De hypothese van het ‘god-gen’ heeft de wereld veroverd. Het werd bedacht door de humaan-geneticus Dean Hamer, die beweert dat hij een god-gen heeft ontdekt. Is dat ook het geval? Wat scheelt er aan zijn beweringen? Zijn collega humaan-geneticus Gerard Verschuuren zet de zaak uiteen in deze (Engelstalige) video!
Gerard M. Verschuuren is humaan geneticis die ook een doctoraat in de wetenschapsfilosofie behaalde. Hij studeerde en werkte aan universiteiten in Europa en de Verenigde Staten. Zijn recente boeken waren getiteld God and Evolution?: Science Meets Faith (Pauline Books, 2012), What Makes You Tick: A New Paradigm for Neuroscience (Solas Press, 2012), Darwin’s Philosophical Legacy: The Good and the Not-So-Good (Lexington Books, 2012), Of All That Is, Seen and Unseen (Queenship Publishing, 2012), en hij werkt aan het boek The Destiny of the Universe: In Pursuit of the Great Unknown (Paragon House, 2014).
Gerard M. Verschuuren’s laatste boek is getiteld “It’s All in the Genes! – Really?” en is nu te koop bij Amazon, ook als Kindle versie.
Het boek ontving goede kritieken:
“Where does morality come from? What about religion and rationality? Do we really have free will? If you want answers to these questions, you will want to read It’s All in the Genes! Really? You will also learn much about genetics, genomics, DNA and much more, all in a style that is informative, clear and enjoyable.”
Francisco J. Ayala is University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics.
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“The critical discussion by Dr. G.M. Verschuuren of selected examples for acquired insights into the complexity of life represents a welcome contribution to inform a wider public on questions and at least partial answers dealt with by fundamental and applied research in the life sciences”.
Professor Werner Arber, Nobel Laureate in Medicine 1978, Biozentrum, Department of Microbiology, University of Basel, Switzerland.
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“There is no such thing as a perfect genome. We always knew. But in the era of exome and genome sequencing, we can actually see it, right in front of our own eyes. Each one of us carries hundreds to thousands of variants or mutations. What a humbling experience. The consequences of most of these we don’t yet understand. And then, beyond biology, there is more. What makes us human? Where does biology end, and where does philosophy begin? Gerard Verschuuren presents an intelligent book, which will educate, stimulate, provoke, and inspire.”
Christian P. Schaaf, MD, PhD, FACMG. Assistant Professor, Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital.
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It’s All in the Genes! – Really? is a finely honed counterpoint to the genes-as-destiny perspective that often underlies media reports on genetics. Verschuuren argues that genes never act in isolation, but always in concert with a person’s environment, and that there is a great deal more to human life than biology alone. So when you hear someone say that it’s all in our genes, your immediate response should be “Really?”
Daniel Hartl, Higgins Professor of Biology, Hartle Laboratory, Harvard University.
Gerard M. Verschuuren woont in der Verenigde Staten en heeft een eigen website Where-Do-We-Come-From.com, via welke hij ook bereikbaar is.
