WHO OWNS YOUR GENES?
Presently, about 25% of your person is patented. Does this bother you? It bothers me, so I wrote a novel about it.
The topic of my debut thriller, THE CALYPSO DIRECTIVE, is genetic piracy. Genetic piracy is a new phenomenon—a byproduct of our rapid technological advancement over the past two decades in both bioscience and computers. In a nutshell, genetic piracy is obtaining information encoded in another person’s DNA and profiting from this information without that person’s consent. When I first started writing the story in 2003, it required a supercomputer and millions of dollars to sequence a person’s genome. Now, it can be done for thousands of dollars and the price is falling every month. When it costs $50 to sequence a human genome and $5 to upload and store the information in “the cloud” don’t be surprised if your genome is sequenced without your permission. Now, add into the mix that unmodified genes can be patented, and the financial incentive for genetic piracy is born.
THE CALYPSO DIRECTIVE is a thriller about identity loss—except we’re not talking about a stolen credit card or a lost driver’s license. The hero of the novel, Will Foster, has had his genome hijacked and embarks on an adventure to find out why. As he struggles to recover from the ultimate form of human exploitation, he reconnects with the woman he loves, and must find the courage to defend that which he holds most dear. Available in Hardcover or eBook at your favorite place to buy books: Amazon, iBookstore, B&N
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Just when you think life can't get any more screwed up ... what's next? Somebody patents the soul??? You have to laugh or you'll cry :P
ReplyDeleteOn a *happier* note, Brian's book sounds wonderful!!! Intelligent & exciting!! Thank you for the fun giveaway :D
Mary DeBorde M.A.D.
Very interesting in deed. I've heard of this conflict in the news before. A book that covers this sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteI just read this for our book club and it was great - real page turner! One of our book club members is a biology teacher and felt the science info was right on the money. There was enough techy stuff for her, but not too much for the rest of us. I'm going to check out the free companion novella, "Ring of Flowers" this weekend.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting! I'm always fascinated by genetics and sci fi mysteries I think I'd enjoy this! Great post!
ReplyDeleteI'm not entering but holy crap! This is so fascinating. Could this be the wave of the future?
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent scientific thriller. The story looks informative and interesting. I think I am going to enjoy this from the beginning up to the end. You did a great review.
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