Each fall, a robin begins the long trek north from Gibraltar to her summer home in Central Europe. Nestled deep in her optic nerve, a tiny protein turns a lone electron into a compass, allowing her to see north in colors we can only dream of perceiving.

Taking us beyond the confines of our own experiences, The Color of North traverses the kingdom of life to uncover the myriad ways that proteins shape us and all organisms on the planet. Inside every cell, a tight-knit community of millions of proteins skilfully contorts into unique shapes to give fireflies their ghostly glow, enable the octopus to see predators with its skin, and make humans fall in love. Collectively, proteins orchestrate the intricate relationships within ecosystems and forge the trajectory of life. And yet, nature has exploited just a fraction of their immense potential. Shahir S. Rizk and Maggie M. Fink show how breathtaking advances in protein engineering are expanding on nature’s repertoire, introducing proteins that can detect environmental pollutants, capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and treat diseases from cancer to COVID-19.

Weaving together themes of memory, migration, and family with cutting-edge research, The Color of North unveils a molecular world in which proteins are the pulsing heart of life. Ultimately, we gain a new appreciation for our intimate connections to the world around us and a deeper understanding of ourselves.

In the extract that has been published, Shahir S. Rizk recounts watching his grandmother work in the kitchen and his childhood memories of growing up in Egypt. Later, he manages to connect the dots between traditional knowledge, passed across generations to that of scientific discoveries which proved these communities already knew. This is a theme that is carried throughout the book as the authors share personal and professional experiences/case studies linking it to the information being gathered about proteins.

Maggie M. Fink puts it very well when she says:

Our bodies will stop functioning one way or another. We cannot cheat death. But as we learn more and more about the great symphony of proteins that make us who we are, we can better understand ourselves and the world around us. And with that knowledge comes the ability to create new notes – to design something that nature has never seen before. For the hope of gene editing doesn’t end with correcting mistakes, but rather with doing the miraculous: inventing entirely new proteins.

Biotechnology is a fascinating area of science. It has multiple applications. There are many experiments taking place – whether for medical advancement as The Color of North details and in other spheres, such as was recently showcased at a fashion show. Iris van Herpen’s recent Autumn/Winter 2025 couture collection, titled “Sympoiesis“, featured a dress made from man-made bio-based protein fibers, developed by the Japanese company Spiber. The dress is made from man-made protein fibers, the brainchild of Japanese firm Spiber, CEO Kazuhide Sekiyama. This innovative fabric is part of a growing trend of using sustainable, bio-based materials in high fashion, with the goal of reducing the fashion industry’s environmental impact. The collection also included a “living dress” made from bioluminescent algae, showcasing the potential of biotechnology in fashion.

Read an extract from the book on Moneycontrol. It has been published by Harvard University Press/ HarperCollins Publishers India.

Shahir S. Rizk is Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Indiana University South Bend and the Indiana University School of Medicine. The recipient of the Cottrell Scholar Award, he is an illustrator and poet whose work has appeared in Acorn, Modern Haiku, and Twyckenham Notes. He cohosts the podcast Rust Belt Science.

Maggie M. Fink is Adjunct Professor at Indiana University South Bend and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Notre Dame, where she divides her time between science communication and studying bacterial genetics. She is an artist and poet whose work has appeared in Landlocked Lyres and been featured in exhibits at the University of Notre Dame. She cohosts the podcast Rust Belt Science.

18 July 2025