ELAN
Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Gene Book Club Guide We suggest marking up your book (underline, highlight, notes in the margin) and having all participants (whether it’s two people or twenty!), bring their copies for the discussion. Go through the below themes and topics in chronological order and enjoy an openended discussion. Please utilize the discussion questions, quotes, and related articles to enhance your discussion.
Major Themes + Topics ● Early Theories (Pythagoras, Aristotle, the Homunculus, “Invisible Hand”) Pg 27 ● Clergymen Speculation Pg 28 ● Natural Selection Pg 37 ● Mendel’s Pea Experiments Pg 50 ● Science Ignores Mendel Pg 54 ● Every Scientist for Himself! Pg 58 ● Francis Galton + Eugenics Pg 64 ● Eugenics in Practice (Supreme Court Opinion, Colonies, Sterilization, WWII) Pg 78 ● Siddhartha’s Personal Interest in Genetics Pg 89 ● Compare Eugenics in Germany/Europe to America Pg 122 ● Watson + Crick, Franklin + Wilkins Pg 148 ● Death Cells + Cancer Pg 194 ● Societal Implications of Altering the Genome Pg 206 ● Genentech (Private Firm with No Regulation) Pg 243 ● Genetics Influence on Abortion Pg 268 ● Huntington’s Disease Pg 284 ● Atomic Bombing + Genetic Mutations Pg 300 ● Mitochondrial Eve Pg 338 ● Bruce/Brenda/David + Sexual Identity Pg 364 ● Mapping the Sexual Identity Genome + Societal Implications Pg 276 ● Nature Versus Nurture Pg 380 ● RearedApart Twins Pg 383 ● Genetic Memory Pg 394 ● Previvorship Pg 455 ● CherryPicked Embryos Pg 456 ● Female Infanticide + Gene Management Pg 457 Discussion Questions How did Siddhartha’s personal story weave through the history of genetics? Do you think his family’s experience with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder influence his perspective and interest in the topic of genetics?
Where did Darwin’s theories hit and miss the mark? How did his theories shape biological sciences? What were the implications of going against Christianity + Genesis during the time period? Scientific competition was a recurring theme throughout the book; Discuss the competitive nature to be the first to find new discoveries and the many instances throughout the book where this occurred. What did you make of Mitochondrial Eve? Discuss the implications and history of the origin of our species. Scientists are decoding the genome in terms of sexual identity; what are the implications (both good and bad) of tying sexual identity to genetics? Since the gene was first discovered, eugenics has played a role in our global history. Discuss it’s start with Galton, WWII, female infanticide, and eugenics current role in today’s societies. What is a gene? How does it work and what are the components that make up each gene? Siddhartha asks what the difference of altering genes looks like compared to altering entire genomes what do you think? Quotes “Our capacity to understand and manipulate human genomes alters our conception of what it means to be ‘human.’” Pg 12 Bateson, 1905: “When power is discovered, man always turns to it… the science of heredity will soon provide power on a stupendous scale; and in some country, at some time not, perhaps, far distant, that power will be applied to control the composition of a nation. Whether the institution of such control will ultimately be good or bad for that nation, or for humanity at large, is a separate question.” Pg 63 Martin Neimoller: “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.” Pg 125 “We are much more alike than unlike each other.” Pg 340 “ Genes encode RNAs to build Proteins to form/regulate Organisms that sense Environments that influence Proteins/RNAs that regulate Genes .” Pg 410
“We determine the definition of ‘extraordinary suffering. We demarcate the boundaries of ‘normalcy’ versus ‘abnormalcy.’ We make the medical choices to intervene. We determine the nature of ‘justifiable interventions.’ Humans endowed with certain genomes are responsible for defining the criteria to define, intervene on, or even eliminate other humans endowed with other genomes. ‘Choice,’ in short, seems like an illusion devised by genes to propagate the selection of similar genes.” Pg 458 “What if we learn to intentionally alter the human genome?” Pg 464 Related Links / Articles NYT “The Gene” by Siddhartha Mukherjee The Guardian The Gene, One of the Most Dangerous Ideas in History The Guardian Siddhartha Mukherjee Interview Medium What I Learned from The Gene NPR Siddhartha Mukherjee on Fresh Air The Atlantic Genes Are Overrated The New Yorker Runs in the Family
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