The code breaker - Isaac Walterson

This book is a story of how the CRISPR technology came to being. This is a gene editing tech (I must admit, I am not very good at biology) which uses are guide RNA and a specific enzyme, CAS9 by Doudna’s team and some others for others.

It’s also a story of Jennifer Doudna and how she managed to break the stereotypes of women in science and come with guns-a-blazing. It’s really interesting how Walterson potrays her story though, it’s not a book about her perse, but at the same time, it kind of is.

I think this also ties to an idea that Feynman discussed called “Cargo-cult science”, I remember thinking about some people in the race to gene-editing performed experiements which were deemed unethical by the community. Though it was of benefit to mankind.

It changes perspectives, should you do something you know other’s will not like, but it will ultimately benefit them all? More so, it’ll benefit you? How selfish can you get?

I think I am digressing. I will let you read it and form your own thoughts, I learnt something new about biology and how science and academia work but sorry to say it doesn’t match the writing that Isaac showed with Steve Jobs. It may have something to do with the subject of the biography as well since Jobs was a much more polarizing character than Doudna, whom pretty much everyone respected (and respects I hope).