Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves

Regenesis provides a fascinating overview of the emerging discipline of synthetic biology and the wonders it can produce: from new drugs and vaccines to biofuels and resurrected wooly mammoths. Geneticist George Church and science writer Ed Regis team up to explore how scientists are now altering the nature of living organisms by modifying their genomes, or genetic makeup. Recounting the evolution of life forms from the Hadean geologic era (3.8 billion years ago) through the present, the authors describe the raw material with which geneticists are working to create new organisms. With biotech hobbyists now at work in garages, the authors also urge the establishment of safety measures to keep people safe and engineered organisms under control.