Here Is a Human Being - by Misha Angrist (Paperback)

About the Book

In April 2007, Misha Angrist became the fourth subject in the Personal Genome Project, George Church's ambitious plan to sequence the entire genomic catalogue--every participant's 20,000+ genes and the rest of his/her six billion base pairs. Angrist reveals startling information about the experiment's participants and scientists.

From the Back Cover

In 2007, Misha Angrist became the fourth subject in the Personal Genome Project, George Church's ambitious plan to sequence the entire genomic catalog: every participant's twenty thousand-plus genes and the rest of his or her six billion base pairs. Unlocking the secrets of our genomes opens the door to understanding why we are the way we are and potentially fixing what ails us, from cancer and diabetes to obesity and male pattern baldness. But what exactly will happen to this information? Will it be a boon or just another marketing tool?

Here Is a Human Being is the first in-depth look at personal genomics--its larger-than-life research subjects; its entrepreneurs and do-it-yourselfers; its technology developers; and the bewildered physicians and regulators who must negotiate with it--and what it means to be a "public genome" in a world where privacy is already under siege.

Review Quotes

"Angrist, a Pushcart Prize winner, offers an account of his experience with clear explanations of the science involved and page-turning suspense about the frontiers of genetic research." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"As a writer and former genetic counselor, Mr. Angrist makes an apt chronicler of personal genomics, not least because he is happy to invade his own privacy, personally as well as genetically....In many ways "Here Is a Human Being" is a delight. It is a bracingly honest and open-minded survey, told as a personal story, of a field that will one day surely matter hugely to medicine." - Wall Street Journal