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Our Thumbprints in Our Clay: The Technology of the Gene (ABC Series)
Our Thumbprints in Our Clay The Technology of the Gene - ABC Series Author:Horace Freeland Judson Molecular biology's revolutionizing impact on our understanding of life, from embryology to human evolution, since cracking the genetic code. — The author of the acclaimed history of molecular biology The Eighth Day of Creation, Horace Freeland Judson offers here a stunning sequel, charting crucial triumphs of molecular biology since 1970. In Our... more » Thumbprints in Our Clay, Judson picks up where he left off, with the extension of molecular biology to multicelled creatures. Nowadays, the technologies of the gene invade every aspect of biology, multiplying into scores of divergent lines of research, at hundreds of laboratories, employing thousands of scientists. Judson explores the emergence of technologies such as recombinant DNA, reverse transcriptase, the sequencing of the DNA of complete genomes from humans to mice and chimpanzees, and the recovery of ancient DNA from Neanderthals. Tracing this growth, he investigates timely and often-controversial topics from gene therapy to the development of a single cell into complex, multicellular organisms, to the current use of technologies of the gene to solve the problems of evolution. 36 illustrations.« less