2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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The Code Breaker
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The Code Breaker
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Hi!!I wasn't aware you guys read non fiction!! lol
Sign me up!! I'm obsessed with the whole CRISPR-9 shebang and I have nothing but deep admiration towards PhD. Doudna!!
Malola wrote: "Hi!!I wasn't aware you guys read non fiction!! lol
Sign me up!! I'm obsessed with the whole CRISPR-9 shebang and I have nothing but deep admiration towards PhD. Doudna!!"
Yes we all do Malola! Most of my buddy read suggestions are and will be non fiction lol :) January is late to get added to the page, but you surely jump in here and we can discuss the book/any sections of it. I'll be starting this book today evening.
Let's start together if you havent already! :)
Malola wrote: "Hi!!I wasn't aware you guys read non fiction!! lol
Please checkout this page - Buddy reads Link
The spreadsheet for 2022 should have some non-Fic :)
BookishlyWise wrote: "Most of my buddy read suggestions are and will be non fiction" = XD Awesome!BookishlyWise wrote: "January is late to get added to the page, but you surely jump in here and we can discuss the book/any sections of it." = No problem. As long as I don't get kicked out for commenting, it's cool. :D
Thanks for the G-Excel sheet, BTW... :D
hahaha nobody would do that! more than welcome. more the merrier!!
Started the book today and am 10 pages in. A good start so far.
I just realized that I have a copy of this and have been wanting to read it. (I work at a higher education institution and one of our faculty purchased and read a copy and then left it in the mailroom with a note for anyone who wanted to read it to take it and do so. I realized last night that it is THIS book!! I won't have the opportunity to begin reading until next week (January 10-14). I'm excited. I am hoping this will prove as fascinating as I think it will be.
that'll be awesome Lynn. do join us in discussion whenever you start reading :) This group anyway wont be deleted so comments can be made anytime :)
Hi everyone! I would love to join in too!
I read the introduction and am glad to say this will probably answer some questions I have had about recent medical technological 'advances'. After reading the first 10 pages I can't imagine this woman's life and her work won't prove extremely interesting and timely.
It is absolutely! esp the part where they explain that the research for this had been going on since 2012! so yes the vaccine wasnt made in a hurry :)
BookishlyWise wrote: "It is absolutely! esp the part where they explain that the research for this had been going on since 2012! so yes the vaccine wasnt made in a hurry :)"Agreed. However, it was released in a very big hurry, which I admit, has had me concerned. There wasn't the long-term testing typically required. We are the test population! 😳😁
In a way true. 2 points - 1.) usually No vaccine/drug would ever get hundreds of millions of test subject. so the amount of data covid generated was already large enough to give accurate results as far as statistics are concerned.
2.) No pharma company ever got such a large lumpsum funding the way they got with covid. That resulted in faster turnarounds. Usually companies take many years to get their 5-10 rounds of funding in just to get 1 million dollars. With covid funding was readily available ; hence the speed.
Just FYI: I'll be using the upcoming 3-day weekend to plunge into this book full force. I hope to finish it, but we'll see...
Me too!! I'm reading 11/22/63 in parallel° both huge books :))
How's your reading coming along Frezita? :)
BookishlyWise wrote: "Me too!! I'm reading 11/22/63 in parallel° both huge books :))"I loved 11/22/63! And these are such different books. I always have at least 3-5 books on the go at the same time, rotating them according to my mood and time available... Never did that 'til I reached age 50 or so.
I read some last night and am at Chapter 6. So glad for the history leading up to Doudna's research!
At page 130 I am struck by the reality that 'blind' scientific research can sometimes lead to ultimately life-changing breakthroughs later as other scientists build upon findings... I find this fascinating and am so glad to be learning about this!
I'm within 150 pages of finishing and realized I've not been leaving any comments! I am somewhat surprised by the patent process. I had no idea how that was done.
This book will help give us so much information on this entire pharma research process
BookishlyWise wrote: "This book will help give us so much information on this entire pharma research process"Definitely!
This was an absolutely positively amazing read, IMHO! I am so thrilled Isaacson wrote this. I felt it laid out the progression toward the most recent research breakthroughs and advances in an easy to understand way that even us lay people could follow! I admit I have very mixed emotions about the possibilities (rather probabilities) of gene editing zygotes/embryos to create "designer" babies. While virtually all the scientific researchers agree that this could impact and widen the societal inequities to an even greater degree and they don't want that to happen. I see no movement toward policies or laws that prevent it and that both scares and gravely disappoints me.
I havent finished the book yet but I feel to Lynn's point about the gene editing police - it's still too soon to think about designer babies. scientists have still not found a way to solve trisomies in the embryos. I feel they should try to solve that before they make designer babies :)
Ah, but according to the book there is already a company offering the required testing to select which embryo(s) you wish to implant via IVF.
That's already a part of PGT during IVF but cant choose and design yet :)
I really enjoyed the ethical discussions especially the difference between thinking of decisions from the perspective of the community as a whole vs individuals, and now am unsure where I stand as previously (before thinking about it deeply) I would have said no way to designer babies. But asking the question "would it be unethical to withhold the choice from parents" really stuck with me. But yes I agree it would have to be safe and proven not to have wildly unexpected side effects before that point. Reminds me of the 2002 gene therapy trials in France that cured 11 children of SCIDs but had the unfortunate side effect of giving multiple subjects cancer and other diseases...
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Pages: 536 pages
Length: 1 Month (January)
Participants: Bibliophile, Frezita.
Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!
Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.
Happy Buddy Reading!