Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 222 pages
- Published by: Prometheus Books February 2005
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 1591022533
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-1591022534
-
Book Dimensions:
9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
- Weighs: 15.8 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
Green fluorescent pigment (GFP), made naturally by jellyfish, has recently sparked a biological revolution. "GFP is a fantastically useful protein" because it can monitor and track other proteins "inside a living organism, without disrupting any molecular processes." As Connecticut College chemist Zimmer shows, scientists have cloned the gene for GFP and attached it to other genes in a wide array of organisms, from rabbits to monkeys and fish. When these other genes are turned on, GFP is produced and individual cells begin to glow. The diagnostic uses for this technique are critically important and varied. GFP may help with the early diagnosis of cancer, with tracking the spread of pathogenic bacteria and may provide a relatively quick and easy assay for anthrax, among other exciting uses. Additionally, GFP has already helped scientists better understand developmental processes in organisms, which may lead to cures for such diseases as
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. While Zimmer is moderately successful in presenting the excitement associated with these breakthroughs, his clumsy prose often gets in the way of his message. His transitions between topics are so obtuse that much of his text reads like a series of extended digressions. Zimmer is at his best when explaining basic biology and chemistry; as his subject gets more complex, his explanations become more difficult to follow.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
It is the topic of numerous technical papers, reports chemistry professor Zimmer, but it rarely surfaces in the mass media unless the biotechnologists whip up something astonishingly weird. It is green fluorescent protein (GFP), by which fireflies and jellyfish illuminate themselves, and for which the cloners have found numerous potential applications. One of GFP's infrequent references in the news concerned Alba the fluorescent rabbit, displayed as an exhibit of "transgenic art." Drawing attention to this arena of genetic engineering, Zimmer describes what can be done with GFP, whether benevolent (testing the efficacy of disinfectants, replacing radioactive tests as detectors of cancer), frivolous (creating fluorescent pets), or alarming (cloning people in unnatural colors). Acknowledging the dual-edged bioethical ramifications of GFP, Zimmer does not elaborate on them but remains informatively focused on lab research. He also profiles the principal scientists who isolated GFP, found its causative gene, and determined its molecular shape. A timely alert on a fast-changing biotechnology.
Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader ReviewsI have to say that this was a very poorly edited book littered with bizarre mistakes: grammatical, spelling, and elementary history (the introduction talks about 17th century Victorian ladies!). The writing style veers from something targeted at teenagers to something more adult and back again, sometimes in one paragraph. Having said that, this book really is worth reading, in spite of the style, because the science it describes is riveting. I was vaguely aware of fluorescence as something used by biologists, but the author really does a great job of covering the field; the history, the various ways in which fluorescence is used, the ways in which the essential chemistry of the subject has been modified over the past few years. I'm a sucker for pop science books but, sadly, most of them rehash material that any educated person should already know. It's rare to find one, like this, that not only is packed with material that I did not know but that also manages to weave it all into a coherent narrative.
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