Today I want to recommend you one of my favorite book which combines detective mystery, science and biography: The Code Breaker, by Walter Isaacson.
Let me first ask you: have you ever heard about the first genetically modified twins? In 2018, a Chinese scientist, against all restrictions, modified the genome of human embryos. In particular, he deleted a single gene (called CCR5) to make the embryos more resistant to HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. Although there is a huge international debate about the ethical aspect, I would like to bring the attention to the amazing fact that we can, as humans, target and modify a single gene!
So, this book is about the scientific journey that led to the development of the gene editing tool called CRISPR (pronounced as “crisper”). Although many brilliant scientists contributed to its success, this story focuses around two key players, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, who unveiled the secrets of an ancient bacterial defense mechanism to turn it into a powerful genetic tool.
The moment when I started reading it, I was immediately hooked by the curiosity of the involved scientists, their passion to discover how nature works and their perseverance for solving mysteries. This books is also full of lessons. For example, how would you choose your project? Simple. Ask big questions!
If none of the above convinced you, let me mention that the narration by Walter Isaacson is exquisite. Reading his biographies will make you feel like living inside a novel!