Book description
In 2001 the Human Genome Project announced that it had successfully
mapped the entire genetic content of human DNA. Scientists, politicians,
theologians, and pundits speculated about what would follow, conjuring
everything from nightmare scenarios of state-controlled eugenics to the
hope of engineering disease-resistant newborns. As with debates
surrounding stem-cell research, the seemingly endless possibilities of
genetic engineering will continue to influence public opinion and policy
into the foreseeable future. Beyond Biotechnology: The Barren Promise of
Genetic Engineering distinguishes between the hype and reality of this
technology and explains the nuanced and delicate relationship between
science and nature. Authors Craig Holdrege and Steve Talbott evaluate
the current state of genetic science and examine its potential
applications, particularly in agriculture and medicine, as well as the
possible dangers. The authors show how the popular view of genetics does
not include an understanding of the ways in which genes actually work
together in organisms. Simplistic and reductionist views of genes lead
to unrealistic expectations and, ultimately, disappointment in the
results that genetic engineering actually delivers. The authors explore
new developments in genetics, from the discovery of “non-Darwinian”
adaptative mutations in bacteria to evidence that suggests that
organisms are far more than mere collections of genetically driven
mechanisms. While examining these issues, the authors also answer vital
questions that get to the essence of genetic interaction with human
biology: Does DNA “manage” an organism any more than the organism
manages its DNA? Should genetically engineered products be labeled as
such? Do the methods of the genetic engineer resemble the centuries-old
practices of animal husbandry? Written for lay readers, Beyond
Biotechnology is an accessible introduction to the complicated issues of
genetic engineering and its potential applications. In the unexplored
space between nature and laboratory, a new science is waiting to emerge.
Technology-based social and environmental solutions will remain tenuous
and at risk of reversal as long as our culture is alienated from the
plants and animals on which all life depends. Craig Holdrege, director
of the Nature Institute, is the author of Genetics and the Manipulation
of Life: The Forgotten Factor of Context and The Giraffe's Long Neck:
From Evolutionary Fable to Whole Organism. He lives in Ghent, New York.
Steve Talbott, senior researcher at the Nature Institute, is the author
of Devices of the Soul: Battling for Our Selves in an Age of Machines.
He lives in Ghent, New York.
