The book I recently read

I finished reading ‘The Gene’ by Siddhartha Mukherjee last month. It has been a fascinating voyage in the world of biology- genetics to be precise. As I wrote before too, it has been written with great erudition and is richly laced with metaphor and similes to make it comprehensible even for a non-biologist. It staggers my mind to think how must an ocean of research material have been mined for it, grasped, and then put to masterly use by the doctor-writer. Only a man of SM’s calibre who gave us a wonderful book on cancer ‘The emperor of all maladies’ before, could have done it. The gene book tells us in gripping detail the whole story of the gene  right from early meanderings before the Christian era by the Greek Philosophers like Pythagoras (530 BC), Anaxagoras (400 BC), Aristotle (350 BC) and many others to unravel the mystery of inheritance. (Incidentally, Anaxagoras thought that the essence of heredity was carried by the male sperm, while the female only “shaped’ male semen in the womb to produce the foetus! And Aristotle argued that hereditary information is transmitted in the form of messages.) Nothing is in fact left out by the author in this long journey of man’s search for answers to the intriguing gene puzzle: Mendel’s experiments on pea to unravel the mystery of inheritance of characters, Darwin’s great voyage, how Watson and Crick cracked the DNA code, the human genome, how the new findings have helped mankind in understanding and curing genetic disorders by gene therapy, gene edting and gene surgery and the future scenario in regard to genomics and humankind. A lot has been done but a lot more still needs to be discovered. So many tricky genetic ailments such as Haemophilia, sickle cell anaemia etc which have afflicted mankind causing huge suffering, are now being cured thanks to new insights into the subtle working of the gene. Many more are on the threshold of being tamed and treated through gene therapy. The quest is on. Needless to say, the coming decades will see man (or a geneticist) playing God with gene editing and cloning technologies in his kitty. It will be for the humankind though to see and decide where to draw the line.

What makes the book so outstanding is the interesting manner and the arresting narrative with which the whole story of the gene is laid bare before the mesmerized reader with fascinating details about the personal lives of Mendel, Darwin and all other luminaries who have been involved in their scientific endeavours in unravelling the mystery of the gene right from the beginning till date, their obsessions, devotion, dedication, foibles, failures, jealousies, the politics and so on.

Having been a zoologist myself – though not a great one! – I could strike an instant chord with the book and had it fill many gaping voids in my understanding of the gene.

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I saw Baahubali 2

A poster of Baahubali-2

Did you see Baahubali 2? I did. And wasn’t disappointed at all. Well, there is nothing so earth-shaking about the story per se. It is all about a khashatriya kingdom: its opulence, power, glory and the royal dharma, with strict adherence to its codes and ethics. It is also about the royal intrigues and rivalries, as also the 'प्राण जायें पर वचन  ना जाइ'  ethos. But what takes your breath away and keeps you glued to the screen is the stunning visuals. With the computer generated imagery and mind-blowing action scenes and stunts, the movie puts to shame perhaps even the best of Hollywood action thrillers. No wonder therefore that it has proved such a huge blockbuster even in countries like China and the USA and has already reaped more than Rs 1200 crore in earnings. Even the big film-makers of Hollywood have been amazed at its rip-roaring success. The movie sets a new trend in film-making and we should expect more of such big-budget, fantasy stuff from our own filmmakers. A movie based on our great Mahabharat on similar lines is perhaps already on the anvil. Exciting times ahead for the movie buffs!

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Quotes of the week

The drive to change the genome of a human embryo has turned into an intercontinental arms race: Siddhartha Mukherjee ('The Gene')

Even the two most extreme human variants - male and female - share 99.688 of their genes: (As above)

"Gentle, free-handed, and kindly...Flowers he loved." : A monk in the monastery about Mendel (As above) 

"Cell biologists look; geneticists count; biochemists clean.": Arthur Kornberg (As above)

Trump (is) bringing world back to horse and cart: Schwarzenegger, Hollywood star and US Republican MP

Need room for argumentative Indian; not intolerant Indian: President Pranab Mukherjee


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Random headlines

US spacecraft finds cyclones, ammonia river on Jupiter (NDTV)

Dalits asked to use soaps, scent before meeting Yogi (DH)

Humans originated in Europe, not Africa: study (DH)

Air pollution may cause DNA damage in children:study (DH)

Attractiveness not just about good looks:study (DH)

Antibody to fight cancer identified (DH)

Probiotics good for digestive system, cure depression too: study (Business Standard)

Air pollution may be the cause of poor sleep (NDTV)

Deforestation causing increase in malaria cases:study (DH)

Passengers on Tejas Express smash LCD screens, soil toilets:We clearly don't understand civic duties (Firstpost)

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