X-Message-Number: 15586 From: "Mark Plus" <> Subject: "Destiny is in our grasp, say scientists " Date: Thu, 08 Feb 2001 17:36:43 -0800 From: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-81232,00.html FRIDAY FEBRUARY 09 2001 Destiny is in our grasp, say scientists FROM MARK HENDERSON, SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT MANKIND will have the ability to control and alter its evolutionary destiny within 30 years using secrets unlocked by the mapping of the human genetic code, one of the architects of the Human Genome Project said yesterday. Rapid advances in the understanding of human DNA will allow the development of drugs that use personal genetic fingerprints to target disease, therapies to repair defective genes and, ultimately, the manipulation of man s genetic future, according to Francis Collins, director of the National Genome Research Institute in the United States. By 2010, scientists will have developed accurate tests for a dozen common genetic illnesses, and preventive treatments to match, he predicted. By 2020, doctors will be able to alter the genes passed on to children, leading to the first genetically engineered human beings. By 2030, genetic medicine will mean most Britons will live to the age of 90. However, Dr Collins cautioned against relying too much on genetic manipulation. The human genome will not help us to undertand the spiritual side of humankind, or to know who God is or what love is, he said at the Biovision world life sciences forum in Lyons. The well-heeled couple who decide they want to use genetics to have a child that is a gifted musician may end up with a sullen adolescent who smokes marijuana and doesn t talk to them. But he said that advances in screening technology, genetic engineering and new therapies to repair defective genes will allow medical researchers to eradicate DNA variations that cause fatal diseases such as Huntington s chorea, a neurological condition, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a wasting disease. It will be possible for mankind to set its own evolutionary path and build a fitter species, Dr Collins said. I wouldn t be surprised if in another 30 years . . . that some people will begin to argue, as Stephen Hawking already is, that we ought to take charge of our own evolution and should not be satisfied with our current biological status and should as a species try to improve ourselves, Dr Collins said. Copyright 2001 Times Newspapers Ltd. This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard terms and conditions. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material from The Times, visit the Syndication website. British News February 09, 2001 _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=15586