Before Watson and Crick, before gene mapping, human life was ephemeral, spiritual, mysterious. Trying to understand how in the world we grew from an egg and a sperm to a functioning, emotional human being was beyond our imagination, residing somewhere in the realm of religion and spirituality. But now we possess the key to the innate code and are in the thick of deciphering it. It has been hammered into us that genes are the fundamental basis of our humanness. Somewhere hidden in our DNA code lies the cause of every disease, physical trait, smile, and potential heartache we possess or may possess.
Science explains all.
To get an indication of what other people are thinking about the role of science in society, I constructed a questionnaire with 18 questions, which I then distributed to assorted friends and relatives outside the scientific arena. What I found was truly interesting. All those questioned thought that important scientific breakthroughs are relatively commonplace today. All had recently read a scientific article in the newspaper and could name it. Most also acknowledged feeling nervous about the future because of topics like gene therapy, cloning, and genetic testing prior to birth.