More Tangled Than a Chromosome

She Has Her Mother's Laugh: the Powers. Perversions and Potential of Heredity  by Carl Zimmer

[New York, N.Y.] : Dutton, [2019]

xiv, 656 p. ; 24 cm. 

This was a long read and - to be honest - a bit above my pay-grade so to speak.  I love science and this is written for lay readers, but the subject matter is pretty darn complicated.  However, it is readable, super interesting and worth the effort.

Though I was pretty good in math and science as a student, the intricacies of probability and statistics always gave me headaches. So, it's no wonder that some of the complexities of inheritance are a bit foggy to me.  That being said, there is a lot that anyone can get from this fine science book.

I think the most interesting take-away from this book is its deep dive into what "heredity" actually means and how the concept is far more messy than many of us think of it.  Zimmer wants us to see that inheritance (even genetic inheritance) is far more complicated than the sum of what we each get from our parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. He notes that there is in essence a "heredity" that occurs within each of us as our cells divide and divide and divide - both in their determined specifications and also with accumulated mutations of those cells. He also points out how unusual occurrences such as an individual who is the combination of two fused zygotes can really challenge our ideas of genetic certainty (e.g. a mother whose children do not test as being her children!) He also explores how environment can affect heredity. 

The book also takes a good long look at what we inherit culturally and what an impact it has.  Finally the book really goes into the cutting edge (literally) technologies that genetic engineers are using/developing.  The hardest for me to get are CRISPR (gene cutting DNA code discovered in bacteria and other archea) and gene drives (which spread traits through a species far more than natural reproduction/inheritance).

I read this book because it is one a student requested for the library when they were one of our yearly scholars.  It is a good read, but one that would likely challenge all but the most scientific minded readers.

      

Creator and Destroyer

Influenza Virus - graphic from the CDC.

Planet of Viruses by Carl Zimmer
Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2015.
x, 122 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 22 cm.

This wonderful little book shows how science books for the lay reader should be written.  It's smart, intense, surprising, accessible, and interesting to a fault.   Not bad for 122 pages!

Of course, all of us know something about viruses - colds, flu, HIV, and rabies are well-known viral diseases - but ask someone what a virus is, how it works, and you are likely to get some significant head scratching.  With this book, Carl Zimmer helps you get a basic understanding of viruses: how prolific they are, how strangely they straddle the border between the what is alive and inanimate, and how much all life on earth is inextricably bound up with these extremely small (with a few exceptions) carries of genetic code.

Planet of Viruses does a wonderful job of revealing the workings of viruses in manageable chapters covering topics such as the common cold, influenza, HIV, HPV, and viruses in the oceans (yes it is teeming with them!).  The book may leave you with more questions than answers, but it will make you intensely aware that we really do live on a planet of viruses - and will hopefully stoke your curiosity to know more about these deadly, dangerous, and life preserving entities.

This is a science book I will highly recommend.