‘Natural age is over’: UK Royal Society chief heralds ‘new age of biology’ but warns of resistance

Venki Ramakrishnan grew up in India and knows all about malnutrition and poor health.

Today as President of … the Royal Society … he knows better than anyone that genetic techniques may do much to cure these ills.

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[W]hile the adaptation of biology by the traditional means of selective breeding is considered entirely acceptable, the achievement of the same ends through genetic engineering is controversial.

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And while genetic engineering is making possible things that would otherwise not be possible, are our real concerns with the outcome or with the method?

While the European Union bans GM crops because it does not like the ‘method’ of their production, the USA has embraced them because the ‘outcome’ seems quite satisfactory.

We are, says Ramakrishnan, ‘on the verge of a new age of biology….Advances in genetics challenge public notions of what is natural and unnatural.’

We need to enter this brave new world ‘with our eyes wide open’ and with a clear understanding that we cannot make judgments based solely on either ‘method’ or ‘outcome.’

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: President Of The Royal Society: The “Natural” Age Is Over

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