Gene Cloning Is a Very Complex Problem

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Michael afghan: Terrorists can't take over your computers or drive a tesla's at once. He says the problem is that genetics is very complicated and although it's easy to understand, making it work is very hard. The fall of al-qaeda has been good for us in terms of terrorist threats he says. Afghan: We've seen european terrorists fail but they're happy god help us with this particular threat.

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.