Maladies

136 pages including bibliography. By taking over medicine and agriculture, molecular biology has beome the business of society: genetic engineering is changing our food and our environment; fertilization and reproduction are being manipulated; there is the danger that the tracking down of hereditary diseases might lead to systematic labeling of populations. There is a need for us to grasp the import of this major development so we can derive the best from it, failing which we shall very soon have to suffer its worst consequences. Summarizes the history of molecular biology, provides a picture of the biotechnological revolution and a statement of the political, juridical and moral issues that go hand in hand with the emergence of civilization. Book