Book Statistics
The Hope, Hype, and Reality of Genetic Engineering
Description
This book is about humankind’s recent attempts, using recombinant DNA technologies, to modify the genetic makeup of living organisms. It describes how scientists have learned to isolate and transfer DNA from one species to another, generate clonal (genetically identical) copies of individual genes and sometimes whole organisms, and otherwise exercise godlike influences over the hereditary material of microbes, plants, and animals, including humans.
Using a case-history format, this book traces the rise of genetic engineering during the latter part of the twentieth century, addressing both the good and the bad of dozens of genetic engineering projects initiated to date.
This empirical track record reveals many of the triumphs and disasters of genetic engineering, its amazing feats and some blazing defeats, and the field’s beauty marks and its blemishes both small and large. The two stories in this opening chapter—one the happy narrative of a successful little genetic engineering venture, the other a chronicle of sheer madness—serve to introduce the book’s style and format, as well as to illustrate the wide range of potential societal outcomes when humans attempt to seize control of life’s genetic reins.
Reader's Comments (0)
Login to CommentNo Comments Yet
Be the first to share your thoughts about this book!