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Herding Hemingway's Cats

Understanding How Our Genes Work

Kat Arney
Bloomsbury USA, 2016

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Scientific

Recommendation

From cats with extra toes to “zombie genes,” science writer and broadcaster Kat Arney delves irreverently into the world of genetics. In short, entertaining chapters, she introduces the leading scientists and deepest questions in this complex field. She never stints on the science, yet the text remains breezy and accessible. Arney highlights amazing discoveries in genetics and details how complex organisms arise from simple strings of “DNA letters.” It’s a rapid-fire, rewarding and, given the subject, sometimes complex read. getAbstract recommends Arney’s iconoclastic account to anyone seeking grounding in one of the most striking, fast-developing areas of science.

Take-Aways

  • In 1953, molecular biologists Francis Crick and James Watson deciphered the ladder-like double helix shape of the DNA molecule.
  • Your genome consists of 46 strings of DNA formed into “23 pairs of chromosomes” inside each cell in your body. The chromosomes reside in the nucleus in the middle of each cell.
  • Surprisingly, at around 20,000 genes, humans have fewer genes than other organisms, including those that are apparently simpler.

About the Author

Science communicator, writer and musician Kat Arney holds a PhD in developmental biology.

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