Recent scientific advances have made it possible to do the unthinkable - clone, design our own babies, 'genetically enhance' soldiers, and wipe out entire populations with a simple airborne chemical. Such technology means that 'nature' no longer follows an inevitable course, and that our decisions have unprecedented power. This book introduces many of the most significant scientific advances of recent years including: 1) The environment, poverty, and food modification 2) Genetics and eugenics 3) Modern medical technology 4) Transhumanism - 'improving' the species 5) The dehumanizing effects of technology and asks us to stop and think about what they mean for us. New technology has developed so quickly that we haven't had time to consider all of its ethical implications. But not to do so is to risk our own humanity.
Professor John Bryant is Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at the University of Exeter. He has written several academic books and articles as well as Life in Our Hands: A Christian Perspective on Genetics and Cloning (IVP).
