As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age
Authors: Cobb Matthew 
Published: November 2024

AS GODS: A Moral History of the Genetic Age by Matthew Cobb. New York: Basic Books, 2022. 442 pages. Hardcover; $35.00. ISBN: 9781541602854. *It can sometimes be difficult to tell where science fiction ends and science begins when discussing developments in genetic engineering. Consider genetic manipulation of human embryos leading to heritable genetic changes in children, gene-drive-based disruption of whole ecosystems, and the creation of positive mutations in dangerous human pathogens. These are all experiments that have already been conducted. The children are born. The gene drives have been released. More virulent strains of deadly pathogens have been created. *In the introduction to As Gods, Matthew Cobb explains: "My motivation in writing this book has been to explore my own fears about these three areas. Each of them worries me in different ways, but I recognize that many of my concerns are similar to those expressed by people faced with previous applications of genetic engineering, most of which turned out to be either exaggerated, or at least to be controllable by careful regulation and strict safety procedures" (p. 3). *As Gods recounts the major developments in the history of molecular biology, including the discovery of molecular tools (restriction enzymes, reverse transcriptase, etc.), the first recombination of bacterial and viral DNA, and the Asilomar Conference held to discuss the safety of recombinant DNA technologies. *Much of the first eleven chapters of the book covers the history of genetic engineering from the 1960s through the Covid pandemic. Attention is given in these chapters to the patenting and privatization of genetic products, the development of genetically modified foods, and attempts at gene therapy. In the second half of the book, Cobb dedicates space to the three concerns introduced at the start of this review. He offers two chapters (12 and 13) to the "botched experiment that mutated three healthy embryos" (p. 2) conducted by Dr. He Jiankui and one chapter each to the topics of "Ecocide" (chap. 14) via gene drives and "Weapons" (chap. 15) that result from mutating pathogens. *Throughout the book, Cobb recounts this history with a combination of keen historical investigation, personal narrative, and social commentary. Cobb has written other books of history (Eleven Days in August and The Resistance: The French Fight Against the Nazis) and other books on the history of science (The Idea of the Brain: A History and The Egg and Sperm Race: The Seventeenth-Century Scientists Who Unravelled the Secrets of Sex, Life and Growth). He is a skilled storyteller who has rigorously pursued the primary sources in order craft a narrative with characters, tension, and resolution. *But Cobb was himself present for some of these meetings and conferences. Entering the discipline in the late 1970s, he has been part of the community making these moral decisions and conducting the experiments. His own biological research involves a genetic investigation of the sense of smell in fruit flies. When he describes historical events to which he was not a personal witness, he often supplements the printed record with interviews of firsthand participants. *Throughout the book, Cobb continuously contextualizes the history he narrates within the broader culture that was shaping it. For example, in chapter 5, Cobb describes how popular culture directly affected the practice of science. Harvard was considering plans to build a new genetic engineering lab. He writes, "At the end of May 1976, there was a university-wide meeting to discuss the plans. This was attended by a Cambridge councilor, Barbara Ackermann, who just happened to have watched The Andromeda Strain on television the night before. The Andromeda Strain film she watched was based on the 1969 book by Michael Crichton that depicts a deadly outbreak of a novel pathogen. Alarmed by what she heard at Harvard, Ackermann raised the issue with fellow councilors (p. 92)." The resulting delays to the building plans were so extensive that "by the time the building work was completed [the scientists were] able to do the experiments in ordinary laboratory space" (p. 97). *The author is not a passive narrator of the story. He has a clear perspective and is unafraid to share it. For example, in chapter 13, "Aftermath," when discussing people who support human embryo modification, Cobb writes, "There is one gang of fantasists who mix cryptocurrency funding and transhumanist nonsense in a toxic, nauseating nightmare, claiming that they will use CRISPR germline editing to produce babies who will live to be 'super-centenarians' (p. 274). *Throughout the book, Cobb's genuine concerns about advancements in genetic engineering are rooted in the same fear that has stalked the discipline since its inception: safety. Four times in this discipline, scientists have voluntarily paused their work and embraced a moratorium in order to develop means to conduct the research safely. *While the subtitle of the text describes the book as a "moral history," it offers more of a history of insufficient moral consideration regarding important moments in molecular biology. The field has been willing to consider how to progress safely, but there has been surprisingly little consideration of what experiments should not be done. As a book of history, it is not Cobb's responsibility to offer his readers a robust moral framework for evaluating advances in gene editing. Instead, the history he recounts illuminates the need for such a framework. *The striking title of the book comes from an essay by Steward Brand who said, "We are as gods and might as well get good at it" (p. 338). Cobb agrees, and adds, "In genetic terms at least, being a god is relatively straightforward these days; getting good at it is another matter" (p. 338). In recounting the moral history of this field, Cobb encourages us, the next generation of scientists taking up the discipline, to remember to consider why we do our experiments, not just how they are done. In the closing chapter, he implores us to remember that in genetic engineering, "we have a choice whether to employ it or not, whether to permit its development or not. Just because we can do something does not mean that we should [emphasis original]" (p. 362). *Reviewed by Clayton Carlson, Professor of Biology and Chair of the Natural Sciences, Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL 60463.