The Secrets of Our DNA

How Genetics Has Changed the World

Turi King

From an award-winning expert on DNA, discover the myth-busting book that opens a dazzling window into the world of modern genetics.

Fascinating, compassionate, and entirely captivating, The Secrets of Our DNA is the essential book that explains how genetics has changed and transformed the world around us.

DNA has become vital to our food safety, to the protection of threatened wildlife, and to resolving questions of history and archaeology, ancestry and even, for some, identity.

Now Britain’s preeminent authority on DNA and genetic research, Turi King takes us through fascinating true stories—from mistaken dinosaur DNA and the O. J. Simpson trial to Dolly the sheep and Angelina Jolie’s BRCA1 gene—to reveal the fascinating ways in which DNA has solved mysteries and shaped our world today.

King shows us how we are all interconnected and why we must all benefit from this exciting and rapidly evolving science. She also reminds us that, while our DNA can yield information about genetic predisposition to disease and other conditions, it need not be our destiny. And, perhaps most importantly, she shows us why should all be a part of the discussion as to how new genetic discoveries are utilized for the benefit of all life on earth.

Turi King is renowned for presenting complex findings on DNA and genetic science in an accessible and compelling way and she has won awards for her public engagement in science. Turi is the director of the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath. She is an honorary fellow of the British Science Association, a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, a member of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, and a member of the International Society of Forensic Geneticists. She is well known for her academic work leading the identification of Richard III; advising on the case of Mary Jane Kelly (the last victim of Jack the Ripper); leading the project on sequencing Hitler’s genome; as well as her media work co-presenting BBC’s DNA Family Secrets. Turi lives in England.

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Endorsements & Reviews

“This enthralling book explains how modern genetics, underpinned by fast-moving DNA technology, has come to inform myriad areas of 21st-century life.” Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller

“Learn about genetics and why it is so useful.” Sir Paul Nurse, Winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

“The forensic use of DNA is as close to magic as anything in science today: that a tiny fragment of material can identify a dead king, convict a killer or exonerate the innocent. Turi King's eye-witness account of how this magic was invented is a fascinating read.” Matt Ridley, author of Genome

“Turi King is a brilliant scientist and an enticing storyteller which makes this book both thrilling and highly informative. I think Columbo would have loved it.” Robin Ince, comedian and author of The Importance of Being Interested

“Turi King combines fascinating history and science with brilliant storytelling, taking us from homicides to wildlife crime, DNA tests to eugenics.” Professor Alice Roberts

“A glimpse into the fascinating world of DNA under the guidance of a true expert. Always accessible, enjoyable, and thought-provoking. Who could ask for more?” Professor Lady Sue Black, author of All That Remains