Resumo de Next - Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton has been known to write books that are futuristic, highly researched, and steeped in science, and NEXT is no exception. Genetics and DNA have always held a fascination for Crichton, right from his earlier books such as Jurassic Park and The Lost World, and in this book too, he delves deep into the world of molecular biology and human genetics.Today, Genetic microbiology and genetic engineering are at the cutting edge of scientific research. But are we interfering with genes and with nature, in such a manner as to be creating a sure shot recipe for disaster? Are we in the process of producing more Frankensteins that we can control? These are some of the questions that Crichton raises, and which will perturb the reader as he goes from page to page, in this fast paced racy novel.More and more companies are vying for genetic control of the human body, by isolating and patenting genes. One such company Bio Gen Research, headed by Rick Diehl, having patented a patient?s cell line, which produce an anti-cancer chemical, in now tied up in serious litigation against the patient. Bio Gen, being low on funds, has to take in more and more unscrupulous investors, for whom ethics don?t matter or don?t exist. In many other genetic research laboratories across the US and elsewhere in the world, scientists are involved in research into genes, many a times without proper sanctions, and often use human beings as guinea pigs, without their informed consent. Also, as per the current legislations, once a particular Gene is patented, all treatments involving that particular gene are in the hands of the company patenting it, which often demands astronomical sums for the same. Patients, cheated into believing that they are helping scientific research, often themselves have to pay for treatments discovered using their own body cells. And such being the case, there is no dearth of industrial espionage and thievery going on, throughout the research world.Crichton introduces one character too many in the book, and it is often difficult to keep track of who is who. Yet, these characters are all central to his book. So, we have scientists and media persons going after an ape that reportedly talks, deep in the jungle of Sumatra. We have transgenic parrots which are adept at doing mathematical sums, and a transgenic ape, created from the fusion of a man?s and a chimpanzee?s genes, which can talk, and behaves like a human. Genetic artists are trying to manufacture all sorts of transgenic animals, birds and fishes, as an art form, while elsewhere, advertising companies are seriously debating the use of genetically modifying bacteria, animals and birds, in order that they can function as hoardings and display items. Genetics, and gene modifications, it seems, is everywhere.As biological companies like the one owned by Diehl compete, both legally and illegally, ethics, religion and morality are delegated to the back seat, as profits and money take the lead. Nothing, it seems, is beyond human imagination or manipulation. And these companies use everything possible, from bribes to threats, and from sex to scandals, to attain their objective. As Crichton intermeshes various stories into this central theme, one is left with a sense of shock and bewilderment, at what the future may hold in store for us. As of now, only a few diseases are being treated with gene therapy, and one gets to hear and read about genetically modified crops or animals, as well as cloning. But if Crichton is to be believed, then we are heading into a future, where man is likely to cross all normal limits, and start playing God, but a God who is obviously highly imperfect. This will, undoubtedly, have disastrous consequences.The book is well written, although Crichton swamps the reader with too many scientific terms, references, facts, characters, and assumptions. As is his style, he often builds an interesting story around his central characters, in order to make it easy on thereader. Without an element of fiction, reading his books would be an act of drudgery. Even so, NEXT, with its continuous references to enzymes, genes, genetic diseases, hormones, and various aspects of human biology, is bound to tax the ordinary reader, though it will delight students of science and especially those in the field of biology and medicine. But Crichton does well to sound a warning bell, and does well to make the common man aware of what really goes on behind the closed doors that are meant for scientific research, undertaken ostensibly for the improvement of mankind, but in reality where humans and human tissues are a commodity, which are traded for more and more profits.

Michael Crichton ends the book with plenty of refences, both from scientific literature and from the internet. He also gives his own take on the state of genetic research as it stands today, and about how man, in trying to reach forward at any cost, is in danger of biting off more than he can chew. As with everything else, it is mandatory that genetic research too adopt a balanced and a cautious approach, with rational and logical minds being brought in, to see to it that research does not become madness. Go for the book if you like Crichton, and if you are scientifically inclined, and if you have a thinking, introspective,and logical brain.

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