Word: certained
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...life can be safe, although a look around at the filthy rivers, decrepit nuclear plants, air thick with pollution and tons of toxic wastes with no place to go shows that life is nothing of the sort. What the Alar alarm and the fruit furor do show is that certain risks -- those that are up close, personal and capable of capturing the public imagination -- make regulatory decisions politically easy. But while all the fuss was being made over the slight possibility that some fresh fruit had been poisoned, hundreds of other perils -- less interesting, less photogenic, more complex and difficult...
Complicating such decisions is the fact that genetic prognostication will probably never be an exact science. Technicians may someday be able to determine that a fetus has a predisposition to heart disease, certain cancers, or a variety of psychiatric illnesses. But they will not be able to predict precisely when -- or even if -- the affliction will strike, how severe it will be and how long and good a life the baby can expect. As scientists learn to detect ever more minute imperfections in a strand of DNA, it will become increasingly difficult to distinguish between genetic abnormalities and normal human...
...speak in terms of eliminating genetic defects is to tread on slippery scientific and ethical ground. As any biologist will testify, genetic variety is the spice of life, a necessary ingredient to the survival of a species. Genes that are detrimental under certain conditions may turn out to have hidden benefits. Sickle-cell anemia, for example, is a debilitating blood disease suffered by people of African descent who have two copies of an abnormal gene. A person who has only one copy of the gene, however, will not be stricken with anemia and will in fact have an unusual resistance...
...thing is certain: the genie cannot be put back into the bottle. Like atomic energy, genetic engineering is an irresistible force that will not be wished or legislated away. The task ahead is to channel that force into directions that save lives but preserve humanity's rich genetic heritage...
Fortunately, the most ardent supporters of genetic research are the first to admit the potential for abuse and see the need for ground rules. Many ethicists and scientists who have studied the issues agree on certain basic principles...