Acceptable Genes?
Author: Conrad Brunk
Publisher: SUNY Press
Published: 2009-10-30
Total Pages: 284
ISBN-13: 9781438428949
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPerspectives on genetically modified foods from world religions and indigenous traditions.
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Heritable Human Genome Editing
Author: The Royal Society
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2021-01-16
Total Pages: 239
ISBN-13: 0309671132
DOWNLOAD EBOOKHeritable human genome editing - making changes to the genetic material of eggs, sperm, or any cells that lead to their development, including the cells of early embryos, and establishing a pregnancy - raises not only scientific and medical considerations but also a host of ethical, moral, and societal issues. Human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably and without introducing undesired changes - criteria that have not yet been met, says Heritable Human Genome Editing. From an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.'s Royal Society, the report considers potential benefits, harms, and uncertainties associated with genome editing technologies and defines a translational pathway from rigorous preclinical research to initial clinical uses, should a country decide to permit such uses. The report specifies stringent preclinical and clinical requirements for establishing safety and efficacy, and for undertaking long-term monitoring of outcomes. Extensive national and international dialogue is needed before any country decides whether to permit clinical use of this technology, according to the report, which identifies essential elements of national and international scientific governance and oversight.
Assessing Genetic Risks
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 1994-01-01
Total Pages: 353
ISBN-13: 0309047986
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRaising hopes for disease treatment and prevention, but also the specter of discrimination and "designer genes," genetic testing is potentially one of the most socially explosive developments of our time. This book presents a current assessment of this rapidly evolving field, offering principles for actions and research and recommendations on key issues in genetic testing and screening. Advantages of early genetic knowledge are balanced with issues associated with such knowledge: availability of treatment, privacy and discrimination, personal decision-making, public health objectives, cost, and more. Among the important issues covered: Quality control in genetic testing. Appropriate roles for public agencies, private health practitioners, and laboratories. Value-neutral education and counseling for persons considering testing. Use of test results in insurance, employment, and other settings.
Genes in Conflict
Author: Austin Burt
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2006
Total Pages: 650
ISBN-13: 9780674017139
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn evolution, most genes survive and spread within populations because they increase the ability of their hosts (or their close relatives) to survive and reproduce. But some genes spread in spite of being harmful to the host organism—by distorting their own transmission to the next generation, or by changing how the host behaves toward relatives. As a consequence, different genes in a single organism can have diametrically opposed interests and adaptations.Covering all species from yeast to humans, Genes in Conflict is the first book to tell the story of selfish genetic elements, those continually appearing stretches of DNA that act narrowly to advance their own replication at the expense of the larger organism. As Austin Burt and Robert Trivers show, these selfish genes are a universal feature of life with pervasive effects, including numerous counter-adaptations. Their spread has created a whole world of socio-genetic interactions within individuals, usually completely hidden from sight.Genes in Conflict introduces the subject of selfish genetic elements in all its aspects, from molecular and genetic to behavioral and evolutionary. Burt and Trivers give us access for the first time to a crucial area of research—now developing at an explosive rate—that is cohering as a unitary whole, with its own logic and interconnected questions, a subject certain to be of enduring importance to our understanding of genetics and evolution.
The Selfish Gene
Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 1989
Total Pages: 372
ISBN-13: 9780192860927
DOWNLOAD EBOOKScience need not be dull and bogged down by jargon, as Richard Dawkins proves in this entertaining look at evolution. The themes he takes up are the concepts of altruistic and selfish behaviour; the genetical definition of selfish interest; the evolution of aggressive behaviour; kinshiptheory; sex ratio theory; reciprocal altruism; deceit; and the natural selection of sex differences. 'Should be read, can be read by almost anyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution.' W.D. Hamilton, Science
Human Genome Editing
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2017-08-13
Total Pages: 329
ISBN-13: 0309452880
DOWNLOAD EBOOKGenome editing is a powerful new tool for making precise alterations to an organism's genetic material. Recent scientific advances have made genome editing more efficient, precise, and flexible than ever before. These advances have spurred an explosion of interest from around the globe in the possible ways in which genome editing can improve human health. The speed at which these technologies are being developed and applied has led many policymakers and stakeholders to express concern about whether appropriate systems are in place to govern these technologies and how and when the public should be engaged in these decisions. Human Genome Editing considers important questions about the human application of genome editing including: balancing potential benefits with unintended risks, governing the use of genome editing, incorporating societal values into clinical applications and policy decisions, and respecting the inevitable differences across nations and cultures that will shape how and whether to use these new technologies. This report proposes criteria for heritable germline editing, provides conclusions on the crucial need for public education and engagement, and presents 7 general principles for the governance of human genome editing.
Microbial and Phenotypic Definition of Rats and Mice
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 1999-07-26
Total Pages: 113
ISBN-13: 0309172829
DOWNLOAD EBOOKUS-Japan meetings on laboratory animal science have been held virtually every year since 1980 under the US-Japan Cooperative Program on Science and Technology. Over the years these meetings have resulted in a number of important documents including the Manual of Microbiologic of Monitoring of Laboratory Animals published in 1994 and the article Establishment and Preservation of Reference Inbred Strains of Rats for General Purposes published in 1991. In addition to these publications, these meetings have been instrumental in increasing awareness of the need for microbiologic monitoring of laboratory rodents and the need for genetic definition and monitoring of mice and rats.
Genes and Obesity
Author:
Publisher: Academic Press
Published: 2010-12-17
Total Pages: 417
ISBN-13: 0080962033
DOWNLOAD EBOOKA number of genes have been identified that are associated with an increased body mass index (BMI), the standard measurement of obesity. By analyzing these genes, researchers hope to gain a better understanding of what causes obesity and develop ways to tackle the problem. The study of genes and obesity could lead to new treatments. Genes and Obesity reviews the latest developments in the field. - This series provides a forum for discussion of new discoveries, approaches, and ideas - Contributions from leading scholars and industry experts - Reference guide for researchers involved in molecular biology and related fields
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Author:
Publisher:
Published: 2002
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9780815332183
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Case against Perfection
Author: Michael J Sandel
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2009-06-30
Total Pages: 177
ISBN-13: 0674043065
DOWNLOAD EBOOKBreakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we will soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. The predicament is that our newfound genetic knowledge may enable us to manipulate our nature—to enhance our genetic traits and those of our children. Although most people find at least some forms of genetic engineering disquieting, it is not easy to articulate why. What is wrong with re-engineering our nature? The Case against Perfection explores these and other moral quandaries connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children. Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness. The drive to enhance human nature through genetic technologies is objectionable because it represents a bid for mastery and dominion that fails to appreciate the gifted character of human powers and achievements. Carrying us beyond familiar terms of political discourse, this book contends that the genetic revolution will change the way philosophers discuss ethics and will force spiritual questions back onto the political agenda. In order to grapple with the ethics of enhancement, we need to confront questions largely lost from view in the modern world. Since these questions verge on theology, modern philosophers and political theorists tend to shrink from them. But our new powers of biotechnology make these questions unavoidable. Addressing them is the task of this book, by one of America’s preeminent moral and political thinkers.
