As good as [a:Walter Isaacson|7111|Walter Isaacson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1192222433p2/7111.jpg] is at making science comprehensible to non-scientists (though [a:Bill Bryson|7|Bill Bryson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1578597522p2/7.jpg]'s better at it), I found long stretches of [b:The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race|54968118|The Code Breaker Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race|Walter Isaacson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610894755l/54968118.SY75.jpg|85738526] a chore to read, like doing homework in a class I'm not doing well in. This says more about my poor intellect and reading preferences than it does about the book. After I finished it, I realized that if someone asked me what RNA is, I'd be unable to give a decent definition of it, and RNA is the key molecule in CRISPR use for gene editing. I'd bet that most who read it wouldn't be able to tell you what CRISPR stands for (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats).
 It's 531 pages long, but not really: There are many photos throughout and notes and an index, which begin on page 481. Unlike with many similar books, you can skip the notes entirely if you're not interested in pursuing further reading. Take the photos and the air out of it, it'd probably be closer to 350 pages.
 You know, thinking about, don't let anything I say influence you on this. It does have a lot of good stuff in it, like how gene editing may effect the future, and how the science practiced by Doudna and others has led to a safe and effective vaccine for COVID in such a short time. One thing I found missing among the many pages of interesting discussions on the pros and cons of gene editing is, I think, a key factor in defending it use: If we don't do it, someone else will. Think of the sci-fi movies we've all seen or at least heard about that feature genetically engineered super soldiers, and people with intellects that dwarf our own. Imagine a rival nation in which the IQ of the average citizen is what would be 140 here. Including anyone's thoughts on this was a missed opportunity.

 Let's pause for a quick refresher course.
 Enzymes are a type of protein. Their main function is to act as a catalyst that sparks chemical reactions in the cells of living organisms, from bacteria to humans. There are more than five thousand biochemical reactions that are catalyzed by enzymes. These include breaking down starches and proteins in the digestive system, causing muscles to contract, sending signals between cells, regulating metabolism, and (most important for this discussion) cutting and splicing DNA and RNA.
 By 2008, scientists had discovered a handful of enzymes produced by genes that are adjacent to the CRISPR sequences in a bacteria's DNA. These CRISPR-associated (Cas) enzymes enable the system to cut and past new memories of viruses that attack the bacteria. They also create short segments of RNA, known as CRISPR RNA (crRNA), that can guide a scissors-like enzyme to a dangerous virus and cut up its genetic material. Presto! That's how the wily bacteria create an adaptive immune system!