Inheritance: How Our Genes Change Our Lives, And Our Lives Change Our Genes

Description

Inheritance reveals how genetic breakthroughs are transforming our understanding of the world... and of ourselves. Picture yourself breaking free of your genetic destiny. Envision yourself leaving behind any familial baggage of inheritance that puts you at risk for breast cancer or mental illness. Savor the freedom of escaping the gene responsible for your mother's rheumatoid arthritis or your grandfather's early-onset Alzheimer s disease. That thing you dread you may have given to your own children? What if you could put that nightmare away forever? This isn't science fiction. The answers are right here, all around you, inside of you, and yours to discover. Conventional wisdom dictates that our genetic destiny is fixed at conception. But award-winning geneticist Sharon Moalem MD, PhD shows us that the human genome is far more fluid, fascinating and relevant than you could ever have believed. Moalem employs his wide-ranging interdisciplinary skills in science and medicine to explain how art, history, superheroes, sex workers and sports stars can all help us to understand our genetic inheritance in a radically new way - in our present lives as well as our children's future. Just a few of the things you'll learn from this book: - You might have thought you'd recovered from the psychological trauma caused by childhood bullies... but your genes can remain scarred for life. - The difference between being slim and obese might have less to do with what you eat than with the micro-organisms in your gut. - Insurance companies can use your genetic data to predict your and your children's risk of disability, which will impact the cover they offer to you and your family. - For most people, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but for some it's a ticket to the coroner's office. - Some people can smoke for their entire lives and never get cancer... and Big Tobacco wants nothing more than to get a peek at the genome. In this gene journey, which is based on immaculate scientific research by one of the world's leading researchers of human genetics and health, we chart a riveting course that's destined to shatter our presuppositions about the fundamental nature of our genes. Turning the nature/nurture debate on its head, Inheritance will dazzle readers as they learn how to apply this research in their daily lives and take control of their destiny in a manner that their parents could only have dreamed of.