![]() ![]() ![]() When the genes that are governing our development are mutated, they don’t get disrupted in all that many different ways. The reason is that our development follows a pretty tight path. So, why is it that you don’t see eyes developing on hands but you do see two eyes becoming one? And why do Siamese twins form in particular patterns and not others? You don’t see twins joined at the toe. But it is possible for two eyes to become one. ![]() ![]() So you don’t see people developing an eye on their hands, for example. You don’t get a random range of deformities they have certain patterns. What is important is that mutants are not random. He also uses their conditions to talk about the rules of development.Īnd what does he reveal about those rules? He finds wonderful portraits of individuals – for example, some of them are covered in hair and look like wolves – and he tells the story of their lives in quite beautiful prose. And this is a really wonderful book because Leroi takes what could have just been a freak show and turns it into a really amazing experience. Armand Leroi is a biologist at Imperial College, London. Your first choice is Armand Leroi’s Mutants, which is about a biologist who recounts the lives of people with extreme deformities. Foreign Policy & International Relations. ![]()
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