The Common Thread by John Sulston

The Common Thread by John Sulston

The world was agog when scientists made the astounding announcement that they had successfully sequenced the human genome. Few contributed so directly to this feat as John Sulston. This is his personal account of one of the largest international scientific operations ever undertaken. It was a momentous occasion when British scientist John Sulston embarked on the greatest scientific endeavor of our times: the sequencing of the Human Genome. In The Common Thread, Sulston takes us behind the scenes for an in-depth look at the controversial story behind the headlines. The accomplishments and the setbacksa "along with the politics, personalities, and ethicsa "that shaped the research are frankly explored by a central figure key to the project. From the beginning, Sulston fervently proclaimed his belief in the free and open exchange of the scientific information that would emerge from the project. Guided by these principles, The Human Genome Project was structured so that all the findings were public, encouraging an unparalleled international collaboration among scientists and researchers. Then, in May 1998, Craig Venter announced that he was quitting the Human Genome Projecta "with plans to head up a commercial venture launched to bring out the complete sequence three years hence, but marketed in a proprietary database. Ventera (TM)s intentions, clearly anathema to Sulston and the global network of scientists working on the Project, marked the beginning of a dramatic struggle to keep the human genome in the public domain. More than the story of human health versus corporate wealth, this is an exploration of the very nature of a scientific quest for discovery. Infused with Sulstona (TM)s own enthusiasm and excitement, the tale unfolds to reveal the scientists who painstakingly turn the key that will unlock the riddle of the human genome. We are privy to the joy and exuberance of success as well as the stark disappointments posed by inevitable failures. It is truly a wild and wonderful ride. The Common Thread is at once a compelling history and an impassioned call for ethical responsibility in scientific research. As the boundaries between science and big business increasingly blur, and researchers race to patent medical discoveries, the international community needs to find a common protocol for the protection of the wider human interest. This extraordinary enterprise is a glimpse of our shared human heritage, offering hope for future research and a fresh outlook on our understanding of ourselves.

John Sulston and Georgina Ferry

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780309084093
ISBN 10	0309084091
Title	The Common Thread
Author	John Sulston
Condition	Unavailable
Publisher	National Academies Press
Year published	2002-10-17
Number of pages	328
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable