Friday, August 05, 2022

Review: The Genesis Machine

The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology, by Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel

If you want a non-fiction book that reads more like a science fiction novel, The Genesis Machine is for you. It's the authors' contention that the current state of modern biological science, referred to as synthetic biology is at roughly the same state as communications technology when Alexander Graham Bell conducted the first public demonstration of the telephone. 

Given that premise, they go on to show just how synthetic biology could change our lives, both for the better and the worse. I'm not as familiar with biology and medicine as I am with physics and astronomy, but I had no problem following their argument. The book is well written and compelling and occasionally rather scary in its implications.

I recommend it highly to anyone who is interested in science and wants a window into our future.

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