ESPM 162

BIOETHICS AND SOCIETY

Prof. David Winickoff
Brave New Biology
Jan 22, 2008
Dolly, I. Wilmut et al.
Cloning
Is it Natural?
GFP Bunny, Alba, Eduardo Kac
Genetic Engineering
Transgenic Art ? Second Creation?
Nature, March 14, 1996
Dolly Editorial
. . . the growing power of molecular genetics confronts
us with future prospects of being able to change the
nature of our species . . . this gives rise to issues that
in the end will have to be related to people within the
social and ethical environments in which they live . . .
. And the agenda is set by mankind as a whole, not
by the subset involved in the science.
Starting Point:
we are in the midst of a period of social, legal,
political, and economic change closely associated
with developments in the life sciences
Yeah, ok, but this statement doesnt begin to get at
the complexity . . . .
Constructive Process /
Intricate Relationships
Science & Technology
Life Sciences
DNA
Genomic Era
Biotechnologies
Health and Medicine
Reproduction
ID and Classification
Agriculture
Social Structures
Ethical norms
Legal & Political Rights
Economic relations
Institutions
Customs and Practices
Ideas, ways of thinking
1. New Tools of Analysis and
Argument
2. Develop knowledge in particular
policy areas
3. Finding Points of Intervention,
Policy, Action
Unit I. Human Genome Projects
First Human Genome Project in America?
State Eugenic Sterilization Laws by 1935
What was the origin of
the
Human Genome Project?
Origins of the human genome project:
genetic mutations among Hibakusha
Hibakusha
Atomic explosion, Nagasaki
What was(is) the
Human Genome Project?
1. Vast administrative and financial
enterprise;
2. Immense cooperative research program:
generate a high-quality reference DNA
sequence for HGs 3 billion base pairs;
identify all human genes;
sequence the genomes of model organisms to
interpret human DNA;
develop computational resources to support
future research and commercial applications;
study human variation.
3. Intense political campaign
waged by scientists
How can the biologists convince the US
government to fund a giant project like the
physicists got (the Manhattan Project) ?
The birth of new biological
paradigm:
genomics (n.)
The study of the structure and
function of all genes in an organisms
PCR plus power of information technology . . .
Rhetoric:
Metaphors of DNA
POPULAR CULTURE: ALL DNA, ALL THE TIME !!!
The Holy Grail
The Knight of the Holy Grail
Frederick J. Waugh, 1912
Conte del Graal (circa. 1170)
Chrtien de Troyes
Morte d'Arthur (circa. 1480)
Sir Thomas Malory
The Human Genome Project
and the Problems of DNA
1. Hold on,
are we different or the same?
discourses of sameness
Announcing
THE Human Genome
DR. COLLINS: I'm happy that today, the only race we are talking about is the
human race. (Applause.) . . . .
DR. VENTER: We have sequenced the genome of three females and two males,
who have identified themselves as Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian, or African-
American. We did this sampling not in an exclusionary way, but out of respect
for the diversity that is America, and to help illustrate that the concept of race has
no genetic or scientific basis.
e pluribus unum? . . . .
Science affirms
American political ethos:
. . . . versus 2 practices of difference:
Genetic ID and classification of the individual
Biomedicine
Sorting genotypes of individuals to achieve
personalized medicine
Law enforcement
ID of individuals, e.g., FBIs CODIS
database
http://www.perlegen.com/
Pharmacogenomics
Biomedicine:
Pharmacogenomics
All pharmacogenetic polymorphisms studied to
date differ in frequency among ethnic and racial
groups
The marked racial and ethnic diversity. . . . . . .
dictates that race be considered in studies aimed
at discovering whether specific genotypes or
phenotypes are associated with disease risk or
drug toxicity.
WE Evans and MV Relling, Science, 286:487-91, 15 Oct 1999
The New Racial Pharmacy?
FDA Paves The Way for First Ethnic Drug
BiDil, a heart failure product, reduced mortality in
66% of African Americans, but proved of very little
benefit to whites.
-- Michael Loberg, CEO of NitroMed
Financial Times , 9 March 2001
2. DNA as a
the new historical document?
3. The Politics of
Genetically Modified Food
2. Frankenfood
Better crops New monsters, new risks
Progress in S & T Self interest of Multinationals
Rational science / irrational public Co-optation of science / local values
1. Golden Rice
VS.