Altered Genes

Although cloned sheep, headless frog embryos and blue roses sound like they come from the realms of science fiction, they are becoming reality as biological frontiers worldwide are redrawn by genetic engineering. Many fear that the darker side to this technology threatens to disrupt evolution, to usher in new and insidious forms of social control, to impose new monopolies over control of food and provoke new ethical, social and ecological issues. This volume offers to show the reader what is occurring in the often bizarre and fascinating worlds of genetic engineering, bioengineering, gene-altering, gene-splicing and more. The assessment of genetic engineering in Australia and New Zealand also addresses the values and ethics of the "Age of the Gene" - the issues and problems of biotechnological change and its social context. Contributors also provide an account of the new bio-future now being planned in laboratories, boardrooms and government departments across the nation.