Challenging Nature
Biotechnology and Spirituality Clash at the New Frontiers of Life
Molecular biologist Lee Silver explores the widespread public concern that biotechnology somehow affronts nature.
7:00p Monday 13 Nov 2006, Oregon State University
Lee Silver
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Lee Silver is a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in Princeton, New Jersey. His research focuses on social, political and ethical issues raised by human stem cell research, cloning, assisted reproductive technologies, genetic testing, genetic selection, and genetic engineering.
In his Food for Thought lecture, Lee makes his case that left-leaning, new age devotees of nature have an allegiance of sorts with Christians of the religious right. Both groups reject – without exception – the use of human embryos in medical therapies or the genetic engineering of plants and animals. Both groups fail to realize that people have been intervening in natural reproductive processes for millennia (most every domesticated plant and animal has been genetically modified).
Books by Lee
Challenging Nature: The Clash Between Biotechnology and Spirituality
Remaking Eden: How Genetic Engineering and Cloning Will Transform the American Family
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