Review of The New Eugenics
-
S T
- Posts: 50
- Joined: 23 Jun 2021, 16:21
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 25
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-s-t.html
- Latest Review: Beneath the Muscle by Lauren Powers
Review of The New Eugenics
[Following is a volunteer review of "The New Eugenics" by Conrad B. Quintyn.]
Human beings are the most advanced organisms on Earth and have always been on the quest to establish their superiority on this planet. Right from the prehistoric times of early man discovering fire to the scientists in the recent world learning to manipulate the genetics of life, we have been constantly fuelled by our earnest curiosity to conquer the term “survival of the fittest”. Have you ever wondered what would happen if Frankenstein was a reality? Have you ever been secretly wanting the science fiction movies that you have grown up watching, to turn real someday? If yes and provided that you are a person with a strong scientific background, then this book is for you. The New Eugenics by Conrad B. Quintyn is a non-fictional book of 400 pages. It comprehensively encompasses the field of biotechnology and gives its readers detailed insights into the impact of “new eugenics” in the world. The author is a Ph.D. and has successfully demonstrated his scientific prowess in writing this book.
The theme of the book is “eugenics” which deals with the utilities of the developments in the field of genetic engineering to solve the problems plaguing the human race. It talks about the transformation of “old eugenics” into “new eugenics” through a better understanding of the genetic biochemistry of an individual. It reasons with the progress in trying to carve out the conversion of genetically inferior qualities into superior levels for the benefit of society. The entire book contains detailed perspectives on all the scientific discoveries that have happened since the past centuries and how they have affected our lives in the long run. Right from “Dolly”, the successfully cloned sheep till the recent experimental approaches towards “transhumanism” and “chimeric organisms”, the author vibrantly pieces together all the scientific experiments and provides the readers with an engrossing guide of information. He explains everything in a scientifically coherent manner and provides logical reasoning for it. This book is a scientific manual to gain knowledge about the field of biotechnology and topics such as Recombinant DNA technology, Cloning, Genetically modified organisms, In-vitro fertilization, Genetic engineering, CRISPR-mediated genome editing, Chimaera, and Nanotechnology to name a few. It also transcends into controversial topics such as designer babies and cloning of dead humans where the author mentions the premise of a film dealing with a psychologically impaired scientist trying to clone Hitler back! The author discusses the feasibility of different genetically manipulative experiments in the light of science and also puts forward his views where he mentions the risks involved in trying to manipulate nature and the consequences of such acts. The advantages, as well as disadvantages of crossing the threshold of science, are beautifully explained in this book.
The strength of this book primarily lies in the credibility of the scientific discoveries that the author has mentioned. Being a researcher in the field of Molecular biology, I could relate to its contents and also felt elated upon enriching my existing knowledge database and updating myself about the recent advancements in the scientific field. This book acts like a superior quality review article published in peer-reviewed journals. I agree with the logic presented by the author that genetic engineering is advantageous in getting rid of diseases, predicting the risk associated with different disorders, and reducing the incidence of hereditary inferior traits. Thus, there should a greater degree of responsibility on our part as scientists, to not cross the limits of nature and imbalance its harmony. In the race towards getting the benefits of such discoveries, the wealth of the developed nations will outweigh that of the weaker nations and ultimately those with money will be able to avail the benefits. This is a matter of serious concern and needs to be addressed. Several ethical issues plague the scientific world and one should not become God in the quest to conquer everything.
There are hardly any negatives about this book. The fact that it is scientifically complicated might turn out to be negative for those who are not strong in the field of molecular biology and genetics. The book is exceptionally well-edited and there are hardly any subjective errors in this book. Hence, taking into consideration all its positive features and the dearth of any dislikeable aspect, I will rate it 4 out of 4 stars.
I will not recommend this book to those people who don’t have a scientific background since it requires a certain level of foundational knowledge in biology to grasp the complexities of biotechnological principles and procedures mentioned in it. I will recommend this fascinating book to all the scientifically zealous souls who want to learn the mysteries of genes. It is an engrossing and intellectually satisfying book if you are passionate about science.
