Wondergenes not only imagines a future world in which genetic enhancement
is the norm, but asserts that this future has already begun. Genetically engineered
substances are already in use by athletes, in vitro fertilization already provides
the primitive means by which parents can "select" an embryo, and the
ability to create new forms of genetically engineered human beings is not far off.
What happens when gene therapy becomes gene enhancement? Who will benefit and who
might be left behind? What are the costs to our values and beliefs, and to the
future of our society? To answer these questions, Maxwell J. Mehlman provides an
overview of the scientific advances that have led to the present state of genetic
enhancement and explains how these advances will be used in the future to redefine
what we think of as a normal human being. He explores the ethical dilemmas already
facing researchers and medical practitioners, and the dilemmas we will all be
expected to face. In his forecast of the dangers inherent in this technology, he is
particularly concerned with the emergence of a "genobility" made up of
those able to afford increasingly expensive
enhancement.
Wondergenes is a serious, accessible introduction to
the social and personal implications of genetic engineering. Mehlman weighs the
social and economic costs of the many proposals to regulate or limit genetic
engineering and provides six concrete policy recommendations -- from professional
licensing to a ban on germ-line enhancement -- that propose to make the future of
genetic enhancement more equitable and safe.
Wondergenes not only imagines a future world in which genetic enhancement
is the norm, but asserts that this future has already begun. Genetically engineered
substances are already in use by athletes, in vitro fertilization already provides
the primitive means by which parents can "select" an embryo, and the
ability to create new forms of genetically engineered human beings is not far off.
What happens when gene therapy becomes gene enhancement? Who will benefit and who
might be left behind? What are the costs to our values and beliefs, and to the
future of our society? To answer these questions, Maxwell J. Mehlman provides an
overview of the scientific advances that have led to the present state of genetic
enhancement and explains how these advances will be used in the future to redefine
what we think of as a normal human being. He explores the ethical dilemmas already
facing researchers and medical practitioners, and the dilemmas we will all be
expected to face. In his forecast of the dangers inherent in this technology, he is
particularly concerned with the emergence of a "genobility" made up of
those able to afford increasingly expensive
enhancement.
Wondergenes is a serious, accessible introduction to
the social and personal implications of genetic engineering. Mehlman weighs the
social and economic costs of the many proposals to regulate or limit genetic
engineering and provides six concrete policy recommendations -- from professional
licensing to a ban on germ-line enhancement -- that propose to make the future of
genetic enhancement more equitable and safe.
Wondergenes: Genetic Enhancement and the Future of Society
240Wondergenes: Genetic Enhancement and the Future of Society
240Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780253111050 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Indiana University Press |
Publication date: | 09/16/2003 |
Series: | Medical Ethics |
Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
Format: | eBook |
Pages: | 240 |
File size: | 502 KB |