Review by Choice Review
It seems that it would be almost intuitive for scientists to develop a general definition of life. However, explaining life is not that simple, and no definition provided today accurately describes the characteristics of every living thing on Earth. Most definitions cannot even fully distinguish organisms from inanimate machines. In this book, science writer Rutherford examines the way scientists define and describe life. He also looks at how an understanding of the origin of life can contribute to advances in biotechnology, genetics, and molecular biology. The first section of the book recounts a history of the research on the origins of life on Earth. It also includes a history of genetics and the modern understanding of inheritable material. This section ends with a discussion of alternative quasi-scientific explanations of life's origins. The second section describes how scientists modify existing living organisms and synthesize living processes de novo. It culminates with an unbiased discussion about the ethics of technologies that modify and create novel life-forms. The author uses simple terms to accurately and clearly describe complex biological concepts. Ample primary references accompany each chapter. Creation would be a useful resource for science policy and bioethics libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic, general, and professional audiences. B. R. Shmaefsky Lone Star College - Kingwood
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The first part of this book relates what's been learned about the origin of life on earth; the second, what's being done to modify existing life-forms and produce new ones. Though both are engaging, many may find the first more dazzling. Rutherford starts small, discussing the cell and how it is begotten, not created but ultimately taking in genetics and DNA as well as the earth's physical history before life emerged from a microscopic chamber at the bottom of the sea, four million years ago. The second part lacks the first's sweeping grandeur, being set in a much narrower time frame, the 30 years bioengineering has been with us. That's long enough, however, to have seen gene-splicing give way to synthetic biology at the field's cutting-edge as the spider-goat and biofuels have been supplanted in novelty by the successful copying by RNA of a molecule formed by swapping in a different amino acid for one of the four naturally found in the DNA sequence, which ultimately suggests a different basis for life, one that is created, not begotten by intelligent (human) design. Creation is the first book by this geneticist-journalist with two well-received BBC4 series, The Gene Code and The Cell, to his credit. May it augur many more top-drawer science books by Rutherford.--Olson, Ray Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Combining superb science writing with a refreshing wit, Rutherford does an excellent job of bringing genomics and synthetic biology to life in this accessible overview of the past and future of the fields. In the first half, the Nature magazine editor describes what we know about cellular biology, while the second portion explores where and how we might apply our growing knowledge base in the future. He argues that the theory of evolution does not aim to explain the origin of life, but he also insists that in order to know where we're going, we have to know where we're from, and one of the best ways to do that is to trace evolution at the cellular level: "In every cell is a perfect unbroken chain that stretches inevitably back... to one single entity, which we call the Last Universal Common Ancestor." His elucidations of this concept and others are well-crafted and clear enough for lay readers to easily grasp his meaning. Most compellingly, he argues that increased biological research and experimentation might herald a shift that would rival the Industrial Revolution in terms of social change. There's much to savor here-even in the footnotes. Agent: P.J. Mark, Janklow & Nesbit Associates. (June 13) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The day is nearly here when scientists will create the first purely synthetic life. This prediction turns up regularly, but British science writer and Nature editor Rutherford insists that the time is ripe, and he makes his case with contagious enthusiasm. Following requirements of the genre, the author delivers a lucid history of the Earth and the appearance of life 3.8 billion years ago--so quickly after the planet's cooling that it may be a natural process. To give readers an idea of the daunting challenges that scientists face, Rutherford explains life's processes: DNA, an immense helical molecule in every cell's nucleus, provides information in the form of genes, small triplets of molecules on the helix; RNA copies the information; cell structures called ribosomes make proteins from the RNA template. Other structures, called mitochondria, provide energy. A protective membrane surrounds every cell, separating it from the world outside. This sounds complex, but, provided scientists manipulate DNA properly, startling things happen, and Rutherford devotes the second half of his book to their efforts. In 2010 researchers synthesized all 517 genes of a tiny bacteria, inserted them into a cell, and they worked. Goats given a certain spider gene produce milk filled with spider silk. Readers may roll their eyes to learn of cells programmed to seek out and kill cancers (another claim that appears regularly), but they will be impressed by bacteria that can act as a photographic film, consume plastic waste or manufacture bricks. While it is unlikely that scientists will synthesize a human in the near future, genuinely amazing biology is in the works, and Rutherford delivers a fascinating overview.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
