Dangers of Genomic Research
Biological information can easily be used for nefarious ends. The wealth of information offered by the Human Genome Project offers the promise of helping the human race in a myriad of ways, yet the knowledge can likewise be easily misused.
Genomes tell information about each individual's proclivity for disease, personality traits, and behaviors, and such information could potentially be used as a basis for discrimination. The knowledge we are now acquiring will also allow us to alter our genes. Since the information is now new, boundaries about what is appropriate in controlling our genetic destiny and that of our offspring have not been clearly laid out, and since human life is at stake, they are likely to remain fuzzy indefinitely.
SCIENTISTS SPEAKING ABOUT DANGERS OF GENOME RESEARCH
- Bruce Alberts
- Leif Andersson
- Michael Ashburner
- David Bentley
- David Botstein
- Elbert Branscomb
- Aravinda Chakravarti
- Francis Collins
- David Cox
- Charles Delisi
- Ian Dunham
- Raymond Gesteland
- Richard Gibbs
- Philip Green
- Eric Green
- David Haussler
- Leroy Hood
- James Kent
- Eric Lander
- Peter Little
- Karin Moelling
- Maynard Olson
- Ari Patrinos
- Ulf Pettersson
- Ron Plasterk
- Matt Ridley
- Bruce Roe
- Gerald Rubin
- Nicoletta Sacchi
- Fred Sanger
- John Sulston
- Robert Waterston
- James D. Watson
- James Wyngaarden