Engineering the Human Germline: An exploration of the science and ethics of altering the genes we pass to our children

doi:10.1056/NEJM200011093431920

Volume 343:1425		November 9, 2000		Number 19

Engineering the Human Germline: An exploration of the science and ethics of altering the genes we pass to our children

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Edited by Gregory Stock and John Campbell. 169 pp. New York, Oxford University Press, 2000. $29.95. ISBN 0-19-513302-1.

Let's dispense with the suspense. This is a short, readable,thought-provoking book that discusses in nontechnical termsthe future of humankind in the age of genetic engineering andshould be read by anyone who wishes to participate in a publicdiscourse that will shape the future. The central topic is thetechnology of genetically altering germ-line cells. Alteringgerm-line cells, which produce ova and spermatozoa, is considerablydifferent from altering somatic cells. Germ-line changes willaffect every cell in the body and will be passed on to futuregenerations, whereas somatic-cell changes affect only specificcells within a given organ . . . [Full Text of this Article]