The Age Of Genomes

Almost every week, another exciting headline appears about new advances in the field of genetics. Genetic testing is experiencing the kind of exponential growth once seen with the birth of the Internet, while the plummeting cost of DNA sequencing makes it increasingly accessible for individuals and families.

Dr. Steven M. Lipkin suggests that today's genomics is like the last century's nuclear physics: a powerful tool for good if used correctly, but potentially dangerous in the wrong hands. DNA testing is promising in treating serious disease, but Beijing Genomics is quietly developing gene tests to predict intelligence and athletic prowess in prenatal embryo selection. DNA testing could also lead to unnecessary procedures and significantly higher health care costs. All too often, sequencing errors diagnose patients with debilitating and fatal genetic diseases.

The Age of Genomes immerses readers in stories of real patients on the frontier of genomics and explores the transformative potential and dangerous risks of genetic technology. It will inform anxious parents increasingly bombarded by offers of costly new pre-natal testing products, and demonstrate how genetic technology, when deployed properly, can prevent or treat genetic disorders such as neurological diseases or cancer. Lipkin explains the science in depth, but in terms even a lay person can follow.

About the Author

Steven Monroe Lipkin, MD, PhD, FACMG, has been a practicing clinical geneticist for almost twenty years. He directs the Adult and Cancer Genetics Clinic and is the vice chair for Translational Research at the Sanford I. and Joan Weill Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell in New York City.

Jon R. Luoma's writing about science and the environment has appeared in National Geographic, GQ, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, and Audubon, where he was a longtime contributing editor. He is the author of three previous nonfiction books: The Hidden Forest, A Crowded Ark, and Troubled Skies, Troubled Waters.