There’s enough DNA in the human body to stretch from the sun to Pluto and back. But don’t confuse DNA with your genes, says writer Sam Kean.
“They are sort of conflated in most people’s minds today but they really are distinct things,” he tells Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross. “Genes are like the story and DNA is the language that the story is written in.”
In The Violinist’s Thumb, Kean goes inside our genetic code, looking at the stories written by the fundamental building blocks within us. The book explains things like why some people can’t handle drinking coffee and why some human babies are born with tails. It also delves into the history and science of the story of DNA, a nucleic acid which contains the genetic instructions that form the basis for all living organisms.
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