Evolve yourself with October’s book of the month

Like most people, my understanding of genetics is pretty basic. I was taught that our cells carry tons of DNA with instructions for how our biology develops, and these get passed down from generation to generation. Sometimes those genetic instructions go wrong, leading to diseases like cancer, and sometimes they help us evolve whole new adaptations to the world.

But what if that wasn’t the whole picture? What if our DNA was actually mutating all the time, constantly twisting and turning from the effects of age, the environment, or even simply at random? What if these changes happen in ways we’re only just beginning to understand, but could be key to many diseases and conditions? What if we are all mutants?

Those questions are why I’m really excited for you to explore the world that science writer Roxanne Khamsi lays out in October’s pick, Beyond Inheritance: Our Ever-Mutating Cells and a New Understanding of Health.

In this book, Roxanne goes deep into what’s really going on inside our biology, tracing the way our genomes react to the world and what we’re beginning to learn about the mosaic that lives inside us. Along the way she documents all manner of strange conditions, follows a trail of medical mysteries, and hints at new treatments that might be possible. 

Released in April this year by Riverhead Books, Beyond Inheritance captures detailed science that demands you follow closely—but rewards you with a deep understanding and a fresh perspective on what magic actually happens inside the human body.

In the New York Review of Books, David Quammen said it provides "a valuable contribution toward better public understanding” and the New Yorker lauded its “far-reaching, sometimes surprising implications.” Science News, meanwhile, appreciated “Khamsi’s easy, friendly writing style.” I suspect you’ll come out of this book looking at genetics very differently than when you went in.

Beyond Inheritance is part of our science strand, Eureka, and copies are on their way to subscribers right now.