Science, Seeds, and Cyborgs: Biotechnology and the Appropriation of Life

In an eloquent and impassioned indictment of the biotech industry, sociologist Bowring presents a wealth of scientific and philosophical evidence to argue that genetic engineering's environmental, economic and cultural risks outweigh its much-hyped benefits. Past technological endeavors may have unleashed preventable horrors on the world, but in the case of genetic engineering, Bowring warns, there is no stopping the experiment once it has begun. In dense chapters and copious notes, Bowring skewers scientists for ignoring what they know about the stability and function of genes, the ecological risks of genetic engineering and the larger questions about what it means to be human. Of the hazards of biotechnological experimentation, he asks, ""Should science be allowed to assess such risks by taking them?"" Once cloning and genetic modification become commonplace, life may be reduced to a commodity, he says, and the ever-growing influence of business on science will override any claims of objectivity. In tackling issues such as in vitro fertilization and the ""medicalization of childhood,"" this book casts a wide net, calling into question not only the biotechnology of today, but the coming flood of new procedures and policies. Though Bowring's position may seem extreme at first, he builds a compelling case using deliberate language and numerous examples. This is a difficult book to get through, even for a reader well versed in biotechnology, but it is a cogent challenge to gee-whiz news stories of genetic wonders. (Feb.)