Showing results by publisher "Audible Studios" in Genetics

Not since the atomic bomb has a technology so alarmed its inventors that they warned the world about its use. Not, that is, until the spring of 2015, when biologist Jennifer Doudna called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the new gene-editing tool CRISPR - a revolutionary new technology that she helped create - to make heritable changes in human embryos.

Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands to rethink their beliefs about life.

A preeminent geneticist hunts the Neanderthal genome to answer the biggest question of them all: what does it mean to be human? What can we learn from the genes of our closest evolutionary relatives? Neanderthal Man tells the story of geneticist Svante Pbo’s mission to answer that question, beginning with the study of DNA in Egyptian mummies in the early 1980s and culminating in his sequencing of the Neanderthal genome in 2009.

By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only 24, a young scientist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries.

Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? The science says yes. In How to Clone a Mammoth, Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist and pioneer in "ancient DNA" research, walks listeners through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction.

A vibrant young Hispano woman, Shonnie Medina, inherits a breast-cancer mutation known as BRCA1.185delAG. It is a genetic variant characteristic of Jews. The Medinas knew they were descended from Native Americans and Spanish Catholics, but they did not know that they had Jewish ancestry as well. The mutation most likely sprang from Sephardic Jews hounded by the Spanish Inquisition. The discovery of the gene leads to a fascinating investigation of cultural history and modern genetics by Dr. Harry Ostrer and other experts on the DNA of Jewish populations.

A tiny mutation on the X chromosome can shape a family’s history. Passed down from a “carrier” parent to a child, fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability and autism. Beyond that—and a rarity among genetic disorders—some fragile X carriers not only transmit the mutation, but also experience related conditions themselves.

The burgeoning new science of epigenetics offers a cornucopia of insights - some comforting, some frightening. For example, the male fetus may be especially vulnerable to certain common chemicals in our environment, in ways that damage not only his own sperm but also the sperm of his sons. And it’s epigenetics that causes identical twins to vary widely in their susceptibility to dementia and cancer. But here’s the good news: unlike mutations, epigenetic effects are reversible. Indeed, epigenetic engineering is the future of medicine.

In Food, Genes, and Culture, renowned ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan shows why the perfect diet for one person could be disastrous for another. If your ancestors were herders in Northern Europe, milk might well provide you with important nutrients, whereas if you’re Native American, you have a higher likelihood of lactose intolerance. If your roots lie in the Greek islands, the acclaimed Mediterranean diet might save your heart; if not, all that olive oil could just give you stomach cramps.

Where did I come from? Why do I have two arms but just one head? How is my left leg the same size as my right one? Why are the fingerprints of identical twins not identical? How did my brain learn to learn? Why must I die? Questions like these remain biology's deepest and most ancient challenges. They force us to confront a fundamental biological problem: How can something as large and complex as a human body organize itself from the simplicity of a fertilized egg?

A panoramic overview of biotechnologies that can endlessly boost human capabilities and the drastic changes these "superhuman" traits could trigger. Biotechnology is moving fast. In the coming decades, advanced pharmaceuticals, bioelectronics, and genetic interventions will be used not only to heal the sick but to boost human physical and mental performance to unprecedented levels.

チャールズ・ダーウィンの『種の起源』は、生物の進化がなぜ起こるのかを自然淘汰で説明し「神が天地創造の際にすべての生き物を完璧な姿でつくった」というキリスト教の世界観を覆した。コペルニクスの地動説と並び、人類に知的革命を起こした大名著である。

人類の歴史は、地球規模の支配を築いた壮大な成功の物語のようにも見える。しかし、その成功の裏で、ホモ・サピエンスはずっと「借りものの時間」を生きてきた。何千年も続いた栄光は、今や終わりが近づいている。なぜそうなったのか？

Eine faszinierende Vorstellung: Wie wäre es, wenn sich die biologische Uhr, die in jedem von uns tickt, anhalten ließe – oder sogar ein Stück zurückdrehen? Und das nicht bloß gefühlt, sondern messbar? Dieses Versprechen ist seit Kurzem Realität. Der junge Forschungszweig der Epigenetik hat den Deckel von der Altersuhr gehoben – und in aktuellen Studien nun sogar den Sprung in die praktische Anwendung geschafft. Genau darum geht es in diesem Hörbuch: Was kann ich ganz konkret tun, um meine Altersuhr zurückzudrehen? Um wie viele Monate oder gar Jahre lässt sich der Zeiger zurückstellen?

Com base na arqueogenética, cientistas como Johannes Krause traçaram a rota das ondas migratórias que povoaram o mundo, lançando luz sobre aspectos do passado que até então permaneciam um mistério. Krause e o jornalista Thomas Trappe reescrevem um dos capítulos mais interessantes desse percurso: o povoamento da Europa. Além disso, detalham a cultura dos povos que viviam lá no período pré-histórico, formados por hábeis artesãos, por pessoas que enterravam os mortos com joias de ouro muito antes dos faraós do Egito e por caçadores de grandes animais que pereceram na Era do Gelo.

人間だけがもっているスーパーパワーってなに？　私たちはそれをどう使えばいいんだろう？　世界的ベストセラー『サピエンス全史』の著者が、未来をになう子どもたちに贈る、驚きの歴史！

Una piccola sigla, un mondo di significati: il DNA è una risorsa contro le malattie, uno strumento per identificare gli assassini e una chiave per comprendere il comportamento umano. La sua storia è talmente antica da intrecciarsi con quella della comparsa della vita sulla Terra. E in futuro? Proviamo a parlarne direttamente con lui. Dalla genetica di Neandertal alla clonazione di esseri umani, metteremo a fuoco speranze (e timori) che grazie al DNA si aprono per la scienza e per le nostre esistenze.

From the Siberian permafrost to balmy California, scientists across the globe are working to resurrect all kinds of extinct animals, from ones that just left us to those that have been gone for many thousands of years. Their tools in this hunt are both fossils and cutting-edge genetic technologies. Some of these scientists are driven by sheer curiosity; others view the lost species as a powerful weapon in the fight to preserve rapidly changing ecosystems. It seems certain that these animals will walk the earth again, but what world will that give us? And is any of this a good idea?

Since the birth of civilization, human beings have manipulated other life-forms. We have selectively bred plants and animals for thousands of years to maximize agricultural production and cater to our tastes in pets. The observation of the creation of artificial animal and plant variants was a key stimulant for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The ability to directly engineer the genomes of organisms first became possible in the 1970s, when the gene for human insulin was introduced into bacteria.

Over a decade ago, as the Human Genome Project completed its mapping of the entire human genome, hopes ran high that we would rapidly be able to use our knowledge of human genes to tackle many inherited diseases, and understand what makes us unique among animals. But things didn't turn out that way.