DNA Promise & Peril

"The discussions of genetic determinism, prenatal genetic testing, eugenics, and gender identity are particularly informative, stimulating, clearly spelled out, and comprehensible to lay readers as well as professionals."and#151;Solomon A. Kaplan, MD, Professor Emeritus, Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA

"If you read one book about the human genome, this is it! An extraordinary thoughtful, readable and myth-busting contribution to understanding our future. I loved it!"and#151;Donna E. Shalala, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services

and#8220;The book is anything but dry reporting. . . . An enjoyable and stimulating read for specialists in the field and the curious public alike.and#8221;

and#8220;Goes a long way toward exploring these issues in a painstaking yet readable scholarly treatise. . . . Throughout, they make a convincing case that we are not our genome alone.and#8221;

and#8220;Readers will come away with a realistic and encouraging perspective on medical genetics, proving that neither fantastic optimism nor abject fear is necessary to make the true story of DNA exciting.and#8221;

The genetic revolution has provided incredibly valuable information about our DNA, information that can be used to benefit and informand#151;but also to judge, discriminate, and abuse. An essential reference for living in today's world, this book gives the background information critical to understanding how genetics is now affecting our everyday lives. Written in clear, lively language, it gives a comprehensive view of exciting recent discoveries and explores the ethical, legal, and social issues that have arisen with each new development.

Linda L. McCabe is Adjunct Associate Professor of Human Genetics and Pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles. Edward R. B. McCabe is Co-Director, UCLA Center for Society and Genetics; Mattel Executive Endowed Chair of Pediatrics; Physician-in-Chief, Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA; and Professor of Pediatrics and Human Genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Bioengineering at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA. Together they wrote How to Succeed in Academics. Edward R.B. McCabe is coeditor, with Thomas P. Burris, of Nuclear Receptors and Genetic Disease (2001).

Foreword by Victor A. McKusick

Acknowledgments

1. DNA Sequence Does Not Equal Destiny

2. What Is Genomics?

3. Genetic Determinism

4. The Evolution and Deconstruction of Human-Centered Biology

5. Race and Ethnicity: Your History Is Written in Your Genes

6. Gender as a Spectrum, Not a Dichotomy

7. Genome-Based Forensics

8. When Genes Belong to Groups and Not Individuals

9. Genes as Commodities: Ownership of Genes by Business Interests

10. Protection against Genetic Discrimination: The New Civil Right

11. Reproductive Technologies: On the Road to Designer Babies?

12. Reproductive Cloning: From Farm Animals to Pets to Humans?

13. Therapeutic Cloning and Regenerative Medicine

14. Gene Therapy: Can the Promise Be Fulfilled?

15. Large Population Assessments: The Foundation for Genomic Medicine

16. Hidden Destiny: Unbounded by Your DNA

Bibliography

Illustration Credits

Index