Control

Resumen del libro

How did an obscure academic idea pave the way to the Holocaust within just fifty years?Why does eugenics still loom large in the 21st century, despite its genocidal past?Did eugenics work? Could it work? Or was it always a pseudoscientific fantasy? Throughout history, people have sought to reduce suffering, eliminate disease and enhance desirable qualities in their children. In the Victorian era eugenics, a full-blooded attempt to impose control over unruly biology, began to grow among the powerful and quickly spread to dozens of countries around the world. But these ideas are not merely historical: today, with new gene editing techniques, conversations are happening about tinkering with the DNA of our unborn children to make them smarter, fitter, stronger.

Deeply steeped in contemporary genetics, CONTROL offers a vital account of one of the defining - and most destructive - ideas of the twentieth century.

Biografía del autor

Adam Rutherford es escritor y divulgador científico. Estudió genética en el University College de Londres y mientras escribía su tesis sobre la evolución de la vista, formó parte del equipo que identificó la primera causa genética de una forma de ceguera infantil. Ha sido autor y presentador de varios programas premiados en la BBC, incluyendo Inside Science, The Cell y Playing God. Asimismo es colaborador habitual en las páginas de ciencia de The Guardian. Su primer libro, Creation (2013), sobre el origen de la vida y la biología sintética, recibió grandes elogios de la crítica y fue nominado al Wellcome Trust Prize.