Man-made life : an overview of the science, technology and commerce of genetic engineering / Jeremy Cherfas.

  • Cherfas, Jeremy.
Date:
[1982], ©1982
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Credit: Man-made life : an overview of the science, technology and commerce of genetic engineering / Jeremy Cherfas. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Genetic exploration was, a decade ago, considered full of revolutionär)' promise for learning about the genetic structures of living things and for the even¬ tual production of valuable biological materials-in short, for improving the physical nature of life itself. The science of genetic engineering has developed so rapidly in the intervening years that scientists now possess a repertoire of tools and techniques then hardly dreamed of. The problems the scientists-and the public-must address have also changed radically: where speculation once raged over possible biohaz- ards, today it centers on the hazards of the stock per¬ formances of the companies grown up around biotechnology. Man-Made Life describes the science behind this astonishing technological march from one triumph to another, explaining carefully the discoveries, prin¬ ciples, and processes that have allowed bioscientists and bioengineers to crack the code of life and develop such marvels as synthetic insulin, vaccines, hormones, and various forms of the possible cancer cure, inter¬ feron. Combining academic involvement in the sci¬ ence with skill and experience not only in clarifying it for readers with minimal scientific knowledge but also in conveying the excitement of discovery, Jeremy Cherfas takes us through all the steps necessary to un¬ derstand just how this science works, how it has come to its present state, and what its future is likely to be. He details the medical miracles that result from the application of the science; he also envisions the disas¬ ters once predicted to be the outcome of this fooling with nature and describes the scientists' efforts to preclude these accidental or designed evils. When a science generates a technology and an in- dustr)', the questions facing all concerned change dra¬ matically. Cherfas shows just how this science, now known in its public posture by such corporate names as Genentech, Biogen, and Cetus, has been thus trans¬ formed, and he takes us on an insider's tour of these corporations and business practices whose products are the bioengineered fruits of the science's insights into gene structure and function. Finally, he explores the impact of the change on the scientists, on the progress of the science itself, and on the social, politi¬ cal, and ethical questions the public must now address. (continued on back flap)