God's Scalpel

王立铭Zhejiang Education Publishing House · ChinaNov 2022

Rating 4.4
Word count
128K words
Chapters
36
ISBN
9787572244827

Tags

Social Sciences GeneticsScience HistoryScience EnlightenmentMedical EthicsMystery of LifeScientific SpiritMedical ScienceStorytellingScientific ResearchPopular Narrative

Summary

This book begins with Gregor Mendel's pea experiments and, through a literary storytelling style full of twists, turns, and rising action, plants layer upon layer of foreshadowing throughout and springs one bombshell after another, recounting the brief history of genetic science to readers like a wise man telling stories under the tree of science, fan in hand. Its depth made accessible and its effortless command of narrative leave readers reluctant to put it down.

Editor's review

Wang Liming's book turns the history of genetic science into a popular-science story with foreshadowing and turning points. Starting from Mendel's pea experiments, the author does not pile up jargon and chronologies but advances layer by layer along the logical chain of scientific discovery, so that readers keep encountering "so that's how it is" moments as they read. The book's treatment of experimental design, scientific debates, and key figures all serves to clarify the concepts themselves; the literary narration lowers the threshold of understanding without sacrificing accuracy. For readers who want to know where genetic technology came from and where it is heading, this book offers a clear thread. It is suitable as general biology reading and also for advancing chapter by chapter in fragmented time, as each chapter is relatively independent yet echoes those before and after.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read in chapter order; the foreshadowing and echoes the author plants are paid off later.
  2. After each chapter, restate the core experiments and conclusions in your own words to test your understanding.
  3. Mark unfamiliar terms first and revisit them after finishing the chapter; the context usually explains them clearly.
  4. Use notes to map out the timeline, matching people, experiments, and discoveries.

About the publisher

Zhejiang Education Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Zhejiang Education Publishing House is a professional publisher focusing on educational publishing while also serving general readers and academic accumulation, with publications covering textbooks, educational readers, popular science, and academic works. Judging from the more than 1,000 titles in the database, the press places considerable emphasis on classics and traditional culture for general readers: modern literature includes Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Lu Xun's Call to Arms and Wandering and Wild Grass, Xiao Hong's The Story of Hulan River, and Zhu Ziqing's Back View; classical poetry includes Three Hundred Tang Poems and selections from the "Good Chinese Poetry" series, such as the Chu Ci and Qing ci anthologies. Related authors include modern writers such as Lao She, Lu Xun, Xiao Hong, and Zhu Ziqing, as well as classical literature selectors and annotators such as Hengtang Tuishi, Jin Xingyao, Jin Kaicheng, and Qian Zhonglian. Common categories in the database also include social novels, classic works, prose and miscellaneous writings, popular science, and inspirational growth, reflecting a publishing orientation that balances educational service with the popularization of public culture.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 赞誉
  3. 推荐序 科学的故事之旅
  4. 前言 基因编辑：连接历史和未来
  5. 01 基因的秘密
  6. 达尔文的麻烦
  7. 种豌豆的神父
  8. 围猎遗传因子
  9. DNA双螺旋结构
  10. 中心法则
  11. 02 给基因动手术
  12. 让人生病的基因
  13. 基因入药
  14. 成也病毒，败也病毒
  15. 绝望后的希望
  16. 03 黄金手指
  17. “缺啥补啥”遇到的新问题
  18. 里德先生的烦恼
  19. 基因组手术三件套
  20. 20多年的独角戏
  21. 04 编程时代
  22. 开源破牢笼
  23. “神话”蛋白
  24. 颠覆和被颠覆
  25. 超轻量级选手
  26. 看不见硝烟的战场
  27. 05 未来，和未来的未来
  28. 意想不到的突破
  29. 基因编辑进化论
  30. 未来的未来
  31. 误入歧途
  32. 未雨绸缪：伦理还是监管
  33. 后记 扑面而来的基因编程时代
  34. 新版后记 2017—2022：基因编辑的又一个5年
  35. 参考文献
  36. 图片来源

FAQ

Does this book require a biology background to understand? No professional background is needed. The author starts from Mendel's experiments, introduces concepts step by step, and explains terms when they appear. Junior high school biology knowledge is enough for smooth reading; readers with zero background can also follow the main thread, though some chapters may require a slower pace.
Does the book include the latest advances in genetic technology? The book's main thread is a brief history of genetic science, focused on clarifying key discoveries and the evolution of concepts. It helps readers build a historical framework and understand the logic of the technology, but to track the latest research developments, they will need to consult more recent materials and literature.
Is this book consistent in style with the author's other popular-science works? The book continues the author's approach of making things accessible and using stories to convey knowledge, with attention to the logic of scientific discovery and dramatic turning points. Readers familiar with the author's other popular-science works will recognize this narrative rhythm; those who are not can still read this book independently.
What can readers gain from this book? Readers can clarify the key thread of genetic science from the pea experiments to modern technology, understand the design logic of important experiments and the origins of scientific debates, and form a basic understanding of the applications and ethical issues of genetic technology. It provides a general-knowledge framework, not an operating manual.

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About the author

王立铭 Author

Wang Liming is a Chinese author known for science writing. Public information about him is limited, and details such as his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly documented. The library holds five of his works, including The Scalpel of God: A Brief History of Gene Editing, The Scalpel of God, and three titles from the Mountain Patrol Report series: Gene-Edited Babies: Clowns and History, Where Do Modern Chinese Come From, and How to Understand a Completely New Disease. His subjects center on frontier scientific issues such as gene editing, modern diseases, and the origins of the Chinese people, and his works are commonly classified as documentary literature, social science, and popular science. His writing situates complex biological knowledge within specific events and historical contexts, balancing scientific explanation with public discussion, and has earned him a following among popular science and social science readers.