cover image THE DELPHIC BOAT: What Genomes Tell Us

THE DELPHIC BOAT: What Genomes Tell Us

Antoine Danchin, Alison Quayle, Danchin, , trans. from the French by Alison Quayle. . Harvard Univ., $35 (380pp) ISBN 978-0-674-00930-1

Danchin, professor and department head at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, reveals that scientific genome sequencing is only a first step in identifying the myriad genes that make up our 23 pairs of chromosomes. The author draws upon many different fields, from biology and genetics to information theory and literary studies, in his rich and multifaceted discussion of what scientists mean when they talk about a "genome." The book explores how researchers identify the roles of genes and the proteins they produce, and how understanding genomes leads us to a reconsideration of the very idea of life. Danchin explains why the smallest organisms receive so much attention from scientists—from how a simple yeast organism can explain much about our own genetic makeup to how a bacterium widely used in food preparation could suddenly mutate into a pathogenic version. The author points out that deciphering the genetic code is driven by political and economic considerations as much as by scientific ones, and that the issue of patenting genetic sequences will surely reach the Supreme Court, if not international courts. The book is fairly technical but well written for the nonspecialist, aided by Quayle's masterful translation. 1 halftone and 4 line drawings. (Feb.)