The Compatibility Gene is a 2014 book about the discovery of the mechanism of compatibility in the human immune system by professor Daniel M. Davis. It describes the history of immunology with the discovery of the principle of graft rejection by Peter Medawar, and the way the body distinguishes self from not-self via natural killer cells. The compatibility mechanism contributes also to the success of pregnancy by helping the placenta to form, and may play a role in mate selection.
The book's context is the history of immunology, from old questions about why we become ill and why we may recover to the 19th century pioneers who demonstrated that bacteria caused many diseases. In the 20th century where, slowly at first but at an accelerating pace, biologists started to piece together the genetic basis of variation and natural selection, and alongside that, the foundations of scientific medicine, including immunology. As Steven Pinker observes, few stories of scientific endeavour have never been told. "This is one of them. Ostensibly about a set of genes that we all have and need, this book is really about the men and women who discovered them and worked out what they do. It’s about brilliant insights and lucky guesses; the glory of being proved right and the paralysing fear of getting it wrong; the passion for cures and the lust for Nobels. It’s a search for the essence of scientific greatness by a scientist who is headed that way himself."
1. Frankenstein's Holy Trinity 2. Self / Non-self 3. Dead but Alive in Parts 4. A Crystal-clear Answer at Last
Part Two: The Frontier of Compatibility Gene Research
5. Differences between Us that Matter 6. A Path to New Medicine 7. Missing Self
Part Three: The Overarching System
8. Sex and Smelly T-shirts 9. Connections with the Mind 10. Compatibility for Successful Pregnancy Epilogue: What Makes You So Special?
Publication
The book was published in paperback by Penguin in August 2014,.
Reception
The Compatibility Gene has been well received by critics and scientists. Mark Viney, reviewing the book in the New Scientist, comments that Davis covers human compatibility genes well, but that he should have gone into more detail on the different systems in other organisms. The science writer Peter Forbes, writing in The Guardian, notes that when Watson and Crick cracked the genetic code in 1953, it seemed that medicine would instantly profit: but half a century went by before the genome was decoded, and 98% of it seemed at first glance to be junk DNA. Now its complexity is starting to be understood, one function at a time. One specialised area is the immune system, with its own ultra-variable set of proteins. They are not only complicated, but have many functions, in immunity, sexual attraction, pregnancy, and brain function. Unsurprisingly, Forbes observes, this makes immunology, and its popularisation, "extremely difficult". Davis "sugars the pill" by choosing to go into the researchers' lives and struggles in great detail. Forbes notes that Davis does not mention that most of the genetic differences between humans and chimpanzees are to do with the immune system and brain development: perhaps these are connected. Nicola Davis, reviewing the book in The Times, writes that Davis "weaves a warm biographical thread through his tale of scientific discovery, revealing the drive and passion of those in the vanguard of research." The tale of the pioneers such as Medawar is "fairly familiar but Davis's readable narrative allows them to be seen afresh". She finds the account more challenging as it approaches more recent discoveries, but with "plenty of rewarding moments". Emily Banham, reviewing the book for Nature, notes that compatibility genes lie at the heart of our immune systems, playing a part in the success of skin grafts, pregnancy, and more. The biologist Rebecca Nesbit, reviewing The Compatibility Gene for The Biologist, writes that Davis shares many stories of dedicated scientists, brought together by "a small cluster of 'compatibility genes' which play a large role in how we react to disease, and are central to how our immune systems work." She notes that the book is as much about the people as the discoveries, but these are made worthwhile by the medical advances they keep producing, for example with possibilities for personalised medicine, as when people with one particular compatibility gene react adversely to an AIDS drug. She observes that all the same, he ends with the scientist's favourite refrain: "more research needed".
