Test tube coup
Human beings have got the power of deities - but have they got the wisdom? Sue Shaw answers the crucial question.

John Moore's body
Pat Roy Mooney reports on the companies that are claiming copyright of life itself.

The end of Nature
Nature might become of a thing of the past if biotechnology gets its way. Is this really what we want? asks Judy Gahagan.

Gambling with genes
The 'cut and paste' world of genetic engineering. Cartoons by Jim Needle.

Evan's progress
Science fiction thriller by Paul McAuley.

BIOTECHNOLOGY - THE FACTS

The great miracle baby business
Celia Kitzinger reports on babies sold in kit form.

The shrinking pool
A biological holocaust is sweeping the Third World. Kunda Dixit describes the destruction.

Confessions of a botanist
Scientist Martha Crouch reveals why she blew the whistle on agribusiness.

Simply... The history of biotechnology

Improving the human race
A massive project is underway to map human genes. But has anyone got a compass? Jack Doyle considers.

ACTION - What you can do

But wait,' I said desperately interrupting the scientist who was explaining in mind-boggling detail the techniques by which scientists can alter an animal and its offspring forever, 'I don't want to do it. I just want to know whether NI should be for it or against it.'

There was a pause. 'I don't know', she said.

'You see,' I persisted, 'I have to decide.'

'Why?' she asked, 'Can't you just give your readers the facts and let them make up their own minds?'

That is certainly the route many writers have taken judging by the number of books with inquiring titles like: The Bio Revolution. Cornucopia or Pandora's Box?, Genetic Engineering - Catastrophe or Utopia?, Miracle or Menace? Biotechnology and the Third World.

If I had done the same, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble - and sleepless nights wrestling with the sort of issues that in the past we saved up for theologians and philosophers. Or which we didn't consider at all because they never arose.

But at NI we figure you get enough questions from other sources, and what you need from us is a few answers. You don't have to accept them of course: you only have to read our Letters page to see that many readers do take issue with the things we write. But at least we give you something to chew on, something with which to argue and extend the debate. So I ploughed on.

And in the end I did come up with some answers. What's more, it was heartening to discover the number of scientists who are also trying to tackle the political and ethical questions thrown up by biotechnology. Some aren't. But some are. And that is enormous cause for hope. My thanks especially to Dave King of The Genetics Forum for his advice and support in preparing this issue.

Just as the magazine started to come together, war broke out. The latter stages of producing this issue have been punctuated by television reports, demonstrations, peace-group meetings, anxiety, and more hair-raising news. As if to highlight the potential that science has to be abused, we have heard Saddam Hussein threaten to drop chemical and biological weapons, and seen high-flying Western aircraft devastating Iraq with bombs.

These terrible developments offered one more proof, had I needed it, of how urgently we have to address what is happening in biotechnology. Because developments in this field are threatening to run away with us. And unless we pull them back, they could plunge us all into deep trouble.

Letters
Letter from Tamil Nadu
Update
Endpiece by Jane Henriques
Reviews: including Simone Weil classic
Country profile: Bolivia

COVER PHOTO: James Marsh / Artbank
ONLINE MAG MAINTAINED BY SIMON LOFFLER