Who's Advising the Government on Human Genetics?
By Alice Maynard,
BioNews
| 06. 29. 2015
Untitled Document
I served on the Human Genetics Commission (HGC) as a lay member from 2006 to 2012, and found exploring new developments in this area fascinating. On one hand, excitement - the push to a future of opportunity; on the other, uncertainty - the risk to a society we know and trust. I am forever grateful to the HGC for helping me understand my visceral response to some new developments - the 'yuck factor', as it has been so picturesquely called - getting past that to recognise the real opportunities and risks that such developments created.
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