By Federico Neresini

Il Mulino

ISBN 978-88-15-29057, pp. 223

Federico Neresini’s new book starts with a personal experiment: the mapping of the author’s genome. Through the pages of the book, which becomes a diary of the resulting experiences, a series of reflections on DNA as a social phenomenon are conducted, from its ability to enter public discourse to its media appeal, from magical belief in “a gene for everything”, in the shadows of its history, to the business of online genomics.

The book discusses the load of promises, inherent in every scientific discovery, makes the DNA molecule an icon of the future and a hope for access to unlimited wellbeing, care and self-knowledge: the DNA is “unique” and makes us unique.