Overview

In a book infused with wisdom, wonder, and a healthy dose of wry skepticism, Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Francois Jacob walks us through the surprising ways of science, particularly the science of biology, in this century. Of Flies, Mice, and Men is at once a work of history, a social study of the role of scientists in the modern world, and a cautionary tale of the bumbling and brilliance, imagination and luck, that attend scientific discovery.

Full Product Details

9780674005389

Table of Contents

Reviews

Using his own storied career as a backdrop, Jacob reveals the ways of a scientist in unraveling the mysteries of life...He tells, for instance, how the minuscule fruit fly revealed the passing of genetic traits and how mice became a primary organism for research. Above all, he scrutinizes the role of the scientist in society, often recalling the legacy of the ancient Greeks. - Science News Jacob's book is masterly in combining erudition, wit, and wisdom. It is marvelously clear in describing what we know about the fundamental questions of life and the laws that determine the growth of each species - and what we don't know. - M. F. Perutz, New York Review of Books

A writer of style and substance narrates the transforming events of recent biology in seven inspired essays, neatly translated by Weiss. Jacob, 1965 Nobel laureate in genetics and author of the well-received autobiography The Statue Within (1988), reviews critical findings in biology wrought by two decades of research in genetic engineering. Quoting Lewis Thomas's suggestion that the importance of a piece of research can be measured by the intensity of the surprise it provokes, his essays underscore the point. It was astonishing, for example, to discover the commonality of genes across species. The master genes that determine the anterior-posterior orientation of a fly's body (leading to the positioning of organs) are cousins to the genes that regulate body orientation of worms, frogs, and humans. The genes coding for the myriad proteins that build the body's structure and take responsibility for the body's chemistry - regardless of species - are variations on some 2,000 bits of DNA sequence, assembled like a mosaic to form an endless variety of proteins (current jargon speaks of protein motifs, domains, and modules ). The same recombination of DNA pieces enables the immune system to come up with antibodies suited to whatever new antigen threatens the body. This gives evolutionary biology a new twist, claims Jacob. Instead of regarding each gene as a unique entity, nature continually tinkers with a basic set of DNA bits, coming up with new genes that may be selected for. He reveals this and more about art and science, beauty and truth, good and evil, and our continued quest for knowledge, with telling allusions to literature, myth, painting, and music. Some concluding remarks: The century that is ending has been preoccupied with nucleic acids and proteins. The next one will concentrate on memory and desire. Will it be able to answer the questions they pose? If the likes of Jacob remain, there's hope. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Francois Jacob is Professor of Cellular Genetics, College de France, and a member of the French Academy. In 1965 he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work in genetics.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available