******
The New Eugenics
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Human beings are the most advanced organisms on Earth and have always been on the quest to establish their superiority on this planet. Right from the prehistoric times of early man discovering fire to the scientists in the recent world learning to manipulate the genetics of life, we have been constantly fuelled by our earnest curiosity to conquer the term “survival of the fittest”. Have you ever wondered what would happen if Frankenstein was a reality? Have you ever been secretly wanting the science fiction movies that you have grown up watching, to turn real someday? If yes and provided that you are a person with a strong scientific background, then this book is for you. The New Eugenics by Conrad B. Quintyn is a non-fictional book of 400 pages. It comprehensively encompasses the field of biotechnology and gives its readers detailed insights into the impact of “new eugenics” in the world. The author is a Ph.D. and has successfully demonstrated his scientific prowess in writing this book.
The theme of the book is “eugenics” which deals with the utilities of the developments in the field of genetic engineering to solve the problems plaguing the human race. It talks about the transformation of “old eugenics” into “new eugenics” through a better understanding of the genetic biochemistry of an individual. It reasons with the progress in trying to carve out the conversion of genetically inferior qualities into superior levels for the benefit of society. The entire book contains detailed perspectives on all the scientific discoveries that have happened since the past centuries and how they have affected our lives in the long run. Right from “Dolly”, the successfully cloned sheep till the recent experimental approaches towards “transhumanism” and “chimeric organisms”, the author vibrantly pieces together all the scientific experiments and provides the readers with an engrossing guide of information. He explains everything in a scientifically coherent manner and provides logical reasoning for it. This book is a scientific manual to gain knowledge about the field of biotechnology and topics such as Recombinant DNA technology, Cloning, Genetically modified organisms, In-vitro fertilization, Genetic engineering, CRISPR-mediated genome editing, Chimaera, and Nanotechnology to name a few. It also transcends into controversial topics such as designer babies and cloning of dead humans where the author mentions the premise of a film dealing with a psychologically impaired scientist trying to clone Hitler back! The author discusses the feasibility of different genetically manipulative experiments in the light of science and also puts forward his views where he mentions the risks involved in trying to manipulate nature and the consequences of such acts. The advantages, as well as disadvantages of crossing the threshold of science, are beautifully explained in this book.
The strength of this book primarily lies in the credibility of the scientific discoveries that the author has mentioned. Being a researcher in the field of Molecular biology, I could relate to its contents and also felt elated upon enriching my existing knowledge database and updating myself about the recent advancements in the scientific field. This book acts like a superior quality review article published in peer-reviewed journals. I agree with the logic presented by the author that genetic engineering is advantageous in getting rid of diseases, predicting the risk associated with different disorders, and reducing the incidence of hereditary inferior traits. Thus, there should a greater degree of responsibility on our part as scientists, to not cross the limits of nature and imbalance its harmony. In the race towards getting the benefits of such discoveries, the wealth of the developed nations will outweigh that of the weaker nations and ultimately those with money will be able to avail the benefits. This is a matter of serious concern and needs to be addressed. Several ethical issues plague the scientific world and one should not become God in the quest to conquer everything.
There are hardly any negatives about this book. The fact that it is scientifically complicated might turn out to be negative for those who are not strong in the field of molecular biology and genetics. The book is exceptionally well-edited and there are hardly any subjective errors in this book. Hence, taking into consideration all its positive features and the dearth of any dislikeable aspect, I will rate it 4 out of 4 stars.
I will not recommend this book to those people who don’t have a scientific background since it requires a certain level of foundational knowledge in biology to grasp the complexities of biotechnological principles and procedures mentioned in it. I will recommend this fascinating book to all the scientifically zealous souls who want to learn the mysteries of genes. It is an engrossing and intellectually satisfying book if you are passionate about science.
******
The New Eugenics
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Beneath the Muscle by Lauren Powers
