She Has Her Mother's Laugh
Heredity isn't a simple matter of genes that pass from parent to child. It continues within our own bodies, as a single cell gives rise to the trillions that make up an adult. We say we inherit genes from our ancestors--using a verb that once specifically referred to kingdoms and aristocratic estates--but we also inherit other things that matter as much or more to our lives, from microbes to the technologies we use to make life more comfortable. We need a new--broader-ranging--definition of what heredity is. Weaving historical and current scientific research, original reporting and his own experience as a father of two daughters, Zimmer unpacks the urgent ethical quandries that arise from new biomedical technologies, but also long-standing presumptions about who we really are and what it is that we can pass on to future generations"--Back cover.