Next, a book by Michael Crichton, takes a very unique approach to its way of storytelling. The author intertwines several different plotlines together to keep the readers on their toes, as well as keep them in suspense. However, even more unique is the way that Crichton weaves together both fact and fiction in this story of biotechnology and its many different areas. Dr. Robert Bellarmino was one of the major characters from the book with a very interesting plotline. The path he takes is filled with many twists and turns, and for the most part, is very accurate to real life occurrences.
Robert Bellarmino is a leading researcher who works for the National Institutes of Health, or the NIH (Ch. 5, pg. 42). Along with working for the NIH, he has …show more content…
Bellarmino’s story I’ll look at will be the research of the D4DR gene. There has been several studies done regarding the D4Dr gene. One study conducted by Richard Ebstein showed that there was a relation between the D4DR gene and novelty seeking (Ebstein et al, 1996). Many studies using different sets of test subjects were then conducted to see if ethnicity played a role in this gene, but the results still showed a relation between the two. However, other studies conducted that same year showed that there was no relation between the D4DR gene and novelty seeking (Malhotra et al., 1996). Altogether, twenty-three studies were conducted on the D4DR gene, with thirteen showing a relation and ten showing no relation between D4DR and novelty seeking (Lusher, Chandler & Ball, 2001). These results are very inconclusive, meaning that in a court case like Brad Gordon's, this would not be a viable defense (Ch. 54, pg. 258). Another part of his story includes discussing gene patenting (Ch. 10, pg. 122-123). While this used to be legal, thankfully the Supreme Court recently said that patenting genes was unethical and made it illegal (Than, 2013). Completely fake from this story is the part where Bellarmino gets shot (Ch. 92, pg.
Robert Bellarmino is a leading researcher who works for the National Institutes of Health, or the NIH (Ch. 5, pg. 42). Along with working for the NIH, he has …show more content…
Bellarmino’s story I’ll look at will be the research of the D4DR gene. There has been several studies done regarding the D4Dr gene. One study conducted by Richard Ebstein showed that there was a relation between the D4DR gene and novelty seeking (Ebstein et al, 1996). Many studies using different sets of test subjects were then conducted to see if ethnicity played a role in this gene, but the results still showed a relation between the two. However, other studies conducted that same year showed that there was no relation between the D4DR gene and novelty seeking (Malhotra et al., 1996). Altogether, twenty-three studies were conducted on the D4DR gene, with thirteen showing a relation and ten showing no relation between D4DR and novelty seeking (Lusher, Chandler & Ball, 2001). These results are very inconclusive, meaning that in a court case like Brad Gordon's, this would not be a viable defense (Ch. 54, pg. 258). Another part of his story includes discussing gene patenting (Ch. 10, pg. 122-123). While this used to be legal, thankfully the Supreme Court recently said that patenting genes was unethical and made it illegal (Than, 2013). Completely fake from this story is the part where Bellarmino gets shot (Ch. 92, pg.