I always enjoy the perspective of David Wood, and in this session of the London Futurists there is a panel discussion about genetic engineering in the future.

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Our DNA is becoming as readable, writable, and hackable as our information technology. The resulting genetic revolution is poised to transform our healthcare, our choices for the characteristics of the next generation, and our evolution as a species. The future could bring breathtaking advances in human well-being, but it could also descend into a dangerous genetic arms race.

These claims are made in the recent book “Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity”, https://hackingdarwin.com/ by Technology Futurist Jamie Metzl, https://jamiemetzl.com/

Jamie’s view is that society isn’t at all ready for the fast-approaching future of widespread genetic hacking.

Here is some feedback for his book:

*) “An outstanding guide to the most important conversation of our lives” — Ray Kurzweil
*) “A gifted and thoughtful writer, Metzl brings us to the frontiers of biology and technology, and reveals a world full of promise and peril.” — Siddhartha Mukherjee MD

This 90 minute live London Futurists webinar also featured, in addition to Jamie Metzl, two other distinguished panellists:

*) Nessa Carey, http://www.nessacarey.co.uk/ is a virologist, researcher, and Visiting Professor in Molecular Biology at Imperial College London. Nessa is the author of “The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease and Inheritance”, “Junk DNA: A Journey Through the Dark Matter of the Genome”, and, most recently, “Hacking the Code of Life: How gene editing will rewrite our futures”, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hacking-Code-Life-editing-rewrite/dp/1785784978/