Geneticists are gaining insights into how genes work. Biologists are unmasking the mysteries of how a tiny clump of cells develops into a fully formed human. Immunologists are deciphering the complexities of the body's defense systems. The research is yielding many potential benefits. Doctors can identify people at risk for genetic diseases and fashion strategies to save their lives.
Reproductive biologists can help infertile couples have children.
Researchers can engineer animals with organs that may be transplanted into humans. But as science speeds ahead, it often pushes the edges of society's readiness to cope with its consequences. Increasingly, research creates possibilities before the accompanying ethical, social and legal ramifications have been resolved. In a series of occasional articles, The Washington Post is exploring these issues. But scientists and ethicists immediately expressed concern that it might serve as a precedent for other gene modifications in healthy individuals.