Playing God?

"Playing God" and bioethics.

Playing God? Owning God?--Patenting and the human genome.

It is just over 50 years since James Watson and Francis Crick published the news of their discovery of the structure of DNA1 – the molecule that encodes the genetic information present in all living organisms. Their letter, published on 25 April 1953, signified the beginning of the modern age of biology.2 In 2001, as a result of the activities of public and private sector bodies working on the ...

Playing God: Mary must die so Jodie may live longer.

In 2000, conjoined twins were born in England. What made this case unique was the fact that if the twins remained unseparated, medical opinion held they would die; if they were separated one twin would live, and one twin would die; the parents refused to consent to separation; and the hospital charged with their care brought the matter to court. The trial court and court of appeal approved of t...

‘Are You Playing God?’: Synthetic Biology and the Chemical Ambition to Create Artificial Life

Throughout history chemists have faced the accusation of ‘playing God’ or similar devilish associations, overshadowing all moral judgments of chemistry. The paper provides an ethical analysis of the accusation with focus on Craig Venter’s 2010 announcement of having produced the ‘first selfreplicating cell’. Against the deeper historical background of the ambitious projects that came to be know...

Public Perceptions of Genetically Engineered Foods: Playing God or Trusting Science