Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Darwin's Radio

With the assistance of Dr.'s ordered quarantine because of Strep throat, I just finished a book by Greg Bear, Darwin's Radio.

It is a fiction (OMG, yes I read a fiction book!) that is based in the current time and deals with human evolution.

It is very correct in the research regarding endogenous human retroviruses that are buried in our DNA. The premise of the book deals with these very old viruses human beings have accumulated through time being the 'machine' used for making leaps in human evolution by restructuring us at the genetic level.

It examines the political and psychological aspects of such a leap and the ramifications of such a biological change occurring in our society. As unpleasant as the book illustrates society and our government behaving, I think it isn't too far off the mark of what could really happen.

Even if you are not scientifically versed, it is an excellent read with enough explanation to follow the science, but doesn't become bogged down in the science.

Thumbs up!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about the DR Quarantine and strep. Great on reading! Fiction really can be more thought-provoking than fact.

--Rob