The Beginning of Applying Genetics to Medical Practice
The Genome Odyssey sheds light on the future of medicine and science by exploring the discoveries and possibilities that are coming with the rapid evolution of genomics. Beginning with explaining some of the basic principals of our genome Dr. Euan Ashley continues the journey by informing readers on The Human Genome Project and the quick succession of technology and industry to map genomes. This is followed sections that illuminate how he personally found himself involved in biotechnology startups and using our genomes to practice precise medicine and help patients with rare diseases and disorders.
The combination of history of genetics and disease alongside the personal stories of patients and their families, make it easy to see the power and potential genetics have in diagnosing and treating medical conditions and diseases. While there were fascinating case studies and moving personal stories, I as a reader sometimes found myself lost in the analogies intended to make some of the medical and scientific terminology easier to comprehend. I take great pleasure in reading non-fiction medical and science books, and while analogies are often helpful, sometimes they are too complex. In this book it was more helpful to ignore them and rely on my own knowledge of science and medicine from my education.
Additionally, I was disappointed by the overwhelming amount of name dropping. Although prestigious universities are often at the forefront of medicine and such books often need to make mention of many other relevant colleagues, scientists, and doctors, there was an excessive amount of people mentioned. Often times chapters would be full of names of people associated with plethora of backgrounds from famous people to less relevant people followed by an explanation of their educational background. These felt excessive and irrelevant to the crux of the book and detracted from some of the profound discoveries and findings.
Overall, this was a very interesting read, but was hindered by complex analogies and excessive name dropping. I truly enjoyed reading about some of the projects being undertaken and really took to idea of practicing precise medicine by using our genomes to help diagnose and prescribe medications that will be most effective in treatment. I also enjoyed the brief discussion at the end which highlighted Covid-19 and the development of vaccines through genome mapping of viruses. I would still recommend this book, but perhaps to an audience is quite vested in topics of medicine, science, and genetics.
The combination of history of genetics and disease alongside the personal stories of patients and their families, make it easy to see the power and potential genetics have in diagnosing and treating medical conditions and diseases. While there were fascinating case studies and moving personal stories, I as a reader sometimes found myself lost in the analogies intended to make some of the medical and scientific terminology easier to comprehend. I take great pleasure in reading non-fiction medical and science books, and while analogies are often helpful, sometimes they are too complex. In this book it was more helpful to ignore them and rely on my own knowledge of science and medicine from my education.
Additionally, I was disappointed by the overwhelming amount of name dropping. Although prestigious universities are often at the forefront of medicine and such books often need to make mention of many other relevant colleagues, scientists, and doctors, there was an excessive amount of people mentioned. Often times chapters would be full of names of people associated with plethora of backgrounds from famous people to less relevant people followed by an explanation of their educational background. These felt excessive and irrelevant to the crux of the book and detracted from some of the profound discoveries and findings.
Overall, this was a very interesting read, but was hindered by complex analogies and excessive name dropping. I truly enjoyed reading about some of the projects being undertaken and really took to idea of practicing precise medicine by using our genomes to help diagnose and prescribe medications that will be most effective in treatment. I also enjoyed the brief discussion at the end which highlighted Covid-19 and the development of vaccines through genome mapping of viruses. I would still recommend this book, but perhaps to an audience is quite vested in topics of medicine, science, and genetics.