Hacking the Code of Life

How Gene Editing Will Rewrite Our Futures

By: Nessa Carey

Narrated by: Karen Cass

Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Just 45 years ago, the age of gene modification was born. Researchers could create glow-in-the-dark mice, farmyard animals producing drugs in their milk, and vitamin-enhanced rice that could prevent half a million people going blind every year.

But now GM is rapidly being supplanted by a new system called CRISPR or "gene editing". Using this approach, scientists can manipulate the genes of almost any organism with a degree of precision, ease and speed that we could only dream of ten years ago.

But is it ethical to change the genetic material of organisms in a way that might be passed on to future generations? If a person is suffering from a lethal genetic disease, is it even more unethical to deny them this option? Who controls the application of this technology, when it makes "biohacking" - perhaps of one’s own genome - a real possibility?

Nessa Carey’s book is a thrilling and timely snapshot of a technology that will radically alter our futures.

©2019 by Nessa Carey. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Bang ! Crack ! Swashbucklers will save us ..

Info-audicted, finally someone raising the roof. Here's the arthritis cure & how it is done.

Not captivating nor intriguing story at all.

Content is good, updated, talks about innovation and in depth in the topic. However, Not captivating nor intriguing story at all.

A brief dip of the toe

I cannot say that this was bad, but it was not exactly what I expected. In 4 2/3 hours, the book manages a brief overview of gene editing and its potential impacts on life in the future.

After a brief introduction, the author focuses on gene editing using CRISPR; no surprise here. She does not really say much about how CRISPR works, and spends more time on patent battles than on the scientific details. While she discusses some of the ways genes have been edited or could be edited, and the purpose of such changes, this is really quite perfunctory.

The book simply seems to lack a clear purpose and focus, and so one bounces from one idea to the next without an overarching narrative. It was okay, but not great.

The narrator was good, with no major missteps.

Enjoyable listen

As a farm wife I am increasingly shocked by the general publics ignorance about “GMOs”. I appreciate this opportunity to educate myself further about this very important topic.

okay book

lots of info here. if this topic is unfamiliar then it is worth reading.

Decent Overview. Could lose sarcasm.

This book starts out with a lot of snark and sarcasm. I'm assuming the intention is to provide humor, but for me it was too thickly laid on for a science book even one meant for the mainstream. Thankfully, by chapter two it does thin down to the occasional comment or jab at this group or that situation.

Overall the content generally lines up with what I know of the field, though I'm no expert. At times she does raise some interesting questions and conundrums which will need to be addressed as the science moves forward. If you're looking for a broad overview of the field this succeeds in that regard, though as others have noted, with a field moving along so quickly how long this information remains current is anyone's guess.

Good layman insight to complex issue

I have enormously high hopes for CRISPR for personal reasons & I want the technology to hurry up and get here, but this book opened my eyes to the known unknowns & made me aware of unintended consequences. I have great respect for the scientific community that is working so hard to try to help what has been beyond help. I thought this book did a good job of illustrating all aspects of this miraculous leap forward in our collective knowledge.

Great survey on the state of the art of genetics

I listened this book in rapid succession after 'The Gene' by Siddhartha Mukherjee and Nessa''s previous book "The Epigentics Revolution". I'd highly recommend this trio if you want to get a good grounder on this topic.

I felt that the book did a great job reviewing the state of the art of this area of science. Not only the science, but also gave insights into the regulatory difficulties, the people behind the science and she even touched on some of the ethical issues. She succeeded in being balanced and even - i.e., no moral preening that was present in other books on this topic. Probably the most sensationalistic part of the book is the title - but authors sometimes don't get to choose this.

I saw another post about the audio being bad - I had no such complaints.

The only fear I have about this book is that because the science is moving so quickly, it may have a short shelf life. So...listen to it now!

A New World

This is an excellent listen from Audible as it reflects on the history of an emerging technology that has the power to change the world. The narration by Karen Cass is perfect. If you enjoy learning and appreciate the value of truth, then I believe that this investment will not disappoint you. The near future is ours to control. Will we do it responsibly or change our species by mistake. There are very deep possibilities within Gene editing. We could help feed the hungry, prevent disease and stop the incredible pain that some people must feel just to be alive. There is so much we could do to make positive change, but the possibility for negative change is beyond our understanding. I highly recommend this book, The narrator has a very English accent, I think that adds to the over all value as the listener is more inclined to listen carefully to the message. 5 Stars all the way!

Wonderfull Book

Well done so a layman can understand. Very current information in a fast moving field.