Wouldn't it rock to bring back the woolly mammoth, the passenger pigeon, or the dodo? It's blockbuster movie material and has proven to be highly fundable. But there are problems. The main one is the technology can't do quite what it promises. I have been working in the ethics of biotechnology for a decade and …
When Biology Goes Extinct
It's purely coincidence so soon after P-22's death, but I got the opportunity to be part of a science fiction exchange in Slate.com this week about a lion running loose on city streets. Margrét Helgadóttir's escaped lion is roaming the dark corners of Longyearbyen on Svalbard. The remote Arctic outpost is now a busy metropolis …
Having a Cow About Climate
There is no escaping it. Climate change makes demands on affluent lifestyles. They range from the trivial, to the mildly disruptive, to the highly annoying. Over time these demands have evolved. Swapping out incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents - now LEDs - was an early demand. Turning the heating or A/C down a notch …
Of Boeings and Biotech: When Trust Is Required
I crossed the ocean this week on a sparkling new Boeing 787. This may be the fifth or sixth time I have flown on this model and each occasion leaves me filled with admiration for this emblem of contemporary technology. Fuel efficient, light, and comfortable, the 787 feels like a paragon of what human design …
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Who’s to Blame for Human Genome Editing? (….and other questions that don’t need answering but need thinking about)
With nearly two months elapsed since the world first learned of the existence of CRISPR-edited newborns living in China, it is worth pondering the response this momentous event generated. When considering what people have said about Chinese scientist He Jiankui’s exploits, a disconcerting feature emerges. The ethics of the scientist himself have been front and …
Food, Freedom, and Smiley Faces
The day before Independence Day in 2018 was the last day to comment on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s proposal for mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The requirement for a nationally recognizable standard was passed in 2016 during the Obama administration. The proposal offers guidance to food companies who will soon …
Christopher J. Preston 