The project to map the human genetic codes has been wisely hailed as a monumental achievement with vast medical promise. Yet the project is also fraught with ambiguities and, the authors of this important volume claim, great potential dangers to society. Adam, Eve, and the Genome combines a basic primer on genetic research with ethical reflection by an interdisciplinary group of scholars.Part 1 of the book places genetic research in historical perspective, including the historical prickliness between science and religion. Part 2 probes the deepest religious question raised by genetic research: what it means to be human, especially in the coming 'biological age'. Finally, part 3 takes up specific social issues about race, freedoms, fairness, and social context and consequences of advanced science.
