Description
Does it amaze you that yeast is your very close relative? That you possess roughly the same number of genes as a mouse? That you are 99.9% genetically identical to every other human? ABC Nightline correspondent Robert Krulwich lends a lighthearted touch to genetic science in this provocative two-hour NOVA special that takes you inside the amazing, complex and contentious race to decode the human genome. The Human Genome Project was born in 1990, when an international conso… More >>
NOVA – Cracking the Code of Life
Tags: abc nightline, Code, conso, Cracking, cracking the code, cracking the code of life, genes, genetic science, human genome project, Life, nightline correspondent, NOVA, robert krulwich, yeast
#1 by Madya Ayala Molina on March 9, 2010 - 12:29 am
Very simple. I expected a better contribution in the field of science per se; and i found that is oriented to ethics. Regards, Madya Ayala
Rating: 2 / 5
#2 by Christopher Rogers on March 9, 2010 - 1:15 am
You have heard the term, “talking heads?” Well, this is the personification of that term. I bought this DVD for a genetics class I teach. It is a long video with a great deal of wasted time on very little.
My students hated it.
Rating: 2 / 5
#3 by Narasimha Gangaiah on March 9, 2010 - 2:34 am
I haven’t studied biology since school days and borrowed this from local library ..
Decoding the instruction in the genes which contains maze of dense chemical molecules is a challenging exercise.We are told about the giagantic task involved in decoding the billion of molecule sequences, and the probability of it in helping find solution for all possible disease.
The DVD also highlights public/corporate reasearch ,business issues, patents by drug company hungry for profit , ethics, custom made baby, possiblity of cures by protein and its three dimensional challenges, Gene chip for early prediction of disease etc.
I felt the discussion about Celera genome buisness was too long. I was interested in the technical/biochemical? process involoved in decoding such minute instruction from a human cell, that’s missing.
I would also like to suggest “Nova: Ghosts of genes” on related topic which discusses decactivation of these DNA sequence, even if they are correct (epigenetics).
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by rainforest on March 9, 2010 - 3:50 am
This movie describes the competition between J. Craig Venter (Celera) and Eric Lander (MIT) trying to decode the genome first. It is old and it does not cover all the way until they finished in 2003. It describes the big difference between government vs. private funded research and the controversies on trying to patent gene sequences, etc. It is a very informative movie and gives the foundation to understand new things related to the genome that are being discovered in the present as advances in the proteome, etc. It clears the mind to describe that although sequencing the genome has been one of the biggest discoveries of the 21th century, it is not the cure for anything, but a door for the future to cure of many diseases. By the way, I thing Eric Lander is the best speaker I ever heard and you just must see him to understand why I say that.
The only complain I have is that some of the interviews are a bit slow and the questions could have been better.
Rating: 4 / 5
#5 by K. Salter on March 9, 2010 - 6:24 am
This is an exceptional documentary about the mapping of the human genome and its implications for humanity. Well structured and presented in laymens terms, helps to make Cracking the Code of Life an important addition to understanding Evolution.
Rating: 5 / 5