Macaya: El tema del libro, la manipulación genética para la cura de enfermedades, es apasionante. La velocidad a la que estamos progresando es impensable. El potencial de la tecnología es enorme. Pero los riesgos de que sea utilizada, ya sea intencionalmente, o por evoluciones que no estamos en condiciones de calibrar, también son enormes y escalofriantes.
Tras una introducción que explica el libro, hay una primera parte ardua. Está llena de nombres técnicos incomprensibles y de nombres de científicos que aportan al avance; todo ello sazonado con un tono un tanto presuntuoso de la autora, que hace que uno dude si seguir leyendo o no. Pero desde la segunta parte "The Task", el tema se va haciendo más interesante y comprensible.
Recomiendo su lectura, ya que es un tema que nos incumbe a todos como sociedad. No enterarnos es hacernos cómplices de lo que suceda en este campo.

Spain on Jul 16, 2021

ChodieCody.ttv: In A crack in creation, Gene editing and the unthinkable power to control evolution, written by Jennifer Doudna and Samuel Sternberg, Dr. Doudna goes over the history of gene editing leading to the miraculous CRISPR which literally has the power to change every living thing in the world. Throughout the book Dr. Doudna describes the wonderful possibilities CRISPR has to offer the world of medicine and biology from curing diseases such as hyperargininemia or to creating super foods that grow bigger and faster that are also immune to all forms of infection without adding anything to the DNA. According to Doudna the possibilities are endless, but with all the good there is also a bad side. Humans now have the power to easily edit germline DNA in plants, animals, and humans that if implemented will forever change the course of that species evolution. This book is a must read for anyone who has an interest in genetics or the future of our species and the species we rely on. Doudna explains in depth how gene editing works and takes a neutral position explaining the bad and good that will inevitably come from this futuristic technology.
Doudna breaks the book into chapters based on...

United States on May 16, 2020

Something Old: The book is outstanding in its presentation of the science of gene editing.
But the title rightly refers to "Creation" - which implies a Creator. And yet the hope is held out - completely unrealistically - that somehow reasonable people will be able to prevent purposeful terrorists, or just madmen/madwomen from using this technology to achieve cataclysmic results. It is a completely unrealistic hope - get ready for this - unles we have the blessing and protection of God, because only God can effectively protect us against terrorists. But since the purpose of life is to prepare for heaven - God's reason for creating us - why would we be protected from terrorists, the insane, our enemies, and even from ourselves (we are often the enemy, as Pogo said) if we are determined to go it alone - without God - thereby being allowed to continue on our misguided way? It is a misguided way because if we don't follow the "owner's handbook" that God has given us (the Ten Commandments or equivalent revelation if there is such), there is no way for us to foresee the complex consequences of changing the human genome - as the authors repeatedly remind us - and even those who mean well will manage...

Canada on Jan 30, 2020

J. D. Lasica: More often than not, it’s difficult to determine which new titles will have staying power 10, 20 or 50 years from now. But “A Crack in Creation” deserves to be on any short list of decidedly important nonfiction books of 2017.

The reason is not simply because of the authors’ pedigree — co-author Jennifer Doudna is credited as the chief pioneer behind CRISPR, the potentially world-changing gene-editing technique. The book’s impact is also buttressed by the authors’ scientific rigor, deeply felt passion, and understanding of the world-changing consequences of their research.

Doudna and Samuel Sternberg’s “A Crack in Creation” is two books in one. The first third is a short primer on genetic engineering and the scientists who’ve advanced the science over the years. While the attention to detail and footnote-rich documentation is commendable, the lay reader will be forgiven if she skips through some of the dry backstory to get to the good stuff in the remaining two-thirds of the book. Because few of us have yet to reckon with the significant issues raised by the recent breakthroughs in CRISPR research, which only came to light in 2012.

As the...

United States on Jan 06, 2018