December 09, 2007
A DNA-DRIVEN WORLD: THE 32ND RICHARD DIMBLEBY LECTURE by Dr. J Craig Venter
From Edge:
I have called this lecture 'A DNA-Driven World', because I believe that the future of our society relies at least in part on our understanding of biology and the molecules of life - DNA. Every era is defined by its technologies. The last century could be termed the nuclear age, and I propose that the century ahead will be fundamentally shaped by advances in biology and my field of genomics, which is the study of the complete genetic make-up of a species. Our planet is facing almost insurmountable problems, problems that governments on their own clearly can't fix. In order to survive, we need a scientifically literate society willing and able to embrace change - because our ability to provide life's essentials of food, water, shelter and energy for an expanding human population will require major advances in science and technology.
In this lecture I will argue that the future of life depends not only in our ability to understand and use DNA, but also, perhaps in creating new synthetic life forms, that is, life which is forged not by Darwinian evolution but created by human intelligence. To some this may be troubling, but part of the problem we face with scientific advancement, is the fear of the unknown - fear that often leads to rejection.
More here.
Posted by Azra Raza at 07:57 AM | Permalink
Comments
This is the end of the world as we know it. (I know, I know - for many cutting-edge scientists, that's the good news.) "Preventive medicine" is a billion dollars of research and canoodling to isolate the diabetes gene and learn how to eliminate it from the budding fetus? How about just eating whole grains and fresh, naturally grown vegetables? That's a pretty cheap ancient technology for preventing diabetes without unknown side effects. And why is population growth viewed as an inevitability? Perhaps rational, fully conscious humans can control population growth naturally without resorting to bizarre experimentations that fundamentally change what it is to be human before we fully understand that humanity.
Posted by: joe panther | Dec 9, 2007 10:49:41 AM
Actually, it is not such a bad thing - this DNA driven world. It may be an antidote to smugness.
Posted by: Ruchira | Dec 9, 2007 12:27:40 PM
Eating whole grains and naturally grown vegetables won't cure all cases of diabetes (or even most of them). It certainly won't do anything for type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes also has a large genetic component. It's a myth that type 2 diabetes is completely due to bad eating habits and lack of exercise. So genetic medicine is needed for this and many other kinds of diseases.
Posted by: JonJ | Dec 10, 2007 7:05:53 PM
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