i wanted to confront my own suspicious fears suspicions doubts whatever you want to call them and say what the equipment historical context it was. i also recognize that my fears a very similar to those that have been raised repeatedly and have turned out well not to be unnecessary or mistaken but rather it's you know the our worst fears have not been realized none of the things that people predicted at any point me in general both sides uh... have actually come to pass. In culture we've kind of forgotten about genetic engineering it's a bit like nuclear annihilation has re resceded quite a bit, 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.