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'Accessible and thought-provoking' - Scotland on Sunday

'The biggest biology story of the last ten years. Jennifer Ackerman has risen to the occasion with a beautiful meditation on our likeness' - Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch

‘Written with grace and intelligence, warmed by personal story' - Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams and The Diagnosis
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In the last decade, scientists across the world have raced to be the first to crack the code of the human genome, exposing a startling new message: at the most fundamental level, humans are genetically linked to every part of the natural world. A dog is 85% genetically identical to a human, and humans have only twice as many genes as a worm or a fly.

For the first time, award-winning science writer Jennifer Ackerman brings together these astonishing discoveries, and by weaving a mesmerising story of heredity, combining both personal memoir with cutting-edge science, she offers an encompassing vision of the impact these findings have on our everyday lives.