Adapted from the authors' Pulitzer Prize - winning series for the
Chicago Tribune, a detailed look at the cutting edge of medical
research: attacking disease by repairing inherited flaws in the
cells of the human body. Gene therapy is potentially as
revolutionary as Pasteur's germ theory of disease, especially as
science uncovers more and more diseases that can be traced to
genetic defects. It is also fraught with controversy, as many
researchers urge extreme caution in the introduction of foreign
genetic material (often derived from viruses) into the human body.
Others (notably William French Anderson, formerly director of the
molecular hematology department of the National Institutes of
Health) want to push forward with therapies that promise to
eradicate genetically based diseases. It is easy to understand this
attitude when reading about Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, in which patients
have to be restrained to prevent them from attacking their own
bodies (as well as those tending them) with their teeth, or
adenosine deaminase deficiency, in which the body has no defenses
against infection. The authors put often epic political battles in
the context of the personal quests of the scientists (who foresee
Nobel prizes for the successful pioneers) and of the poignant case
histories of the first patients to come forward as guinea pigs for
the new therapies (some of whom are now living comparatively normal
lives). The second half of the book looks at prospects for future
developments in gene therapy, from the prevention of heart disease
to the tailoring of drugs to attack tumors in specific locations.
Lyon and Gorner also glance at the disturbing potential of
genetically enhanced intelligence, and other "cures" suggestive of
a revived science of eugenics, with all its ethical complexities.
Well written, exhaustively researched, and filled with the human
stories of the scientists, the doctors, and the patients whose only
hope is this new field of medicine. (Kirkus Reviews)
Gene Therapy and the Retooling of Human Life
"Well written, exhaustively researched, and filled with the human stories of the scientists, the doctors, and the patients whose only hope is this new field of medicine."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Seven years in the making, Altered Fates chronicles the saga of gene therapy, a medical revolution unparalleled in human history. In the pages of this rich and detailed narrative, whose characters include the field's leading scientists as well as key patients and their families, the Pulitzer Prize–winning authors tell the story of the race to be the first to do gene therapy (a feat almost certain to garner a Nobel Prize and a place in medical history), uncovering the behind-the-scenes machinations and rivalries among the prima-donna researchers at some of the world's leading medical centers, including the National Institutes of Health. They also reveal the details of the initial human experiments in gene transfer and the agonizing decisions faced by the families of the first children to be submitted to the therapy. As Daniel Kevles observed in the New York Times Book Review, "Mr. Lyon and Mr. Gorner are highly knowledgeable about the state of human and medical genetics, and their treatment of both the science and its practitioners is vivid, accessible, and . . . gripping."
"[An] epic, magnificent history."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Engrossing. . . . Detailed and fascinating."--The New Yorker
"Meticulously researched, this is an insider's look at the work and personalities of the scientists making their careers in human genetic research."--Washington Times
"An important work."--Library Journal
"Fast-paced, highly readable. . . . As engaging as any thriller, [it] brings to life the pathos, the excitement, and the drudgery inherent in this sort of research."--Philadelphia Inquirer
Jeff Lyon and Peter Gorner, recipients of the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism in 1987 for the stories on which Altered Fates was based, write for the Chicago Tribune. They live in Chicago.
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