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摘要
Throughout history, we have selected and manipulated the genomes of plants, animals, and even ourselves. Until now, however, such control could be exerted only at the level of the entire organism. Scientific and technological advances now allow us to manipulate genomes directly at the level of single genes and their constituents, with a speed and precision that far exceed what natural evolution has been able to achieve over the past 3.5 billion years. These advances open new possibilities for medicine, biotechnology, and society as a whole. We already have in vitro fertilization and animal cloning; in the future human cloning and the exploitation of embryonic stem cells, among other capabilities, may be routine. At the same time, we are developing machines that will surpass the human brain in raw computing power and building an interconnected world of information-processing devices that makes science fiction pale in comparison. In this book Baldi explores what it is about these phenomena that makes us so uneasy-the shattering of the human self as we know it.
评论 (2)
出版社周刊评论
At the dawn of the 21st century, Baldi (a professor of computer science and biological chemistry at UC-Irvine) says, the human genome has been mapped; genetic technology can prevent inherited disease; and biogenetic techniques such as cloning and in vitro fertilization make it possible for people to choose traits for their babies. How, he asks, does such burgeoning scientific achievement alter the nature of the human self? How does cloning, for example, change our conception of ourselves? Is a clone a human being? Is a full-term in vitro aka test-tube baby a human baby? What are human attributes? Baldi observes that "our notions of self, life and death, intelligence, and sexuality" are primitive and evolved to provide us with "a feeling that each of us is a unique individual delimited by precise boundaries." He contends that a world dominated by computer and biotechnologies shatters this model, making us uneasy with scientific advances. For example, in vitro techniques may render sexual intercourse unnecessary for conceiving children. Thus sex, perhaps the clearest evolutionary example of human will to survive, could become extinct. Baldi provides an accessible overview of molecular biology and a masterful survey of scientific techniques, like DNA-manipulation, that challenge our sense of ourselves. While he finds many of these scenarios disturbing, he emphasizes that, in the quest for self-knowledge, we must face these scientific challenges openly. Baldi's powerful, elegant book deftly navigates the interactions between science and psychology. (May) Forecasts: While Robert Wright and E.O. Wilson focused on evolutionary theory as it demonstrates the emergence of self, Baldi goes further to show how the self evolves after natural evolution has ended. Readers of Wright, Wilson, Steven Pinker and Richard Dawkins will enjoy Baldi, so this title could do relatively well with attentive handselling. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Choice 评论
Rapid and powerful advances in biotechnology have made what was once considered "science fiction" a close reality. As a result, human cloning, ectogenesis (bringing to term a human infant entirely in vitro), and the creation of chimeric "humanzees" are not much beyond reasonable stretches of the imagination. Baldi (information and computer science; biological chemistry, Univ. of California, Irvine) addresses these and other current issues in this "brave new world" of modern biology. Writing primarily for the nonscientist, Baldi provides an excellent background for those unfamiliar with science while exploring the "what if" possibilities that the future may bring. Perhaps the most interesting and provocative chapter is on what constitutes ethical decision making. Rather than taking the historically conservative and dogmatic approach which maintains that long established human values and humanity must be preserved and fostered intact, Baldi challenges the reader to consider the idea that human nature is not a stable entity and that our concept of what constitutes ethical behavior must evolve accordingly. Timely and clearly written, this book will be accessible to anyone with a minimal biology background and would be an excellent reader for courses in bioethics. General readers; undergraduates. F. T. Kuserk Moravian College
目录
Preface | p. xi |
1 Introduction | p. 1 |
2 Science Today | p. 7 |
The Decentering Process | p. 9 |
The Psychology of Large Numbers | p. 12 |
3 Molecular Biology | p. 15 |
DNA | p. 16 |
Proteins | p. 16 |
Genomes | p. 17 |
The Stadium-Size Cell | p. 22 |
Evolution | p. 24 |
Genome Sequencing | p. 25 |
Beyond Genome Sequencing | p. 28 |
Biotechnology | p. 31 |
Genomes as Computer Programs | p. 34 |
4 In Vitro Babies | p. 37 |
In Vitro Babies | p. 37 |
What Happens to Sex? | p. 41 |
5 Human Cloning | p. 49 |
Cloning | p. 49 |
Human Cloning Taboo | p. 53 |
Cloning and Sexual Reproduction | p. 55 |
Cloning and "Intelligence" | p. 56 |
Cloning and Life and Death | p. 61 |
Cloning and Identity | p. 66 |
6 Siamese Twins | p. 71 |
7 Manipulating DNA | p. 79 |
The Extended Jurassic Park | p. 79 |
DNA Morphing | p. 85 |
Warping and Reversing Time | p. 88 |
8 Computers | p. 91 |
Computations: Moore's Law | p. 91 |
Communications: The Internet | p. 94 |
Artificial Life | p. 100 |
9 The Last Frontier: The Brain | p. 103 |
Why Is Pain Painful? | p. 104 |
The Limits and Expansion of Intelligence | p. 107 |
Sizing the Self Up | p. 115 |
Immortality Revisited | p. 119 |
The Distance between Selves--The "Organic" Approach | p. 123 |
Machine Learning and Reverse-Engineering the Brain--The "Artificial" Approach | p. 126 |
The New Music | p. 130 |
10 Ethics and What Can Go Wrong | p. 135 |
Ethical Foundations | p. 135 |
Contemporary Issues: Cloning, Embryonic Cells, and Gene Therapy | p. 143 |
What Can Go Wrong | p. 154 |
11 The Information Space | p. 161 |
Biology.com | p. 161 |
The Information Space | p. 166 |
Appendix A. The Total Number of Humans | p. 169 |
Appendix B. Historical and Technological Aspects of Cloning | p. 171 |
Appendix C. Stem Cells | p. 175 |
Appendix D. Historical and Technological Aspects of the Internet | p. 179 |
Appendix E. Sizing the Internal Self Up and Other Brain Issues | p. 185 |
Notes | p. 191 |
Bibliography | p. 221 |
General References | p. 221 |
Technical References | p. 229 |
Index | p. 237 |