CornerScribe

Defense against Ancient Virus Opened Door to HIV

This is an interesting article on Digg. I have to wonder what effect genetic engineering will have on our species in the future. And what about modern medicine? Think about it. Many people survive today and produce children when they would have had no chance to even one hundred years ago. How will those changes to the gene pool affect humanity’s evolution.

I’m not against genetic engineering, or medicine, for that matter. I do think that considering how we’ve evolved so far, and how we’re able to affect our future evolution, is an intesting topic.

Which brings to mind a book I really enjoyed. Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake. I’m a fan of her work in general, particularly The Handmaid’s Tale. If you’re interested in speculative fiction that’s not fantasy, sci-fi or horror, then this may be for you. Both books are set in a fictional future. In Oryx and Crake’s case, the world is faced with the products of many genetic experiments, including super-bacteria and a bizarre new race of humans, engineered to avoid the pitfalls that have plagued humanity so far.

In the Handmaid’s Tale, we see a product of reduced fertility rates and ultra-fundamentalist Christianity, in which fertile women are made handmaids to produce children for the powerful. If you were ever scared of Jerry Falwell, this book will really give you the chills.

read more | digg story