Genome War

Аннотация

The long-awaited story of the science, the business, the politics, the intrigue behind the scenes of the most ferocious competition in the history of modern sciencethe race to map the human genome.On May 10, 1998, biologist Craig Venter, director of the Institute for Genomic Research, announced that he was forming a private company that within three years would unravel the complete genetic code of human lifeseven years before the projected finish of the U.S. governments Human Genome Project. Venter hoped that by decoding the genome ahead of schedule, he would speed up the pace of biomedical research and save the lives of thousands of people. He also hoped to become very famous and very rich. Calling his company Celera (from the Latin for speed), he assembled a small group of scientists in an empty building in Rockville, Maryland, and set to work.At the same time, the leaders of the government program, under the direction of Francis Collins, head of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, began to mobilize an unexpectedly unified effort to beat Venter to the prizeknowledge that had the potential to revolutionize medicine and society. The stage was set for one of the most thrillingand importantdramas in the history of science. The Genome War is the definitive account of that dramathe race for the greatest prize biology has had to offer, told by a writer with exclusive access to Venters operation from start to finish. It is also the story of how one mans ambition created a scientific Camelot where, for a moment, it seemed that the competing interests of pure science and commercial profit might be gloriously reconciledand the national repercussions that resulted when that dream went awry.From the Hardcover edition.