The same winter that saw controversy over the BBC documentary on Crispian Hollis’s sect, another claim was foisted on the world by another sect, who…
Let’s start with the worn chestnut of identity. Ethicist Robert Williamson has posited ‘that there is a personal right, ethically based, to individuality, autonomy, and…
But in assessing the fear that cloning will lead to eugenics, note that human mate choice is already eugenic. Lest you doubt, take an extreme…
Reproductive cloning seems unlikely to spread quickly, of course. Costly services serve mainly rich folks, after all — and rich folks are rare (plus, sex…
Yurt residents, Son-köl, Kyrgyzstan (image copyright Nathaniel Pearson) On the map, Son-köl is just a blue blot in the rugged contours of central Kyrgyzstan. But…
Schoolgirls at the tomb of Sa’di, Shiraz, Iran (image copyright Nathaniel Pearson) Just before it happens I’m on a gritty street, where the bazaar’s damp…
In fabled Samarkand I met my match. Don’t worry, nobody got hurt — it turns out we’re family. Let me explain. In 1996, Spencer Wells…
In moving from lab to field, human geneticists can, one hopes, seed important understanding among layfolk. But research-associated ethical questions become more urgent and complicated…
Rockface tombs, near Takht-e Jamshid (image copyright Nathaniel Pearson) The Eurasia ’98 sampling expedition collected about 120 DNA samples from residents of three major Iranian…