Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity

While I pay casual attention to news stories about genetic technology, I had never put it all together to see that this is an inflection point for the whole human race. In Hacking Darwin, Jamie Metzl distills the science down so we can understand it and then highlights the questions we ought to asking ourselves. It is fascinating to see, for the first time, the whole different approach to reproduction and genetic selection that is likely going to be my own children's reality, or at the very least, my grandchildren's experience. I highly recommend this funny, insightful and important book!

This is a terrific book. By the time I got to Chapter 3, I was ready to have a dinner party with all of my grown children and to read this chapter to them. I can almost imagine them weighing in on how they would go about making these genetic decisions and what their criteria would be. There is a mythical father-to-be in the book who weighs each of his decisions against his own value system, the mores of his parent's generation and those of his future offspring. It provides a great opportunity for self reflection in a new time. it is filled with all the evolving scientific information that is or will soon be needed to make those decisions.

This is a well-written and accessible but somewhat unnerving book for those open to considering human genetic-engineering. The biotech described makes possible less expensive genetic testing, easier gene-editing, disease mitigation, and selective reproduction choices. Scientists and technicians can now change our DNA, and CRISPR-Cas9 technology makes gene-editing easier and faster; more efficient and cheaper; and more accurate than “older” gene-editing tech.As the author says: This “genetic revolution will transform the way we make babies and ultimately the nature of the babies we make.” Not to mention hijacking evolution. As always, some will embrace these technologies. Others will resist—possibly to the detriment of their children and/or grandchildren. I recommend viewing “Gattaca,” a cult favorite.My concern is whether politicians of the Republic of Gilead-stripe will attempt to ban or limit access to this technology which can control reproductive choices. Plus, because medical tests and procedures are involved—reproductive health care, maternal/prenatal care, IVF plus the various PGTs*—the lack of affordable healthcare may limit access. If you live in a country with free or minimal-cost healthcare, you’re home free.*Preimplantation Genetic Testing

Like it or not, the world is changing rapidly. Jamie Metzl is an accomplished writer, a geopolitical analyst and speaker and an original thinker. His book, Hacking Darwin, might just be a road map to the future of genetic engineering and is a must read for anyone interested in the possibility of creating a species of humans engineered to preplanned specifications. This new and quickly emerging technology can be used to improve our world, lengthen our lives, eliminate disease and generally improve the lives of our species in the future. It could also be used to create a super species that may, one day, try to control the world. Hacking Darwin is filled with easy to understand advances that gives the reader the basic groundwork to understand and, hopefully, contribute to the discussions and decisions that will be made as we learn to use this technology in our scientific planning of tomorrow.

Immensely riveting. This book provides a look into the future based on the advancement in genetic engineering. It is packed with insight and background that allows the reader/listener to understand the complex concepts and techniques of genetic engineering. The author skillfully presents these advancements in a manner that is thought provoking, personal and even occasionally frightening.I got the Audio Book. The narration by Eric Jason Martin is absolutely superb! Highly Highly Recommend if you have interest in genetics and the human species.

My opinion is that Darwin did not deny the religious laws, but the Church laws and the mentality that was valid around the religious laws, which was certainly not correct at the time and is questionable in some areas even today.

I really loved Jamie's take and his ability to synthesize a massive topic into a readable book. Yes it took me some time to get through as I am prepping to interview Jamie on my radio show. I wanted to highlight as much of the information as I could for my notes.All of that being said I loved this book. I read alot of 'sciencey' books (yeah made up word), I am not a scientist and so the depth of information does not have to be at the empirical PhD level for me. I want to become informed, this book does a great job of that.this is an important topic, if you don't want to read it than maybe listen to my upcoming interview. I can virtually guaranteed once we are done talking you will want to give this book a shot.peace,t

The book is to much doom and gloom on a very exciting human achievement;

La selección embrionica o espermatica y oval es la unica espernza de la humanidad

O mundo da genética e a revolução que ela esta gerando, é exposta de uma forma que o título do livro não permite, se quer imaginar.Fico impressionado com o tanto que a ciência tem evoluído, e igualmente com o tanto que falta por entender incluindo com um dos maiores desafios que enfrentamos historicamente, fazer com que q humanidade chegue a um consenso em beneficio de todos.

It would be hard to put too much faith in A.I. ever knowing what the relationship between body and soul is, or even ever knowing what love is and what it isn’t because it’s the greatest mystery in the universe. Although there is a constant love that exists that allows for things to happen the way they do, knowing what the attribute to the true nature of it is would help to understand that. This love can also be seen as a holistic imprint of all of existence because it’s a part of who you are.

A lire absolument. C'est en anglais.

Hacking Darwin ist ein hervorragendes Buch für alle Leute, die sich tiefer in die Welt der Gentechnik (Genetic Engineering) einlesen wollen und einen breiten Überblick über die Möglichkeiten möchte. Das Buch ist super geschrieben, es hält einen immer bei der Stange und die Erkenntnisse und Lehren sind gut verdaulich. Man hat das Gefühl, man lernt wirklich viel Neues und Spannendes, das einem ein viel besseres Verständnis der biologischen Zusammenhänge des Genetic Engineering gibt, ohne dabei von purer Wissenschaft und dem dazugehörigen Klein-Klein überrumpelt zu werden.Fachleute auf diesem Gebiet und Leute mit besonderer Vorliebe für wissenschaftliche Details und Methodiken werden hier nichts neues finden oder lernen, aber das ist ja auch gar nicht der Anspruch des Buches. Das Buch soll die verschiedenen Seiten und Aspekte des Genetic Engineering herausarbeiten und beleuchten, sodass diese Prinzipien der interessierten Bevölkerung gut zugänglich sind.Das schafft das Buch vollends, ich bin daher sehr zufrieGen. (Pun intended).