Life as We Made It: How 50,000 Years of Human Innovation Refined—and Redefined—Nature
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-22 16:21:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Beth Shapiro
- ISBN：B08W4ZK8BY
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
From the first dog to the first beefalo， from farming to CRISPR， the human history of remaking nature
When the 2020 Nobel Prize was awarded to the inventors of CRISPR， the revolutionary gene-editing tool， it underlined our amazing and apparently novel powers to alter nature。 But as biologist Beth Shapiro argues in Life as We Made It， this phenomenon isn’t new。 Humans have been reshaping the world around us for ages， from early dogs to modern bacteria modified to pump out insulin。 Indeed， she claims， reshaping nature—resetting the course of evolution， ours and others’—is the essence of what our species does。
In exploring our evolutionary and cultural history， Shapiro finds a course for the future。 If we have always been changing nature to help us survive and thrive， then we need to avoid naive arguments about how we might destroy it with our meddling， and instead ask how we can meddle better。
Brilliant and insightful， Life as We Made It is an essential book for the decades to come。
When the 2020 Nobel Prize was awarded to the inventors of CRISPR， the revolutionary gene-editing tool， it underlined our amazing and apparently novel powers to alter nature。 But as biologist Beth Shapiro argues in Life as We Made It， this phenomenon isn’t new。 Humans have been reshaping the world around us for ages， from early dogs to modern bacteria modified to pump out insulin。 Indeed， she claims， reshaping nature—resetting the course of evolution， ours and others’—is the essence of what our species does。
In exploring our evolutionary and cultural history， Shapiro finds a course for the future。 If we have always been changing nature to help us survive and thrive， then we need to avoid naive arguments about how we might destroy it with our meddling， and instead ask how we can meddle better。
Brilliant and insightful， Life as We Made It is an essential book for the decades to come。
Reviews
Elisa
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This is a very interesting look into how humans have modified their environment from the beginning， sometimes for good but also for evil。 We’ve caused whole species to go extinct， but we also have the capacity to use our powers for good。 Shapiro shows this， as well as the new tools at our disposal that make saving the world a little easier。 She clearly makes an effort to show different points of view but I think it’s obvious what side she’s on and I happen to share her opinion （if I was starving This is a very interesting look into how humans have modified their environment from the beginning， sometimes for good but also for evil。 We’ve caused whole species to go extinct， but we also have the capacity to use our powers for good。 Shapiro shows this， as well as the new tools at our disposal that make saving the world a little easier。 She clearly makes an effort to show different points of view but I think it’s obvious what side she’s on and I happen to share her opinion （if I was starving and someone gave me a tomato， would I care if it was transgenic？） Some scientific explanations were too technical for me to follow， but in general her language is easy to understand。 I liked the historical background and possible futures。 Let’s hope we choose wisely。 I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased。 Thank you， NetGalley/Perseus Books， Basic Books！ 。。。more
Steve
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I loved this book。 Dr。 Beth Shapiro put together a great story about human modification of nature， whether accidental or intentional。 She writes with a very conversational tone and with a sense of humor， while explaining science very well。 She also tells some very funny anecdotes， with me laughing out loud on occasion。 The footnotes are also worth reading。 This is the second book by Dr。 Shapiro that I’ve read。 “How to clone a mammoth” was also a great read。 I strongly recommend “Life as we made I loved this book。 Dr。 Beth Shapiro put together a great story about human modification of nature， whether accidental or intentional。 She writes with a very conversational tone and with a sense of humor， while explaining science very well。 She also tells some very funny anecdotes， with me laughing out loud on occasion。 The footnotes are also worth reading。 This is the second book by Dr。 Shapiro that I’ve read。 “How to clone a mammoth” was also a great read。 I strongly recommend “Life as we made it” for anyone interested in the topic and I hope that Dr。 Shapiro will continue to write popular science books。 Thank you to Netgalley and Perseus Books， Basic Books for the advance reader copy。 。。。more
Jeff
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Solid History， Perhaps A Bit Too Optimistic On Future Tech。 In showing the history of how humans have been using crude genetic engineering essentially since we first began interacting with the world - both plant and animal - and in showing how our more modern techniques - including CRSPR - came to be， Shapiro does a great job in showing just how much humans have *already* shaped the evolution of non-human life on this planet。 In the ancient world， she uses a lot of her own experiences as a scien Solid History， Perhaps A Bit Too Optimistic On Future Tech。 In showing the history of how humans have been using crude genetic engineering essentially since we first began interacting with the world - both plant and animal - and in showing how our more modern techniques - including CRSPR - came to be， Shapiro does a great job in showing just how much humans have *already* shaped the evolution of non-human life on this planet。 In the ancient world， she uses a lot of her own experiences as a scientist in that exact field， and even in the more modern cases she is discussing techniques she mentions in the earlier sections as having used extensively。 On these points， Shapiro is truly excellent。Where she stumbles a bit - not enough for a star deduction， but enough for a bit of commentary - is that she is perhaps a bit too optimistic about how genetic tinkering will be used in the future。 Yes， she discusses the various quandaries， but even in such discussions- *even when discussing the GMO humans created in China a couple of years ago* - Shapiro tends to just hand wave over the negative， darker sides of the technology even while acknowledging their potentially cataclysmic power。 This is where a solid dose of science fiction is useful， showing that even when scientists such as Shapiro have the best of intentions。。。 things may not always turn out the way they think， and thus caution truly is warranted。 （Yes， I'm thinking of a specific book in this particular example， but the reveal that GMO is used within it is a *massive* spoiler， and thus I'm not naming it here。 I *will* note that it is by the same author and indeed part of the spoiler is that it uses some of the same tech as described in HUNGER by Jeremy Robinson， which is another cautionary tale of the "benefits" of genetic modification。）Still， for what it is and for what the description claims it sets out to do， this truly is a solid examination of the history and current state of the field， and for this it is very much recommended。 。。。more
Angela McCollister
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