Book description
Since the discovery of DNA scientists have believed that genes are
fixed entities that cannot be changed by environment - we inherit them,
pass them on to our children and take them with us when we die. We can
make choices that influence our environment, but we cannot change our
genes. Or so we have long been prepared to believe.
Professor Tim Spector reveals how the latest genetic research and his
own pioneering studies are rewriting everything we thought we knew about
genes, identity and evolution. Conceptually, he explains, our genes are
not fixed entities but more like plastic, able to change shape and
evolve, and these changes can be passed on to our children and
grandchildren. In the face of these astonishing new discoveries, the old
nature-nurture debate instantly dissolves and can be replaced with a
much deeper understanding of our genes and the complex role they play in
shaping our identities.
Tim Spector's dazzling guide to the hidden world of our genes will make
you think again about everything from sexuality to religion, cancer to
autism, politics to pubic hair, clones to bacteria, and what it is that
makes us all so unique and quintessentially human. Tim Spector is
Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London and Hon
consultant Physician at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital. He set up the
Twins UK register in 1993, the largest of its kind in the world, which
he continues to direct. He has won several academic awards and published
over 500 academic papers. He has appeared in numerous TV documentaries
and is often consulted in British and international media on his team's
cutting-edge research.
