Living with the Genome: Ethical and Social Aspects of Human Genetics

The genie is out of the bottle. A whole new world of genetics research is underway with its exciting potential for a better understanding of heredity and genetically inherited disease, with opportunities for prevention, management, and cure. But the current explosion of human genetic information has the potential for abuse also, for damage to rights, privacy and fair treatment for individuals and vulnerable groups. This book brings us up to date with important contributions from the authoratative Encyclopedia of the Human Genome on the ethical, legal and social aspects of the Genome enterprise. The contributions have been carefully chosen to demonstrate the range of issues currently under scrutiny and also to reflect the great diversity of viewpoints. They are all accessibly written and introduced for students and general readers with an interest in the social implications of human genome research.