Alain Prochiantz

A Monkey, Yourself

Based on recent data in the sequencing of genomes, an explanation of the genetic and cellular mechanisms at the origin of the unique position of our species in the animal world.

Bernard Sablonnière

DNA, a History of Our Differences

A stimulating look at the current state of knowledge about the genetic determinants of differences between individuals, regarding both the body and character or behavior traits.

Pierre Roubertoux

Existe-t-il des gènes du comportement ?

Recent advances in genetic research have had widespread and far-reaching influences in fields as varied as animal and plant biology and medicine. They have also upset some ethical rules. Genetics today is in a triumphant, seductive phase, but its limits are yet to be defined. In this book, the eminent French geneticist Pierre Roubertoux argues that genetics has strayed too far from its justifiable areas of application. Soon, genetics may even be applied to the mind and to consciousness, just as it is already being applied to behaviour by scientists who contend that each type of conduct has its corresponding gene (this is tantamount to saying a specific gene is responsible for each virtue and each vice). Scientists who defend this theory say that they have discovered genes linked to various degrees of activity in mice and flies. Thus, intemperance and gluttony would be linked to a genetic partiality to alcohol, sugar or fats. Pride could be explained by a gene for dominance which has allegedly been found in mice. Greed, too, could be explained by a gene. The supposed existence of an “infidelity gene” was much in the news three years ago. This is a sound scientific synthesis which will enable readers to grasp the contribution of genetics to our comprehension of who and what we are. It should also help them resist the temptation of reducing everything to genetics. Pierre Roubertoux is a professor at the University of Aix-Marseille and a research fellow at the Institute of Physiological and Cognitive Neuroscience at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).

Ludovic Orlando

Fossil DNA, a Time Machine

DNA sequencing isn’t of use only to doctors and biologists. It has become an essential tool for paleontologists and archeologists: for it is a true time machine.

Stuart J. Edelstein

From genes to genomes

Rapid progress in the field of genetics is changing our lives in more ways than one. In order to understand these changes, Stuart Edelstein has approached each facet of the subject from three points of view: contemporary society and politics; technical developments; and basic research. By keeping to some fundamental points, this book will enable the lay reader to understand before judging the social implications of recent discoveries in biology. This is science with a civic sense. Stuart Edelstein teaches biochemistry at the University of Geneva.

François Gros

Life Sciences Ethics and Society