Here's another exciting new book: Intervention: Confronting the Real Risks of Genetic Engineering and Life on a Biotech Planet by Denise Caruso. From the book description:
Intervention challenges two of the most sacred tenets of modern society, innovation and technology, from the perspective of the unique risks they present. Using genetic engineering and emerging biotechnologies as its model, it paints a vivid picture of the scientific uncertainties that biotech risk evaluations dismiss or ignore, and lays bare the power and money conflicts between academia, industry and regulators that have sped these risky innovations to the market. Intervention champions an alternative method for a more democratic assessment of the risks of technology, developed by the world's top risk experts, that can eliminate such conflicts. Even better, it can help renew the public's trust in science and government, and drive research and development toward safer, more useful products.
Steven Johnson writes about it at his blog:
Intervention takes as its primary case study the sorry state of real debate -- in the U.S. at least -- over the long-term implications of genetic engineering. As Denise writes, “We’re more than just ‘too far down the road’ with transgenic technologies. I’m not sure we even know what road we’re on; we’re driving too fast to read the signs.” But as crucial an issue as, say, genetically modified food is, Intervention is wrestling with an even more profound question: how we measure and anticipate risk with such complex, open-ended technologies.
Link: stevenberlinjohnson.com: Denise Caruso's Intervention.
Here's the web page for the book: Intervention. Denise Caruso runs the nonprofit Hybrid Vigor Institute and has a blog.
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