The Genome Generation

The year 2001 saw the completion of the human genome project, the culmination of a 14-year, $3 billion, international race to read every letter of the code that makes up a human being. Reading this code was the most profound revelation in the history of humankind, and it was thought that the secrets of what made us human would be answered.

The reality has been more chastening and humbling: since then, scientists have managed to discover that they knew a lot less than they thought. And some of the long-held dictums were overturning before their eyes.

Our understanding of the causes of human disease and health, and that of other animals and plants whose genomes have also been fed into our voracious new sequencing machines is unfolding at a dizzying rate. The way we do medicine, breed our crops and cattle, and our understanding of how we evolved, is being revolutionised. History is being made.

After a three-year slog, Elizabeth Finkel presents the main stories from the genetics frontier. She looks at the revolution in the areas of medicine, agriculture and evolution, travelling from Botswana to Boston, from Singapore to Mexico, from Australian wheatfields in NSW and the Wimmera plains to laboratories all over Australia to understand these changes.

About the Author

Elizabeth Finkel holds a PhD in biochemistry and spent ten years as a professional research scientist before becoming an award-winning journalist. She has written for Science, Cosmos, Lancet, Mature Medicine, New Scientist and The Age , among others, and has broadcast for ABC Radio National. She has won many awards for her journalism, and for her book, Stem Cells: Controversy at the Frontiers of Science. Elizabeth was named 2011 Higher Education Journalist of the Year.