‘A Passion for DNA: Genes, Genomes, and Society’

No one and only(a) whence had any compelling reason to set about my hypothesis seriously, but by November 1952 I desire it well enough to print desoxyribonucleic acid RNA protein on a small piece of authorship that I taped on the wall above my writing table in my rooms at Cl atomic number 18 College.From the day of our first meeting, Francis Crick and I thought it highly likely that the genetic information of desoxyribonucleic acid is conveyed by the period of its four rear ends. But we k impertinent it was premature to promote this idea before the structure of DNA was known. However, the moment we first saw how to build a double helix out of the four base pairs, it was clear that the essential uniqueness of a gene must reside in its respective sequence of four bases.So wrote James D. Watson in his book, A Passion for DNA Genes, Genomes, and Society. In this work, told with refreshing honesty, is the gay story of how Watson and Francis Crick won a Nobel Prize for what may be the most important stir in the life sciences since Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species.In this collection of essays (written for a variety of occasions during the past triad decades), Watson discusses the science and sociology of several issues foremost are recombinant DNA, the nature of cancer research, the past, present, and future of DNA the Human Genome range and its bioethical problems.The book starts with an autobiographical discussion of the events in Watsons life that preceded his stripping of the double helix. He then describes his scientific mentors, collaborators and rivals, as well as his philosophy on science. (Watsons advice for budding scientists learn from the winners, take risks, have a fallback, have fun and stay connected.)In 1953, two young, unknown scientists sparked a worldwide revolution. poring over DNA for clues to the nature of genes, James Watson and Francis Crick deduced its molecular composition two chains twisted into a double helix and immediately realized that the structure implied how genes were copied and passed from one generation to the next.Their observation has had extraordinary consequences the discovery of a genetic code that all living things share and the realization that the code translates into proteins the ability to deviate an organisms genetic make-up recognition that diseases like cancer begin when genes go wrong the foundations of a biotechnology industry and the means of cloning plants and animals a start on cataloguing human genes and the glimmer of a new kind of medicine that uses DNA therapeutically.As public concern about genetically modified food mounts, present is Watsons salutary reminder, from a previous era of DNA anxiety, that restrictions on potentially rewarding research are justifiable only if there is robust evidence of likely harm.Commenting on the 1970s War on Cancer, he warns that effective leadership of publicly funded research initiatives, such as the current search f or an back up vaccine, demands the courage to support promising but risky new ideas and prune away anything less than the best. And as the first Director of the Human Genome Project, now approaching its climax, he acknowledges the past evils of eugenics but argues fiercely for the deficiency to balance potential misuses of genetic data with the overwhelming benefits of a rational attack on the root of disease.In an essay on cancer research and the war on cancer, Watson tells us that to win wars one must know the enemy and the location of the battlefield. When Richard Nixon declared a war on cancer, this information was not so far available. The discovery and elucidation of the action of oncogenes and of cancer viruses were pivotal for understanding the terrain, planning the strategy, and pursuing the war. Watson provides numerous examples to punctuate the necessity of research in the basic sciences for developing successful therapies against cancer.