Nonfiction

The Genome Defense: Inside the Epic Legal Battle to Determine Who Owns Your DNA

The Genome Defense: Inside the Epic Legal Battle to Determine Who Owns Your DNA

  • Downloads：5453
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-10-29 19:21:00
  • Update Date：2025-09-14
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jorge L. Contreras
  • ISBN：B08WK73TZR
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Rhiannon Johnson ，

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。I love all books， movies， and TV shows that focus on any aspect of genetics （The Unfit Heiress， The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks， Orphan Black， etc。） In The Genome Defense， I learned so much about the history of laws surrounding genes and genetic testing in the United States。 I also gained a new understanding into the gap between scientific advancements and the delayed creation and application of relevant laws I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。I love all books， movies， and TV shows that focus on any aspect of genetics （The Unfit Heiress， The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks， Orphan Black， etc。） In The Genome Defense， I learned so much about the history of laws surrounding genes and genetic testing in the United States。 I also gained a new understanding into the gap between scientific advancements and the delayed creation and application of relevant laws。 This is a book that I will likely buy a physical copy of for 2 reasons: #1 the review copy had empty spaces where I'm sure the final specific information for dates， monetary amounts， etc。 will be included and #2 while I think this book is so cutting edge and current， it will be fascinating to revisit it in future years after further genetic and legal advancements。 Come chat with me about books here， too: Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest 。。。more

Dani Kass ，

I still have to read the appendix， but I’m counting it done tonight。 I’m reviewing this book for work， so will save the full review for then。 Just to start: if you have any thoughts about capitalism and bodily autonomy and the ethics of big pharma， READ THIS BOOK。 It’s a well told， accessible and highly detailed story of how the ACLU waded into patent law for the first time ever and ended with the Supreme Court ending 30 years of the Patent Office granting patents on genes。 You do not have to un I still have to read the appendix， but I’m counting it done tonight。 I’m reviewing this book for work， so will save the full review for then。 Just to start: if you have any thoughts about capitalism and bodily autonomy and the ethics of big pharma， READ THIS BOOK。 It’s a well told， accessible and highly detailed story of how the ACLU waded into patent law for the first time ever and ended with the Supreme Court ending 30 years of the Patent Office granting patents on genes。 You do not have to understand anything about patent law to read this， but if you do understand patent law you’ll find a lot of good stuff。 I also just appreciated this look at the patent world before 101 chaos and Alice/Mayo was the norm。 Invaluable context for my job。Edit: final review here！ 。。。more

Barbara ，

I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway。 Interesting read。 Well written。 It is written for the average person to understand what the legal battle is about。 It's not scholarly or complex science。 Each chapter has a clever title。 There are photographs of key players discussed in the book。 Impressive list of sources。 Trivia tidbit for trivia players -- Chapter 4 states President Lincoln is the only US President to ever receive a patent。 In 1849， Patent #6469。 On a personal note， the Genome Def I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway。 Interesting read。 Well written。 It is written for the average person to understand what the legal battle is about。 It's not scholarly or complex science。 Each chapter has a clever title。 There are photographs of key players discussed in the book。 Impressive list of sources。 Trivia tidbit for trivia players -- Chapter 4 states President Lincoln is the only US President to ever receive a patent。 In 1849， Patent #6469。 On a personal note， the Genome Defense， reinforced my viewpoint to save my BRAC test results and my mother's results for future generations。 。。。more

Jeff ，

Dense Yet Enlightening。 If you're like me and don't like taking books across into a new month， I do *not* recommend trying to read this on the last day of the month while still working or having virtually any other obligation。 Though its bibliography is a touch low at just 17% of this advanced copy （and it has numerous problems， at least in this form， of saying something like "the industry spent $ billions of dollars" without actually giving the number - a problem I've never noted before in any Dense Yet Enlightening。 If you're like me and don't like taking books across into a new month， I do *not* recommend trying to read this on the last day of the month while still working or having virtually any other obligation。 Though its bibliography is a touch low at just 17% of this advanced copy （and it has numerous problems， at least in this form， of saying something like "the industry spent $ billions of dollars" without actually giving the number - a problem I've never noted before in any other such text）， much of the reason for that is that the author himself conducted so many interviews and consulted the public court records so much， so at least there is that on that particular point。 Beyond its sourcing though， this is truly a fascinating yet *dense* look at the particular issue of the AMP v Myriad patent lawsuit that eventually became a landmark Supreme Court of the United States case， detailing its full history and the personnel involved， at least insofar as their personal involvement with the case goes。 （Vs other similar books looking at a particular issue like this， where full biographies of the personnel are given。 Here， just enough biography is given to establish who this person is within context of this issue and their motivations surrounding it， without giving their full life stories outside of events connected to this exact case。） You may say to yourself "this is just 350 or so effective pages， that is an easy day's read"。 IT。 IS。 NOT。 I cannot reiterate enough just how dense （yet truly readable and fascinating） this book is。 Almost as though it seems to try to pack in double the amount of words of a book of similar length。 Still， it is truly compelling， truly comprehensive， and truly well written， and for this it is very much recommended。 。。。more