But this new world of genetic science is proving a crowded one. Researchers and entrepreneurs, engaged in a high-stakes race, are pushing and shoving to conquer the new frontier. It's as if, three years after Columbus discovered America, the land already ran thick with explorers, homesteaders, and Gold Rush entrepreneurs all looking to stake their claim. Amid the elbowing and jostling, some researchers worry that the technology of genetic discovery has far outrun the public's ability to deal with the thicket of ethical issues it will create. The current debate over human genome ownership is troubling enough.
Many more dilemmas lie ahead.
The genome project is going to be the microcosm of these larger issues. Mapping the human genome stands at the center of a medical revolution. They'll be able to know specifically which genes are affected by a particular drug long before the drug gets tested on people. They'll have new ways of looking at sickness. And instead of prescribing drugs, they may one day insert genes to solve a problem.