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As gripping as a novel, this tale of science,
medicine, politics, and the jealousies, passions, and dedication
of the human heart is certain to be recognized as one of
the major nonfiction works of the decade.
Seven years in the making, Altered Fates
chronicles the saga of gene therapy, a medical revolution
unparalleled in human history. Scientists armed with powerful
new tools of genetic engineering are attacking such deadly
disorders as lung cancer, heart disease, and AIDS by repairing
and replacing defective genes. Further, they are racing
to find the genes responsible for depression, schizophrenia,
Alzheimer's disease, and other psychiatric and neurologic
disorders, and they are consummating the marriage of genetics
and reproductive technology, raising the possibility of
human cloning and the production of "designer"
babies.
In the pages of this rich and detailed narrative,
whose characters include the field's leading scientists
as well as key patients and their families, the Pulitzer
Prize-winning authors tell the story of the race to be the
first to do gene therapy (a feat almost certain to garner
a Nobel Prize and a place in medical history), uncovering
the behind-the-scenes machinations and rivalries among the
prima-donna researchers at some of the world's leading medical
centers, including the National Institutes of Health. They
also reveal the details of the initial human experiments
in gene transfer, and the agonizing decisions faced by the
families of the first children to be submitted to the therapy.
Jeff Lyon and Peter Gorner, recipients
of the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism in 1987, write for
the Chicago Tribune. Jeff Lyon's previous book was
Playing God in the Nursery. Both authors live with
their families in Chicago.
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