Arts & Culture

Art and culture can have a profound influence in shaping public opinion and policy decisions about biotechnologies. From Aldous Huxley’s classic 1932 novel Brave New World to films like GATTACA and TV shows like Orphan Black, popular culture profoundly influences how we understand the potential impacts of emerging biotechnologies. Scholars have even created terms like the “CSI effect,” which refers to how crime show story lines make the public overly confident about the accuracy of DNA as a forensic tool. In general, works of art and pop culture can provide important insights into the risk that unreflectively embracing new technologies can exacerbate existing inequalities.

Gattaca at 20: Looking Back, Looking Ahead…

By Katie Hasson | 04.02.2018

Biopolitical Times

Twenty years after its release, the film Gattaca remains an enduring touchstone for discussions of human genetic technologies. Starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law, Gattaca presents a dystopian vision of the “not-too-distant future,” in which society is divided into genetic “haves” and “have-nots.” The “Valids,” conceived through IVF and selected for supposedly “superior” genetic profiles, monopolize high status careers and positions in society; the “In-Valids,” conceived without technology, are discriminated against and excluded, presumed to be “inferior” because...

Human Genetic Modification

You Love Dogs? Then Don’t Clone Them

By Jessica Pierce, New York Times | 03.06.2018

Aggregated News

Why, people want to know, did Barbra Streisand decide to clone Samantha, her coton de tulear? What would compel someone to spend $50,000 or more to create a genetic replica of a pet dog?

In the recent buzz over pet...

Animal Biotechnologies