Thanks to the amazing tools of biotechnology, some of the most profound secrets about what it means to be human are being revealed. The book on the genetic instructions that go into making a human was opened by the Human Genome Project. The whole range of life on Earth is being studied at the same level of detail as other species.

Scientists are beginning to address age-old mysteries thanks to these and other findings.

• What is the difference between living organisms and nonliving things?
• How does DNA instruct a single-cell embryo to create a body with a brain that produces a self-conscious mind?
• What makes us human? Our minds, genes, appearance, or something else?
• Is the human species at the end of an evolutionary line, or will it evolve into something entirely different?

The lectures were designed for nonscientists. The science of self. The study of the vast storehouse of information contained within chromosomes is one of the exciting questions explored.

Lee M. Silver is an acclaimed teacher, scientist, and author of popular books on genetics, and its impact on society. Professor Silver has been involved in the revolution in biology for the past 30 years. He and his colleagues are astonished by the pace of discoveries in recent years and by how much has been learned about the human condition from studying the basic ingredients in genes. He marvels that they are teasing out all of the secrets.

Dr. Silver gave a clear and enthusiastic presentation. The science of self. The chance to investigate this dramatic new picture of our past, present, and future as a species is unparalleled.

Your genetic drive.

Professor Silver begins by looking at the history of ideas about life and inheritance, from the prescient scientific model of life to Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Professor Silver compares genetic information to music files purchased over the internet. The music is a string of numbers that are copied to a computer hard drive. immaterial genetic information, copied to the cellular equivalent of a hard drive, is the only thing that survives through the generations of life.

The Code can be cracked.

With this knowledge, you can peer into the human genome to read its code, compare it with the genomes of other species, and trace how information is translated into individual humans with all of our rich diversity. In a riveting example of the details hidden in our genes, Dr. Silver recounts the results of genetic profiling recently done on his own.

• The analysis shows that Dr. Silver has a relatively common allele, or mutation, that leads to a dopamine deficiency in one part of the brain—a trait associated with risk taking, which may explain his love of travel.
• His maternal line can be traced back 35,000 years to Spain and the original hunter-gatherers who invaded Europe and then retreated after the onset of the last ice age.
• His paternal line emerged more recently, in the last 3,000 years, among members of a Jewish tribe in Israel that left the Middle East between 2,000 and 1,000 years ago.
• Intriguingly, Dr. Silver has DNA markers that point to a Chinese ancestor about 300 to 500 years ago, who may have been one of the innumerable descendants of Genghis Khan!

There is a tool chest.

Part of a fascinating story. The science of self. Scientists can decipher the intricacies of living things with the technological tool chest. Professor Silver introduces you to some of the tools in detail so that you can understand through graphics and his descriptions how we have arrived at our current state of knowledge. You investigate the following.

• Gene sequencing: In the early 1970s a multiyear effort decoded an unprecedented 63-letter sequence of DNA. The invention of DNA sequencer machines in the 1980s allowed the decoding of the entire human genome of 3 billion letters by 2004. A few years from now, complete genomes for any individual will be sequenced as part of routine medical care.
• FISH: Standing for Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization, this technique identifies major features on chromosomes. Among its many applications, FISH has been used to compare humans and chimpanzees, showing that the chromosomes of the two species are virtually indistinguishable—except for an intriguing difference.
• DNA microarray: Built like a computer chip, this small but powerful device allows scientists to observe genes in action, something few experts thought would ever be possible. The technique can link particular genes to diseases that are quite complex, such as juvenile-onset diabetes.
• Molecular clock: The known rate at which genetic mutations occur can be used as a clock to calculate how far apart two species are in terms of evolution. The technique shows that humans and Neanderthals share a common ancestor from about 700,000 years ago, while humans and mice trace their mutual ancestor to 75 million years ago.

A sense of wonder.

Professor Silver is a member of both the Department of Molecular Biology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and he is involved in both the world of science and the public policy realm that is addressing the momentous implications of genomic research. He worked under the direction of James D. Watson, who was a codiscoverer of the structure of DNA and later the first director of the Human Genome Project.

Professor Silver’s most important qualification as a teacher is that he has never lost his sense of wonder. He says at the beginning of the course that a single cell is all it takes to create a complete human being. He points out that the cells are the same size as the protozoa that have been swimming around the planet for more than 3 billion years. The complete genetic information required to give rise to a person who can think and who can present lectures is contained in the DNA molecule in these cells.

You will feel a sense of awe as you watch this course. The science of self.