BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION

BOOK:  The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson (published March, 2021)

VIRTUAL MEETING DATE:  July 31, 2021  

The LWV Charleston book club met via Zoom to discuss distinguished journalist Walter Isaacson’s latest book.  He leads us into the world of gene editing through the true stories of pioneering life scientist and 2020 Nobel winner Jennifer Doudna and a community of scientists, memorable characters in their own right, who undertake painstaking gene research in labs throughout the world. In particular, we learn about the discovery and applications of CRISPR, an immune system that developed in DNA naturally to destroy viruses and that can now be programmed to proactively ward off certain diseases or correct particular genetic abnormalities.  

Doudna was destined to be a scientist from a young age, inspired by James Watson’s popular book The Double Helix about the structure of DNA. In research science, as in life, Doudna and her colleagues’ ultimate success resulted from multiple factors: curiosity, collaboration, competition and finally, commercialization. Underlying this was a willingness to ask big questions and to be doggedly persistent in the face of setbacks (particularly for the women in this male dominated field).

No doubt the book’s topic seemed intimidating at first, but it’s not necessary to understand the science in detail. Isaacson delivers a highly readable narrative that takes us up to the ongoing Covid pandemic. Anyone who fears that the Covid-19 vaccines were rushed to market will learn how careful experimentation with CRISPR gene editing tools over the last couple of decades made it possible to deliver the innovative RNA vaccines we’re relying on today. We glimpse the global backstory of how academic scientists, the NIH, government agencies and corporations collaborate and compete to fund and bring advanced technologies to market. And how science alone is not equipped to deal with the ethical dilemmas that will arise from man’s growing ability to alter the human condition. (Here, we found parallels to Elizabeth Kolbert’s writing about man-made damage to the environment).

Our most lively discussion concerned the moral issues: how will society decide when it’s appropriate for scientists to intervene to correct life-threatening genetic abnormalities? Is it justifiable to take actions that alter the genetics of groups of people across generations?  Can we trust scientists to monitor themselves?  We learn about the rogue scientist who famously flaunted medical ethics rules to alter the genetic sequence of a newborn, and envision the broader implications.  How do we keep gene-editing therapies from becoming a pay-to-play game for the wealthy?  How long should humans live and who gets to decide?  Politicians, philosophers, scientists, public opinion?

The Code Breaker tells us that the Life Sciences revolution will define the 21st century, much as computers and digital technology defined the late 20th.  As non scientists, we need to pay attention.                                   

 - submitted by Cara Erickson