The gene machine : how genetic technologies are changing the way we have kids--and the kids we have / Bonnie Rochman.
2017
RB155 .R63 2017 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection
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Details
Title
The gene machine : how genetic technologies are changing the way we have kids--and the kids we have / Bonnie Rochman.
Edition
First edition.
ISBN
9780374160784 (hardcover)
0374160783 (hardcover)
9780374713966 (electronic book)
0374713960 (electronic book)
0374160783 (hardcover)
9780374713966 (electronic book)
0374713960 (electronic book)
Published
New York : Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017.
Copyright
©2017
Language
English
Description
272 pages ; 24 cm
Call Number
RB155 .R63 2017
Dewey Decimal Classification
616/.042
Summary
"A researched exploration of the promises and vulnerabilities of having children in an age of genetic tests and interventions considers key scientific, technological and political factors while sharing the stories of men and women struggling to understand the range of the tests and their revelations, "--NoveList.
"Is screening for disease in an embryo a humane form of family planning or a slippery slope toward eugenics? Should doctors tell you that your infant daughter is genetically predisposed to breast cancer? If tests revealed that your toddler has a genetic mutation whose significance isn't clear, would you want to know? In The Gene Machine, the award-winning journalist Bonnie Rochman deftly explores these hot-button questions, guiding us through the new frontier of gene technology and how it is transforming medicine, bioethics, health care, and the factors that shape a family. Rochman tells the stories of scientists working to unlock the secrets of the human genome; genetic counselors and spiritual advisers guiding mothers and fathers through life-changing choices; and, of course, parents (including Rochman herself) grappling with revelations that are sometimes joyous, sometimes heartbreaking, but always profound. She navigates the dizzying and constantly expanding array of prenatal and postnatal tests, from carrier screening to genome sequencing, while considering how access to more tests is altering perceptions of disability and changing the conversation about what sort of life is worth living and who draws the line. Along the way, she highlights the most urgent ethical quandary: Is this technology a triumph of modern medicine or a Pandora's box of possibilities? Propelled by human narratives and meticulously reported, The Gene Machine is both a scientific road map and a meditation on our power to shape the future. It is a book that gets to the very core of what it means to be human."--Jacket.
"Is screening for disease in an embryo a humane form of family planning or a slippery slope toward eugenics? Should doctors tell you that your infant daughter is genetically predisposed to breast cancer? If tests revealed that your toddler has a genetic mutation whose significance isn't clear, would you want to know? In The Gene Machine, the award-winning journalist Bonnie Rochman deftly explores these hot-button questions, guiding us through the new frontier of gene technology and how it is transforming medicine, bioethics, health care, and the factors that shape a family. Rochman tells the stories of scientists working to unlock the secrets of the human genome; genetic counselors and spiritual advisers guiding mothers and fathers through life-changing choices; and, of course, parents (including Rochman herself) grappling with revelations that are sometimes joyous, sometimes heartbreaking, but always profound. She navigates the dizzying and constantly expanding array of prenatal and postnatal tests, from carrier screening to genome sequencing, while considering how access to more tests is altering perceptions of disability and changing the conversation about what sort of life is worth living and who draws the line. Along the way, she highlights the most urgent ethical quandary: Is this technology a triumph of modern medicine or a Pandora's box of possibilities? Propelled by human narratives and meticulously reported, The Gene Machine is both a scientific road map and a meditation on our power to shape the future. It is a book that gets to the very core of what it means to be human."--Jacket.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Record Appears in
On-Campus Resources > Books
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Table of Contents
How the Jews beat Tay-Sachs : screening for disease before pregnancy
Playing God : how preimplantation genetic diagnosis is rewriting family history
The other scarlet "A" : abortion's relationship to genetic testing
Silencing a gene : the future of Down syndrome
What do parents want to know? : grappling with variants of uncertain significance
The right to an open future : navigating the return of results
How to hunt a zebra : ending the rare-disease diagnostic odyssey
The genie in the bottle : sequencing newborn babies.
Playing God : how preimplantation genetic diagnosis is rewriting family history
The other scarlet "A" : abortion's relationship to genetic testing
Silencing a gene : the future of Down syndrome
What do parents want to know? : grappling with variants of uncertain significance
The right to an open future : navigating the return of results
How to hunt a zebra : ending the rare-disease diagnostic odyssey
The genie in the bottle : sequencing newborn babies.