Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters

"By picking one newly discovered gene from each of the 23 human chromosomes, and telling its story, Matt Ridley recounts the history of our species and its ancestors from the dawn of life to the brink of future medicine. He finds genes that we share with bacteria, genes that distinguish us from chimpanzees, genes that can condemn us to cruel diseases, genes that may influence our intelligence, genes that enable us to use grammatical language, genes that guide the development of our bodies and our brains, genes that allow us to remember, genes that exhibit the strange alchemy of nature and nurture, genes that parasitise us for their own selfish ends, genes that battle with each other and genes that record the history of human migrations. From BSE to cancer, he explores the applications of genetics: the search for understanding and therapy, the horrors of eugenics, and the philosophical implications for understanding the paradox of free will."-- jacquette.