Genetics and Health

“The Science Century” from The Washington Post

by Elaine on April 14th, 2008

The Washington Post featured a series of thought-provoking articles in ‘The Science Century’ section of the newspaper. 

Here are some of my favourites:

The Post’s Joel Achenbach writes about how “the most important things
happening in the world today…[will] be happening in laboratories — out
of sight, inscrutable and unhyped until the very moment when they change
life as we know it.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041103328.html

Ronald M. Green, the author of “Babies by Design: The Ethics of Genetic
Choice,” asks, “Why should we think that the human genome is a
once-and-for-all-finished, untamperable product? All of the biblically
derived faiths permit human beings to improve on nature using technology,
from agriculture to aviation. Why not improve our genome? I have no doubt
that most people considering these questions for the first time are certain
that human genetic improvement is a bad idea, but I’d like to shake up that
certainty.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041103330.html

Michael Chorost, the author of “Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me
More Human,” writes about his experience with cochlear implants.  ”I see
myself as a precursor to a world in which people communicate with each
other, at great distances, in new ways, using implanted technologies that
feel as much a part of their bodies as their own hands. We can’t imagine
what that will be like, just as in 1978 no one could have imagined
broadcasting their activities to friends by using Twitter on a cellphone.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041103260.html

Nita Farahany considers the emergence of pre-crime detection technology.
“Imagine a world where the streets are lined with video cameras that alert
authorities to any suspicious activity. A world where police officers can
read the minds of potential criminals and arrest them before they commit
any crimes. A world in which a suspect who lies while being questioned gets
caught immediately because his brain has given him away. Though that may
sound a lot like the plot of the 2002 movie ‘Minority Report,’ starring Tom
Cruise and based on a Philip K. Dick novel, I’m not talking about science
fiction here; it turns out we’re not so far away from that world. But does
it sound like a very safe place, or a very scary one?”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041103296.html

Christine Kenneally, the author of “The First Word: The Search for the
Origins of Language,”  asks whether humans are so special as a species
after all.  “For years, scientists believed that the parts of the human
brain that supported complex thought and language had only recently
evolved. The mental life of animals was treated as primitive and utterly
distinct from ours. But an explosion in animal research is showing that
many components of human thought are shared with other species.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041103329.html

And computer scientist and inventor Ray Kuzweil writes about how the
“exponential progression of information technology will affect our
prosperity.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041103326.html

Thank you to Emily at The Washington Post for bringing these articles to my attention.

Happy reading!

Elaine Warburton   www.geneticsandhealth.com

Share This

Related Stories

Inaccurate DNA Test Results
Denzel Washington Knows His Genetics
Indiana Jones - crystal skulls are ‘modern’ fakes
Genetics and Health in Washington DC
UK Genomics Research Center Innogen Receives £5 million

POSTED IN: General Genetics and Health, Genetic Future, Genetic Ingenuity, Genetic Testing, Genetic information and education, Personalized Medicine