Virtual Event: Kevin Davies

Harvard Book Store's virtual event series, the Harvard University Division of Science, and the Harvard Library welcome KEVIN DAVIES—executive editor of The CRISPR Journal and co-author of DNA: The Story of the Genetic Revolution—for a discussion of his latest book, Editing Humanity: The CRISPR Revolution and the New Era of Genome Editing. He will be joined in conversation by ANDREW BERRY, lecturer on on Organismic & Evolutionary Biology at Harvard and co-author of DNA: The Secret of Life.

Contribute to Support Harvard Book Store

While payment is not required, we are suggesting a $3 contribution to support this author series, our staff, and the future of Harvard Book Store—a locally owned, independently run Cambridge institution. In addition, by purchasing a copy of Editing Humanity on harvard.com, you support indie bookselling and the writing community during this difficult time.

About Editing Humanity

If our genes are, to a great extent, our destiny, then what would happen if mankind could engineer and alter the very essence of our DNA coding? Millions might be spared the devastating effects of hereditary disease or the challenges of disability, whether it was the pain of sickle-cell anemia to the ravages of Huntington’s disease.

But this power to “play God” also raises major ethical questions and poses threats for potential misuse. For decades, these questions have lived exclusively in the realm of science fiction, but as Kevin Davies powerfully reveals in his new book, this is all about to change.

Engrossing and page-turning, Editing Humanity takes readers inside the fascinating world of a new gene editing technology called CRISPR, a high-powered genetic toolkit that enables scientists to not only engineer but to edit the DNA of any organism down to the individual building blocks of the genetic code.

Davies introduces readers to arguably the most profound scientific breakthrough of our time. He tracks the scientists on the front lines of its research to the patients whose powerful stories bring the narrative movingly to human scale.

Though the birth of the “CRISPR babies” in China made international news, there is much more to the story of CRISPR than headlines seemingly ripped from science fiction. In Editing Humanity, Davies sheds light on the implications that this new technology can have on our everyday lives and in the lives of generations to come.

Praise for Editing Humanity

“With great reporting and deep knowledge, the science journalist Kevin Davies takes us to all of the frontlines of CRISPR research, from gene editing to improved agriculture. It’s the scientific revolution of our era, and Davies gives us a closeup view of all of the important players and exciting discoveries.” —Walter Isaacson

"Davies recounts the history of CRISPR with detailed yet breezy prose. He digs deep into this history with a journalist's relish." —Carl Zimmer, New York Times

"In Editing Humanity, Kevin Davies attempts to illuminate the twists and turns of the CRISPR journey . . . The result is both a historical record and a map, inviting readers to learn from the past to navigate the present." —Natalie Kofler, Nature