BBC Knowledge - August 2015

I dette nummeret

I am just going to say it outright. I love dinosaurs,
but I am not sure if I want to see them come back
to life. I am the thrill loving kinds; I really am, but
I am also a supporter of ethical science practices
and research. So give me a good discussion and an
argument first. I am sure most would agree that
nature’s selection and evolution process is way
more wise and intensive than the genius of man.
And the decision to bring back that, which has
become extinct, or to create life artificially, should
not be an easy one to make.
Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should; these oft-said words (also a line
in the just-released Jurassic World) symbolise a philosophical and an ethical
dilemma. And like all such dilemmas, this too does not have a clear-cut
answer. As ethics go, absolute rights or wrongs are confirmed only when
mass behaviour patterns get accepted as social norm. Centuries ago, certain
crimes were not considered as sin as they are considered now. Dolly the sheep;
the world’s first cloned mammal (1996), caused a huge social uproar. It was
outrageous, wrong and unnatural, they said. Twenty years down the line,
cloning still remains a highly contentious and controversial issue but research
has already made huge strides in the field of genetic sciences.
Genetically modified foods in some form or the other are consumed all
over the world. There is still data and sentiment that opposes GM products
but there is more acceptances now than there was before. My point is, this is
social behaviour and social mandate, with its tugs and pushes. And slowly as
time passes, societies and communities give a verdict whether they
accept something or not. Maybe one day, soon in the near future,
genetically modifying DNA to create a newer specimen won’t remain as
big an ethical dilemma.

Happy reading this month’s edition.