Why Genetic Engineering Is Better Than Species Selection

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A diverse genetically diverse population is probably better for a nation or a society because of the ever-changing environment so let's touch on epigenetics and how do you think about methylation. What are chemical tags that get put on the outside of the chromosome which either allow encourage the gene to be expressed or can stop it being expressed under certain conditions? The issue is what happens when you make a baby are those tags preserved do they get passed on. How does your genes respond differently at different times and in different environmental conditions and basically it's not so much like a switch it's mixed between a switch and an amplifier button, he says.

Shermer and Cobb discuss: objections to genetic engineering (political, religious, cultural) • selective breeding • recombinant DNA • the ethics of genetics • patenting life • gene therapy • gene editing • CRISPR • literature and films on the dangers of genetic engineering • bioweapons • 3 Laws of Behavior Genetics and what people fear about it.

Matthew Cobb is a professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester. He is the author of six books: The Idea of the Brain: A History; Life’s Greatest Secret: The Race to Crack the Genetic Code; Generation; The Resistance: The French Fight Against the Nazis; Eleven Days in August: The Liberation of Paris in 1944; and Smell: A Very Short Introduction. He lives in England.