A Passion for DNA: Genes, Genomes, and Society (Paperback)

Given Watson's larger-than-life dimensions, it is necessary to avoid the temptation to review the man and not his book. In A Passion for DNA, a collection of essays written for a variety of occasions during the past three decades, he concentrates on three themes: his autobiography; the growth, practice, and application of molecular biology; and the contemporary ethos of science. Watson describes his growth and maturation as a scientist and administrator; the meaning of success in science; science and public policy; the nature of cancer research; the past, present, and future of DNA; and the Human Genome Project and its bioethical problems. It would have added to the value of the book if each essay had been preceded by an introduction by Watson describing the circumstances in which the essay was written and the rationale for its inclusion in this book.

Watson's recipes for success are basically as follows: success tends to beget success, and therefore you should learn from winners by associating yourself with the very talented; take risks, but be sure to have a fallback; and have fun and stay connected. Over and over again, the reader learns about the value of mentorship, scientific patronage, and luck (which Watson argues, as did Pasteur, "favors the prepared"). In recounting the contributions of the Watson laboratory to the growth of molecular biology after The Double Helix (or "What have you done lately?"), the author describes his seminal contributions to our knowledge of the structure of ribosomes, messenger RNA, protein synthesis, and the regulation of genetic expression. Only in passing does he note that after 1962, few papers from his laboratory bore his name rather than only the names of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who did the work. This actually represents an incredible act of generosity rarely, if ever, seen in today's competitive, publish-or-perish academic world.

Watson recalls the angst of the scientific community when it confronted the question of the safety and ethics of working with recombinant DNA and the resolve of the scientists at the Asilomar meeting in 1975 to declare a moratorium on this research until guidelines could be established. Watson is certainly correct in his assessment, based on today's record, that this moratorium was probably a waste of time and a needless blow to the momentum of science. However, he discounts the important message about the social responsibility of scientists that this voluntary moratorium transmitted to the public.

In an essay on cancer research and the "war on cancer," Watson tells us that to win wars one must know the enemy and the location of the battlefield. When Richard Nixon declared a war on cancer, this information was not yet available. The discovery and elucidation of the action of oncogenes and of cancer viruses were pivotal for understanding the terrain, planning the strategy, and pursuing the war. Watson provides numerous examples to stress the necessity of research in the basic sciences for developing successful therapies against cancer.

When addressing the problems of the "post-genomic age," "Honest Jim" (as he referred to himself in the working title of his autobiography, The Double Helix) is quick to point out the shameful story of eugenics in the United States, particularly at his own institution, the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and in Germany. He suggests that whereas we in the United States have learned the lessons taught by the brutality and moral corruption of eugenics, Germany still has a way to go in accepting and acknowledging its past. In Watson's view, the spirit and path of science must be guided by the safeguards of investigation and discussion: we must now consider the ethical problems that will arise from the success of the Human Genome Project.