ThoughtGallery.org > Scientific Controversies No. 10: Genetic Manipulation

Scientific Controversies No. 10: Genetic Manipulation

Genes have exploited organisms as vehicles for their own survival since the emergence of life. The creature dies but the genes themselves survive, immortal in replication. The gene is nearly perfectly duplicated with the notable rare random mutation occasionally amplified by natural selection, slowly over generations. With recent scientific advances, we’re able to intentionally modify genes in the span of a few hours. No longer hapless carriers at the genome’s mercy, we could control which genes survive. We can eliminate diseases in a stroke, design babies, or even design a stronger smarter species, but at what cost to the future of humanity?

Director of Sciences Janna Levin invites renowned geneticist George Church of Harvard and physician/biologist Siddhartha Mukherjee, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, to discuss the stunning implications and potential disasters of a brave new genetically modified world.

Host:

Janna Levin
Astrophysicist, Barnard/Columbia; Director of Sciences at Pioneer Works; author of Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space.

With guests:

George Church is the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and MIT, and author of Regenesis, How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves.  http://arep.med.harvard.edu/gmc/

Siddhartha Mukherjee is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and staff physician at Columbia University Medical Center, and Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, and most recently The Gene: An Intimate History. http://siddharthamukherjee.com











When: Thu., Mar. 9, 2017 at 8:00 pm
Where: Pioneer Works
159 Pioneer St., Red Hook, Brooklyn
718-596-3001
Price: Free with RSVP
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Genes have exploited organisms as vehicles for their own survival since the emergence of life. The creature dies but the genes themselves survive, immortal in replication. The gene is nearly perfectly duplicated with the notable rare random mutation occasionally amplified by natural selection, slowly over generations. With recent scientific advances, we’re able to intentionally modify genes in the span of a few hours. No longer hapless carriers at the genome’s mercy, we could control which genes survive. We can eliminate diseases in a stroke, design babies, or even design a stronger smarter species, but at what cost to the future of humanity?

Director of Sciences Janna Levin invites renowned geneticist George Church of Harvard and physician/biologist Siddhartha Mukherjee, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, to discuss the stunning implications and potential disasters of a brave new genetically modified world.

Host:

Janna Levin
Astrophysicist, Barnard/Columbia; Director of Sciences at Pioneer Works; author of Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space.

With guests:

George Church is the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and MIT, and author of Regenesis, How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves.  http://arep.med.harvard.edu/gmc/

Siddhartha Mukherjee is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and staff physician at Columbia University Medical Center, and Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, and most recently The Gene: An Intimate History. http://siddharthamukherjee.com

Buy tickets/get more info now