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From Genetics to Genomics and Beyond

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Genetics and Ethics in Global Perspective

Part of the book series: International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine ((LIME,volume 17))

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Abstract

This chapter discusses a cluster of changes and other issues in the transition from genetics to “genomics” and “proteonomics.” When the first survey was completed in 1985, direct DNA testing was in an experimental stage. Older interactions between genetics and society are in the process of rapid change, especially in affluent nations. At its start and finish (1990–2001), the Human Genome Project (HGP) evoked competing metaphors to convey its impact on society. Alongside praise for the HGP, misplaced hopes, misunderstanding, and mistrust obstruct integration of genetic discoveries into mainstream medicine. If physicians are to use these discoveries in practice, traditional medical ethics needs to refit its “ship of morality” (Benjamin, 2003, 112) for more turbulent seas. Would a code of ethics help the world's geneticists earn more public trust? Or is there a more practical way?

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Massachusetts Medical School and Shriver Center, Waltham, MA, USA

    Dorothy C. Wertz (Research Professor of Psychiatry)

  2. University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    John C. Fletcher (Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Ethics and Internal Medicine)

Authors
  1. Dorothy C. Wertz
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  2. John C. Fletcher
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© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Wertz, D.C., Fletcher, J.C. (2004). From Genetics to Genomics and Beyond. In: Genetics and Ethics in Global Perspective. International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0981-2_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0981-2_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-2880-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-0981-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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