The Delphic Boat: What Genomes Tell Us (review)

The Delphic Boat is both a scientific and a philosophical exploration of the meaning of the human genome. The title is taken from a question posed to the Oracle of Delphi regarding the structure and function of a wooden boat. If, over time, the wooden planks that make up the boat rot and are all replaced, then is the boat still the same boat? Yes, because the important defining characteristic of the boat is the relationship between the planks and not the actual original planks. Danchin extends this lesson into the realm of genetics, specifically, the wealth of data derived from the Human Genome Project. Knowing the DNA sequences is but a start in our efforts to understand genetics and life; what matters is the relationship and organization of the genetic material. According to Danchin, simply knowing the sequence of genes does not answer many of the questions we have. We also need to know about the sequential arrangement of genes, gene expression within the cell, and other aspects that influence gene function.

The book is divided into five lengthy chapters. The first chapter, "Exploring the First Genomes," provides interesting historical background on the methods that have been developed and used to sequence different genomes. The second chapter, "The Alphabetic Metaphor of Heredity," examines the genetic code, starting with background on the structure of DNA and moving on to a clear description of the methods used to sequence DNA. This latter section is presented clearly and with useful diagrams, making it particularly useful for readers who might not be that conversant in molecular biochemistry (such as myself).

The third chapter ("What Genomes Tell Us") gets into the heart of the matter—what can genome sequences tell us about life? The chapter begins with a philosophical discussion of models and reality and then moves on to presenting the case for examining gene function in light of biochemical constraints, organization of the cell in relation to gene action, the influence of the position of genes along a sequence, and other topics that provide insight into the actual function of genetic sequences. Although difficult in parts to follow, the basic idea of the importance of relationships (referring back to the example of the boat) comes through, and we see that knowing the genetic code by itself is only the beginning.

Chapter 4 ("Information and Creation") continues stressing the importance of relationships between parts, starting with an extended discussion of the concept of information and concluding with the idea of the cell as a Turing machine. Chapter 5 deals with the question, What is life? and also considers the importance of relationship between parts to a variety of topics, including protein construction, disease, the difficulty of assessing function from structure, and genome engineering.

The Delphic Boat combines large doses of philosophical discussion with biological examples from a number of organisms and a variety of metaphors and analogies. The mixture of philosophical and scientific discussion is interesting, and many parts will cause the reader to stop and ponder the larger implications of genetics. Although on this level the book succeeds, the strength of the approach is also a weakness. I found the book difficult to read in part because of the long philosophical digressions, and I would have liked for the writing to have been more succinct in a number of places, with greater emphasis placed on the relationship between the abstractions discussed and genetic examples. Quite honestly, I got lost a number of times and found myself needing to go back and re-read some sections. The book does offer a number of interesting thoughts but will require more than one reading.