About the Book:
In The Genome Odyssey, Dr. Euan Ashley, Stanford professor of medicine and genetics, brings the breakthroughs of precision medicine to vivid life through the real diagnostic journeys of his patients and the tireless efforts of his fellow doctors and scientists as they hunt to prevent, predict, and beat disease.
Since the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, the price of genome sequencing has dropped at a staggering rate. It’s as if the price of a Ferrari went from $350,000 to a mere forty cents. Through breakthroughs made by Dr. Ashley’s team at Stanford and other dedicated groups around the world, analyzing the human genome has decreased from a heroic multibillion dollar effort to a single clinical test costing less than $1,000.
For the first time we have within our grasp the ability to predict our genetic future, to diagnose and prevent disease before it begins, and to decode what it really means to be human.
In The Genome Odyssey, Dr. Ashley details the medicine behind genome sequencing with clarity and accessibility. More than that, with passion for his subject and compassion for his patients, he introduces readers to the dynamic group of researchers and doctor detectives who hunt for answers, and to the pioneering patients who open up their lives to the medical community during their search for diagnoses and cures.
He describes how he led the team that was the first to analyze and interpret a complete human genome, how they broke genome speed records to diagnose and treat a newborn baby girl whose heart stopped five times on the first day of her life, and how they found a boy with tumors growing inside his heart and traced the cause to a missing piece of his genome.
These patients inspire Dr. Ashley and his team as they work to expand the boundaries of our medical capabilities and to envision a future where genome sequencing is available for all, where medicine can be tailored to treat specific diseases and to decode pathogens like viruses at the genomic level, and where our medical system as we know it has been completely revolutionized.
Review:
I won this book in a giveaway, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into reading this. I would like to first off that genome stuff is really complicated, and even though Ashley makes it more simple to understand, I still had a little trouble. What's nice though is that I'm currently studying genomes in my Bio class, so I was able to discuss some of these concepts with my professor, so that helped a lot.
My favorite thing about The Genome Odyssey was that it didn't read like a textbook. Ashley made the story of all the experiments really interesting and engaging; so much so that I felt like I was with the team working on their projects. I also loved how the author focused on the human element of science and discovery. He really cares about the families and people he encountered over the course of his research. It made the book so much easier to read because I actually connected with a lot of the people involved.
So if you're looking for a well written book that'll teach you loads about genomes, look no further!
