The Common Thread: A Story of Science, Politics, Ethics and the Human Genome |  | Author: John Sulston and Georgina Ferry
Publisher: Joseph Henry Press
List Price: $24.95
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Seller: atlanta-book-company
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 925406
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.7 x 1.3
ISBN: 0309084091
Dewey Decimal Number: 611.01816
EAN: 9780309084093
ASIN: 0309084091
Publication Date: October 15, 2002
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Product Description
Sulston takes us behind the scenes for an in-depth look at the controversial story behind the headlines; The Human Genome Project. A compelling history and an impassioned call for ethical responsibility in scientific research.
Book Description
The world was agog when scientists made the astounding announcement that they had successfully sequenced the human genome. Few contributed so directly to this feat as John Sulston. This is his personal account of one of the largest international scientific operations ever undertaken.
It was a momentous occasion when British scientist John Sulston embarked on the greatest scientific endeavor of our times: the sequencing of the Human Genome. In The Common Thread, Sulston takes us behind the scenes for an in-depth look at the controversial story behind the headlines. The accomplishments and the setbacks—along with the politics, personalities, and ethics—that shaped the research are frankly explored by a central figure key to the project.
From the beginning, Sulston fervently proclaimed his belief in the free and open exchange of the scientific information that would emerge from the project. Guided by these principles, The Human Genome Project was structured so that all the findings were public, encouraging an unparalleled international collaboration among scientists and researchers.
Then, in May 1998, Craig Venter announced that he was quitting the Human Genome Project—with plans to head up a commercial venture launched to bring out the complete sequence three years hence, but marketed in a proprietary database. Venter’s intentions, clearly anathema to Sulston and the global network of scientists working on the Project, marked the beginning of a dramatic struggle to keep the human genome in the public domain.
More than the story of human health versus corporate wealth, this is an exploration of the very nature of a scientific quest for discovery. Infused with Sulston’s own enthusiasm and excitement, the tale unfolds to reveal the scientists who painstakingly turn the key that will unlock the riddle of the human genome. We are privy to the joy and exuberance of success as well as the stark disappointments posed by inevitable failures. It is truly a wild and wonderful ride.
The Common Thread is at once a compelling history and an impassioned call for ethical responsibility in scientific research. As the boundaries between science and big business increasingly blur, and researchers race to patent medical discoveries, the international community needs to find a common protocol for the protection of the wider human interest. This extraordinary enterprise is a glimpse of our shared human heritage, offering hope for future research and a fresh outlook on our understanding of ourselves.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 Gripping race to keep the science of the human genome in the public domain September 4, 2007
WDBonett
A superbly told story of Sulston's experience in mapping the human genome, whilst heading the Sanger Centre. The rival group headed by Venter although on the same quest, was attempting to patent everything it found. This is obviously a natural consequence of the huge investment made by various parties in his group. The excitment of scientific discovery and ground breaking work is peppered with the tension of the work being undermined by the politicking of Celera, the Venter company.
Celera's 'shotgun' approach proved less successful in the long run, so they had to continually use the publicly released results of Sulston's team in order to bolster their own findings. Needless to say Venters findings weren't made available to the publicly funded efforts. It does highlight the best and worst of science. Science as a methodology relies on dissemination of knowledge, and honesty. Bringing the exigencies of big business into that mix and problems are inevitable. I since become better acquainted with Venter through other sources, and he's clearly a brilliant, charismatic and driven scientist-who just happens to spearhead the burgeoning industry of biotech. I will be interested to see where his new work on changing one species of bacteria into another leads.
I've read reviews above of how Sulston sounds bitter, but for me he came across with great humour, intelligence, humanity, and obviously very uncomfortable with political shenanigans, he'd rather just get on with the science.
