Shaping the future : biology and human values / Steve Olson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Olson, Steve, 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Biology.

Bioethics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (126 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, 1989.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book brings the concerned individual up-to-date on the breakthroughs and social questions emerging from biology today. Author Steve Olson draws on the latest research in a number of fields as well as the views of leading biologists, ethicists, and philosophers. He tells the story of the intricate, often frustrating, path scientists must follow to find out why we are the way we are. The volume highlights groundbreaking research being done in four of biology's most exciting fields: genetics, development, neurobiology, and evolution. In each field, the implications of this research extend far beyond basic biology, ranging from human gene therapy to cancer, from neural transplantation to the evolution of the atmosphere.

Contents:

SHAPING THE FUTURE

Copyright

Foreword

Preface

Contents

Introduction

THE MOLECULAR REVOLUTION

COMMON THEMES

Chapter 1 - Genetics and the Human Genome

Genetics and Disease

Tracking Disease to Its Source

Putting Genes on a Map

A Genetic Scalpel

RFLPs and Disease Diagnosis

The Price of Knowledge

From Mapping to Sequencing

Prospects for Human Gene Therapy

ESSAY-SCIENCE AND SCIENTISTS FROM THE PUBLIC'S PERSPECTIVE

The Uses of Knowledge

Science and Myth

A Mechanistic View of Nature

An Agenda for Scientists

Chapter 2 - Biological Development and Cancer

Unifying Concepts

Inside an Egg

Communication Among Cells

Development Gone Awry: Cancer

ESSAY-ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN THE USE OF HUMAN MATERIALS

The Inadequacy of Simple Rules

The Social Dimension of Ethics

The Origins of Social Values

The Need for Equity

Chapter 3 - Neuroscience and Neuronal Replacement

High-Level Versus Intermediate-Level Functions

The Visual World

Vision in an Association Area

A Sense of Where You Are

Representations of the World

Neural Regeneration in Canaries

New Neurons or Old?

The Birthplace of New Neurons

Implications for Other Species

ESSAY-The Evolution of Ethics

Normative Ethics and Metaethics

Competition and Cooperation

The Kinds of Kindness

Evolutionary Justice

Implications of a Biological Morality

Chapter 4 - Evolution and the Biosphere

The Evolution of Proteins

A Molecular Clock

An Erratic Clock

The Value of Molecular Clocks

Two Periods of Life

Bacteria and the Atmosphere

An Oxygenic Atmosphere

A Modern View

ESSAY-Preserving Biological Diversity

Measures of Diversity

Diversity in the Tropics

Linking Development and Conservation

Approaches to Conservation

The Role of Biologists

Afterword.

Population and Wealth

Biology and the Future

Index.

Notes:

Includes index.

"Board on Biology, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council."

ISBN:

9786610214617

9781280214615

1280214619

9780309594837

0309594839

9780585026367

058502636X

OCLC:

42329227