Summary Of Inheritance By Dr. Moalem Sparknotes

Inheritance by Dr. Sharon Moalem is an exceptional book. Dr. Moalem’s goal for writing this book is to convey a new idea of genetics and inheritance to the reader. In middle school and high school we were taught that our genetics comes from our parents and that they are fixed throughout our lifetime, but Dr. Sharon Moalem brings the idea that the environment may alter them. He states that the food we eat and the trauma we endure during life can imprint onto our genes. Dr. Moalem works with rare genetic disorders where he accumulates his knowledge from research to help treat his patients with changing some environmental factors in their lives. He goes into some detail to make people aware of the many different genetic issues and diseases and the way we can tell what they are. Genes are constantly changing and I believe that Dr. Moalem does a very thorough job at explaining the differences in the genes, rare diseases, and the way they turn on and off. Chapter one goes into detail about how he saw a woman at a dinner party and from the structure of her face was able to tell what her genetic disease is. Moalem gives a clear and simple, dumb down way

Moalem tries to write stories that we can somewhat relate to, and scenarios that are also relatable. One example that I was able to relate to was when he spoke of the Costco model. Having shopped at Costco the majority of my life, I was able to better understand the biological strategies. Another example that he uses that helps me better understand the topic was the diamond/iPad Mini example. Diamonds are items that the majority of people have a basic understanding of. Dr. Moalem compares them to enzymes and how they are both “biologically expensive to produce.” (p.41) Companies producing the diamonds must produce more and more as the demand increases and same goes for the enzymes. The more enzymes we need in our body, the body “churns” out the “biological equivalent of iPad Minis to meet an increased demand.”