Sulston thoroughly criticizes the Venter's shotgun approach January 24, 2005
Sei Kameoka (New Hampshire, USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The book has 280 pages of text, 8 pages of INDEX (very detail), 7 pages of photographs. I think some conceptual figures would greatly help the lay readers to understand what the shotgun approaches is, but no figures or table included unfortunately. The most important conclusion of the book is, written in page 240, "Eric Lander, Richard Durbin and Phil Green all independently analyzed the information and came to similar conclusions. There was no evidence in the paper that the whole-genome assembly had worked adequately."
However, Sulston never explains the fact that even if the shotgun approach leaves the "gap", it may not be the critical problem for the purpose of drug candidate search. His sponsor/customer - the big pharmaceutical companies wanted to pursue this specific aim for the lowest and fastest cost.
Sulston vehemently criticize the Sciences' editor-in-chief Don Kennedy for the unethical practice of accepting Celera Paper. I wish I could hear more about the Kennedy's side of the story. Considering many US scientists are running or advising their own company (Eric Lander himself is the founder of Millennium Pharmaceuticals), there seem to be a conceptual schism between US and UK scientists toward the issue.
 A cliched tale of good and evil - guess who's the good guy July 5, 2003
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is an entertaining book with little to recommend it on the human genome side. It's full of cliches and poorly drawn analogies. The story of the worm project (for which the author later received the Nobel Prize) was terrific, if poorly written. Sulston is a guy who clearly hates Venter and is full of venom, only thinly disguised by his holier than thou attitudes - poorly argued for his side, at that.
The book is half good in that it presents a notable first person episode in science, but is too self statisfied and non-reflective to be useful in understanding the important questions raised by the book.
A private account of a very public milestone July 5, 2003
PAUL FARRINGTON (ENGLAND, United Kingdom)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a chronologically written, biographically styled account of the race to sequence the human genome. This book is co-authored by an English scientist who finds himself drawn into an increasingly political battle, both to beat the private sector to completion and to defend the genetic information gleaned from falling under commercial patents. He casts Celera Genomics' Craig Venter (the private sector competitor) as the villain in this account. I suspect there are many more sides to this story (Venter himself gives wounded rebuttals aplenty in subsequent interviews). How passionately you agree with Sulston's own conclusions depends very much on your opinion of private sector bioscience and how biological information should be subject to intellectual property rights. If the decoding of the human genome interests you, this public sector account of what happened should clarify and colour the picture. A small criticism: The different methods of cloning, mapping and sequencing are complicated stuff and key to understanding how this story unfolds - the non-technical reader could benefit from a basic glossary of technical terms.
A Gripping Insider's View May 16, 2003
Lawrence Kwong (Madison, WI)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Books like this let you feel, if for only a moment, that you are walking among giants. John Sulston's memoirs of the battle for the human genome is deeply written and brutally honest, immersing the reader in a side of science rarely seen by the public. Presented as an archetypal clash between good and evil, the contest of wills pits John and the open scientific community against Craig Venter and the forces of corporate interest. It is a defence of the purity of science from the corruption of greed.Before this, though, comes an introductory glimpse into the formative years when molecular biology and genetics slowly converged. As richly detailed as this early history of both John's life and the field of genetics is, however, much of this narrative seems detatched. Large sections are told factually, and the story misses much of the emotional investments found later in the book. Still, it is a serviceable introduction to one of the most important events of the twentieth century. And so the story of the genome picks up in earnest in the second half of the book, when John's struggles with both politics and himself infuse an essential aura of human depth. It's as well-put together as any thriller; even prior knowledge of the outcome of the race doesn't diminish the suspense and sheer anticipation of each event. The scope and depth of the human genome project is laid out in broad strokes, with many major players acting out their roles to keep science free and open. There are plot twists and double crosses, triumphs and setbacks. But the surest sign that the common good won out is that the information of our very heritage is freely strung across the internet. Despite the book's flaws -- the prose is rarely eloquent -- the story is essential reading for anyone even remotely interested in the inner workings of science and politics. Certainly, there is a danger in only seeing one side of the story. However, John's excitement and noble intentions are undeniable: the world can benefit more from unbridled selflessness than from runaway capitalism.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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