Skip navigation

Leading geneticist to write book on staying well

'Body Language' promises ‘stunning new revelations about why we get sick’

BOOKS GENETICIST
Dr. Francis Collins helped translate the complexities of DNA into everyday vernacular. Collins led the Human Genome Project that, along with a competing private company, mapped the genetic code — or "the book of human life," as he famously called it.
Evan Vucci / AP
Slideshow
  First-class confessions
In his new book, “PostSecret,” blogger Frank Warren shares the juicy secrets that people have anonymously sent to him on postcards.

more photos

The Week in...  
  
Image: To match FEATURE KAZAKHSTAN-EAGLES/
Reuters
  Animal Tracks
Find a hunter holds his hawk , a snow-covered pup, a hungry chimp, a merry pair of ring-tailed lemurs, plus more images of cute critters.
Image: Steam billows from the cooling towers of Jaenschwalde coal power station near Cottbus
Reuters
  The Week in Pictures
A giant praying mantis, Festival of Sacrifice, bubble in space, Bhopal, military farewell, Afghanistan marine, Italian justice and more news and feature images from around the world.
Image: VEVO Launches Premiere Destination for Premium Music Video - Inside
Getty Images
  The Week in celebrity sightings
Taylor Swift and Rihanna check out VEVO in New York, Alexander Skarsgard parties in Hollywood, Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise stroll in Spain and more.
  
  Web-only: Dean McDermott on holiday traditions
Dec. 9: In a behind-the-scenes moment, the ‘Tori & Dean’ star talks about his family’s new holiday tradition of ‘doing nothing’ and his daughter’s love for designer shoes.

updated 2:38 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2008

Dr. Francis Collins, arguably the nation's leading geneticist and author of the best-selling “The Language of God,” is working on a book that promises "stunning new revelations about why we get sick; what it means to be healthy; how we can prevent disease" and medical treatment.

HarperCollins will release “Body Language: How Personalized Medicine Will Change Your Life” in Fall 2009, the publisher announced Tuesday. Dr. Collins will write about “medical dilemmas his own family has experienced, among stories of patients from across the country, in every age group,” according to HarperCollins.

“Modern genetic research has revealed that we all are born with glitches in our DNA, glitches which have implications both for potential future disease and for day-to-day choices while we are still “healthy.” How much should you learn about your own glitches? How much should doctors be able to learn? The answers are shifting daily. This is the book that will explain it for all of us.”

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

Collins, who helped lead the breakthrough unraveling of the human genetic code — and found common ground between the belief in God and science — resigned last summer as head of the Human Genome Project at the National Institutes of Health. Writing a book was one reason he cited for stepping down.

The geneticist helped translate the complexities of DNA into everyday vernacular. Collins led the Human Genome Project that, along with a competing private company, mapped the genetic code — or "the book of human life," as he famously called it.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links

Resource guide