Biotechnology

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Biotechnology and Mapping the Human Genome

    

Topics

Promise or peril: is biotechnology the answer to problems or the cause of new problems?
Mapping the human genome: new ethical and moral dilemmas
Can the policy process ever catch up with this fast moving science and technology?
How can you govern the use of this new science and technology?  Should it be governed?
 

Readings

Issue 16 (Reserve)
Guardian Unlimited article on designer babies (7/5/01)
Handouts on Stem Cell Research #1
Handouts on Stem Cell Research #2
Handouts on Biotechnology
Handouts on Human Cloning
 

Assignments

Issue 16: Should Genetic Engineering Be Banned?
 

Web Resources

Slide show on biotechnology by Jada Hueber (DIS Sp. '02)
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Biotechnology Information Center
Organic Farming Research Foundation
Institute for Food and Development Policy
 

Movies that Might Be of Interest

Gattaca (1997) staring Ethan Hawk, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, and Alan Arkin:  A sci-fi thriller set in the not to distant future where you caste in society is determined by your genetic make-up and new children are manufactured to maximize their genetic potential. 
Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) staring Paul Newman, John Cusak, and Laura Dern:  While not about biotechnology or genetics, the movie is revealing in its depiction of the ethical issues that often emerge out of new technological developments.  This movie tells the tale of one of the great organizational and technological challenges of our time and one that forever changed the world -- the quest to beat the Nazis to the atom bomb. As the scientists conquer the technical challenge, each is left to confront the ethical and moral implications of their accomplishments.

Books that Might Be of Interest

 
 

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Page last modified 06/19/02

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