Biochemical Engineering

In the wondrous tradition of Sagan, Feynman, Kahneman, Dubner and Levitt, Gladwell - a vision of the future that uses cutting-edge biotech to explore the most challenging mysteries of the 21st century.

This work focuses on biotechnology broadly conceived to include the development of genetically engineered plants and animals, genetically altered animal organs for human transplant, genetic testing and therapy for human beings and, finally, animal and human cloning.

Genes - we all have them and we're all affected by them, often in unknown ways. Whether directly inherited or modified by our environment, genes control or significantly influence almost every aspect of our lives, from the success of our conception and the development of our sexu...al characteristics, to the colour of our skin, hair, and eyes; our height and weight; our health; and, unfortunately, an untold number of diseases. For many, the first time that genetics truly matters to them is in a doctor's office as they learn about a condition that may affect them, their unborn children, or even their wider family. Yet from the first laborious survey of the human genome twenty years ago to the commercial machines that now sequence 6,000 genomes per year, a revolution is taking place in medicine. Navigating this world of heartbreaking uncertainties, tantalising possibilities, and thorny questions of morality is Professor Edwin Kirk, a rare doctor who works both in the lab and with patients, and who has over two decades of experience. In The Genes That Make Us, he explains everything you need to know with clarity, insight, and great humanity.
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We stand at a precipice - a point where the future is at stake. Humanity has come so far: ten thousand generations, each building on the work of their ancestors to reach the heights of culture and technology we see today. If we choose, we can continue this grand project, with eno...ugh time to end disease, poverty and injustice, and to fulfil our potential. But this future is at risk: for the first time, our power has grown so great that we have the ability to destroy ourselves. The Precipice is a clear-eyed look at the risks that we face, from the familiar, such as nuclear war and climate change, to the emerging, such as biotechnology and advanced artificial intelligence. It argues that ending these risks has become one of the most important moral issues of our time. What do we owe to the generations that follow us? This is an inspiring vision of human history, the legacy we will leave behind, and the steps we must take to work towards a brighter future.
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The dazzling promise of stem-cell treatment: does it work and will it save us? Two experts look at the hype For decades, we've been anticipating the dawn of regenerative medicine. Again and again, we've been promised that stem cells will soon cure just about every ill imaginable.... If not tomorrow, then the next day, or the day after that, and so on. We're still waiting. This book is an antidote to hype and a salve to sooth the itch for stem-cell salvation. In it, Professor John Rasko, a leading physician-scientist, and writer-historian Carl Power take us on a wild historical tour of this scandal-prone field. They expose all the dirty little secrets that the hype merchants prefer to ignore - the blunders and setbacks, confusions and delusions, tricks and lies. It's a history rife with colourful characters. You'll meet Alexis Carroll, who discovered how to cultivate cells in a test tube: celebrity surgeon, scientific genius and Nazi sympathiser, he opened the field of modern cell science with an experiment so bogus it blocked the way forward for the next 50 years. You'll meet Don Thomas, who developed bone marrow transplantation - the first successful stem-cell therapy - but only after a miserable decade in which all of his patients died. Alongside true stem-cell pioneers, you'll meet charlatans who cooked their data and claimed fake cures - sometimes with fatal consequences. Is there any good news? Which of the many promises of stem-cell research have been kept? And what of the future? Rasko and Power insist that we can only know where we're going if we have a sense of where we've been. Their study tears down the hype surrounding stem cells in order to reveal what's still worth hoping for.
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