Wondergenes: Genetic Enhancement and the Future of Society

Name: Wondergenes: Genetic Enhancement and the Future of Society
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

Maxwell J. Mehlman

Sep 2003 · Indiana University Press

5.0

1 review

Ebook

240

Pages

Eligible

Ratings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More

About this ebook

Wondergenes not only imagines a future world in which genetic enhancement is the norm, but asserts that this future has already begun. Genetically engineered substances are already in use by athletes, in vitro fertilization already provides the primitive means by which parents can "select" an embryo, and the ability to create new forms of genetically engineered human beings is not far off. What happens when gene therapy becomes gene enhancement? Who will benefit and who might be left behind? What are the costs to our values and beliefs, and to the future of our society? To answer these questions, Maxwell J. Mehlman provides an overview of the scientific advances that have led to the present state of genetic enhancement and explains how these advances will be used in the future to redefine what we think of as a normal human being. He explores the ethical dilemmas already facing researchers and medical practitioners, and the dilemmas we will all be expected to face. In his forecast of the dangers inherent in this technology, he is particularly concerned with the emergence of a "genobility" made up of those able to afford increasingly expensive enhancement.

Wondergenes is a serious, accessible introduction to the social and personal implications of genetic engineering. Mehlman weighs the social and economic costs of the many proposals to regulate or limit genetic engineering and provides six concrete policy recommendations -- from professional licensing to a ban on germ-line enhancement -- that propose to make the future of genetic enhancement more equitable and safe.

Ratings and reviews

5.0

1 review

Jessica Hagley

March 31, 2016

Mehlman carefully and considerately discusses the potential dangers of genetic engineering and the implications that the adoption of such technology would, and is already having, on society. I would recommend this book to all those interested in the wider social, economic, political and ethical repercussions of genetic modification and genetic enhancement.

About the author

Maxwell J. Mehlman is Arthur E. Petersilge Professor of Law and Director of the Law-Medicine Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and Professor of Biomedical Ethics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He is co-author of Access to the Genome: The Challenge to Equality and co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Ethical, Legal and Policy Issues in Biotechnology. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets

Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.

Laptops and computers

You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.

eReaders and other devices

To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.

Report illegal content