TEARS OF THE CHEETAH is a collection of genetic detective stories that uncover the secret histories of exotic species such as the giant panda, the humpback whale, and the imperilled cheetah - the world's fastest animal that cannot escape its own genetic weaknesses. With each animal tale, the author draws a human parallel - how feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) has uncovered clues in a cure for HIV, how mapping the genome of the domestic cat solved a murder, how a mutation in brown mice might stave off leukaemia, and other important animal research that has paved the way towards the future of gene therapy.