The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson

Isaacson chronicled the work of 2020 Nobel Prize chemistry winners Drs. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier who discovered the CRISPR/ Cas9 "genetic scissors" in our DNA which bacteria have utilized to survive billions of years to fight viruses.

Growing up in the '60s in Hilo, Hawaii, Doudna was intrigued by the folding grass plant. Why do the leaves close when touched? Her persistent curiosity and determination with the support of her father and a  biologist family friend encouraged her to pursue science despite not having the support of her high school counselor and college advisor.

Doudna and her colleagues worked on a vaccine for COVID using CRISPR in our RNA to chop up the virus instead of the traditional route of copying the genetic code of the virus to build antibodies like the flu vaccine. Besides James Watson, she credited female role models before her like Rosalind Franklin, who had also contributed to the discovery of the DNA structure.

The book is an eye-opening read for me in the nature of competitive science and the intellectual properties and patents protected by institutions and universities. Also, where should the line be drawn in bioethics regarding the use of the CRISPR technology?

All the Way to the Tigers: A Memoir by Mary Morris

A skating injury prompted Morris to fulfill her lifelong dream of seeing the elusive tiger in India. In the process, her childhood memories resurface; the tenuous relationship with her mother is looked at with a more understanding perspective. The book is an intersection of travelogue, memoir, cultural adventures, and her determination to tackle life challenges. I enjoyed reading it and learned more about the majestic tiger.

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

Tired of being ridiculed by her students, Margery Benson decided to leave her life in London and pursue her dream of finding the undiscovered golden beetle in New Caledonia Island. She becomes interested in the insect when she was a child from her father...  To fulfill her wish, she needed an assistant for the expedition as it was 1950 and ended up with an unlikely candidate, Enid Pretty. What follows is an incredible adventure across the Pacific, surviving a deadly cyclone on the island, among other challenges. It is a fascinating read with the transformation powder of friendship, the backdrop of vivid sights and sounds of a tropical island, but danger and mystery still lurk in the natural world.