Engineering the human germline : an exploration of the science and ethics of altering the genes we pass to our children /

Attempts to correct human diseases by inserting engineered genes into somatic, or body, cells began nearly a decade ago. In contrast, the idea of introducing manipulated genes into germline, or sex, cells has generally been taboo, since this would alter the genetic makeup of future generations. Unfortunately, somatic cell gene therapy has so far proved frustrating, and therefore in 1998 the editors convened the first major public forum to discuss the prospects of human germline gene therapy--a seemingly more straightforward approach to curing genetic disease. Part 1, by several symposium presenters and leaders in human molecular genetics, provides generally accessible introductions to technical and safety issues associated with human germline engineering. Part 2 includes a transcript of a wide-ranging panel discussion focusing largely on ethical, social, and regulatory issues raised by this potential technology. Part 3 collects critical essays by scholars with a wider range of perspectives, including bioethicists and public policy analysts, who assess long-term possibilities and dangers of this new technology and the potential for its regulation. These papers balance the generally favorable statements for human germline engineering presented in the first two sections and are especially useful in appreciating the complexity and broad implications of this potential technology. General readers; lower-division undergraduates. W. R. Morgan; College of Wooster