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The Secrets of our DNA
  • Published: 28 June 2026
  • ISBN: 9780857529107
  • Imprint: Doubleday
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $59.99

The Secrets of our DNA

How Genetics has Changed the World

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
22 Sept 2026
EBook
28 May 2026
Audiobook
28 May 2026
Hardback
28 June 2026
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From the UK's pre-eminent authority on DNA and genetic research, a myth-busting book that provides a window into the world of modern genetics and shows how it informs so many areas of 21st century life.

Go back even a quarter of a century and few people would have heard of DNA, except perhaps in a forensic case. Now genetics plays a part of our everyday culture and our interest in genetics is booming, particularly in the form of direct-to-consumer genetic testing for health, family history and ancestry testing.

So how did we get to the point where our understanding, and misunderstanding of genetics became so commonplace? Professor Turi King, the UK's preeminent scientist in DNA and genetics takes us on a journey through twelve key cases, legal and otherwise, which explain modern genetics and how it now informs policing, personal histories, migration, politics and health. From eugenics, to mistaken dinosaur DNA, the OJ Simpson trial to Angelina Jolie's BRACA1 gene, we are led through the science to discover how genetics has impacted and shaped our society, and how our growing knowledge of the building blocks of life will affect our future.
  • Published: 28 June 2026
  • ISBN: 9780857529107
  • Imprint: Doubleday
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $59.99
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About the author

Turi King

Professor Turi King is renowned for presenting complex findings on DNA and genetic science in an accessible and compelling way and has won awards for her public engagement in science. She is Director of the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath and was previously Professor of Genetics and Public Engagement at the University of Leicester. She is an Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, a Member of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences and a Member of the International Society of Forensic Genetics. She is well known both for her academic work leading the genetics and identification Richard III, advising on the case of Mary Jane Kelly (the last victim of Jack the Ripper), leading the project on sequencing Hitler’s genome as well as her media work co-presenting BBC’s DNA Family Secrets, as well as presenting podcasts, both her own and for the likes of Audible and the BBC.
TK

Praise for The Secrets of our DNA

A glimpse into the fascinating world of DNA under the guidance of a true expert. Always accessible, enjoyable and thought provoking. Who could ask for more?

Professor Lady Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome, author of All That Remains

Turi King is a brilliant scientist and an enticing storyteller which makes this book both thrilling and highly informative. I think Columbo would have loved it.

Robin Ince, comedian and author of The Importance of Being Interested

This enthralling book explains how modern genetics, underpinned by fast-moving DNA technology, has come to inform myriad areas of 21st-century life.

Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller

The forensic use of DNA is as close to magic as anything in science today: that a tiny fragment of material can identify a dead king, convict a killer or exonerate the innocent. Turi King's eye-witness account of how this magic was invented is a fascinating read.

Matt Ridley, author of Genome.

Turi King combines fascinating history and science with brilliant storytelling, taking us from homicides to wildlife crime, DNA tests to eugenics.

Professor Alice Roberts

Learn about genetics and why it is so useful.

Sir Paul Nurse OM CH FRS,Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2001

From the scientist who identified the remains of Richard III, this lively, myth-busting tour of moderngenetics unpacks how DNA solves crimes, rewrites history and shapes our lives. It brims with timely questions about what our genes can (and can't) reveal.

i-paper

You may not know the name Turi King, but you will almost certainly have heard of her work: identifying the bones of Richard III in a car park in the UK city of Leicester and leading the project to sequence Adolf Hitler’s genome. So, we can definitely expect amazing stories in her new book, The Secrets of Our DNA: How genetics has changed the world. But underpinning those stories (think everything from O.J. Simpson to mistaken dinosaur DNA to Angelina Jolie’s BRCA1 gene) will be a deep account of how genetics has ended up entangled in the lives of us all. King "shows how we are all interconnected and why we must all benefit from this exciting and rapidly evolving science" and reminds us that DNA need not be destiny – nor is it the silver bullet some imagine.

New Scientist

King comes across on paper much as she does on screen: loquacious, likeable and unequivocally expert.

James McConnachie, Sunday Times

King comes across on paper much as she does on screen: loquacious, likeable and unequivocally expert.

Sunday Times

[King] is a wonderful storyteller who does an admirable job of explaining a scientific process that can be difficult to follow, while feeding your imagination in a way that leaves you with more questions. The book is most interesting when she describes the use of DNA in solving crimes, its limitations, and the ethics around certain types of research such as cloning… an illuminating read.

Press Association

An insider's must-read book ... a lot of colour and insight. Well worth reading.

Michael le Page, New Scientist