The Code Breaker

The Code Breaker - subtitled Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing and the Future of the Human Race

Another must-read from Walter Isaacson. I personally am a big fan of Isaacson's writings and his biographies on Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Leonardo Da Vinci are nothing but a delight to read. 

This book is not a biography of Jennifer Doudna but she and CRISPR (the gene editing tool which she and her team discovered) forms one of the the central themes of the book. The lives and works of her colleagues, collaborators, competitors, mentors including James Watson (co-discoverer of the double helical structure of DNA) and his seminal book "The Double Helix" run throughout the book in this amazing plot full of twists and turns or folds should I say!

CRISPR which is a mechanism found in bacteria to fight against viral attacks is used as the basis/technology for the gene-editing tool/CRISPR. The applications of CRISPR - curing/treating genetic disorders, detecting/fighting cancer cells, creating designer babies, enhancing physical and mental prowess of humans - are manifold. So are the implications & consequences. The moral and ethical issues arising out of the use or the decision to use such a gene-editing tool are complex too. Will we as human species lose our diversity? Will there be further inequality - genetic inequality similar to financial inequality - among humans? Will we lose our feelings of empathy and humility? Will we stop being "human"? Two sentences in the ~500 pages book stand out to me: "The issue (that of gene-editing) is one of the most profound we humans have ever faced. For the first time in the evolution of life on this planet, a species has developed the capacity to edit its own genetic makeup."

Kudos to Isaacson once again in painting and explaining the lives and works of amazing people - many scientists this time. He has done full justification in bringing to life many of the characters/scientists in the story and at times felt like I was reading mini-biographies too along the way. His succinct and crystal-clear explanation of complex subjects and technical topics is such a big boon to ordinary/common man like me! Even as all the brilliant, hard working scientists find joy in discovering "the infinite wonders of nature", we find joy in the writings of folks like Isaacson!