...rests on the support and cooperation of other people.’ Discuss. 17 Essay 2: ‘The characters in Gattaca are too caught up in private dreams and personal ambitions for genuine relationships to be possible.’ Discuss. Essay 3: “That’s how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back.” ‘Vincent defies and transcends his destiny and, in doing this, inspires others.’ Discuss. Essay 4: ‘Gattaca shows that categorising people into a hierarchy of castes, into ‘superior’ and ‘imperfect/inferior’, is both false and dangerous.’ How? Essay 5: ‘Gattaca shows that the rights of a person surpass the need for control within a society.’ Discuss. Essay 6: ‘Gattaca’s director, Andrew Niccol, said: “I would hate for anyone to look at my film and think it is advocating that you never tamper with genes, because there … will be many positive things to come out of this … science in terms of curing diseases”.‘ So what is Gattaca condemning? Essay 7: ‘Gattaca presents a world destroyed by the pursuit of perfection.’ Do you agree? Essay 8: ‘The society of Gattaca works to repress rather than to enhance the potential of human beings.’ Discuss. 22 27 31 36 40 45 50 Essay 9: “I belong to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the colour of your skin. No, we now have discrimination down to a science.” Does Gattaca show discrimination to be a science? 53 Essay 10: ‘Gattaca depicts a world that seems totally scientific and rational, yet passion still prevails.’ Discuss...
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...A Splash of Love in a Strange World Gattaca is the name of a space agency in the not-too-distant future, where the preparation for man's first journey to Saturn's moon, Titan, is in progress. Among the people vying to leave Earth and explore Titan is someone who goes by the name of Jerome Morrow. He is fully qualified for this job: he has the right genetic material that puts him a cut above all the rest in terms of mental and physical skills. The catch is that Jerome Morrow is really Vincent Freeman, an "in-valid" with defective genes, who has managed to infiltrate the elite space agency by faking his identity---right down to the nucleic acid level. Vincent routinely obtains blood, hair, and urine samples from the real Jerome Morrow (Jude Law) to pass identification and screening tests. The real Morrow is not able to realise his potential since he was crippled in an accident, and therefore needs Vincent as much as Vincent needs him. Throw in some sibling rivalry between Vincent and his "valid" brother, a murder sub-plot, and a love interest for Vincent, you end up with Gattaca. The story is essentially about how Vincent overcomes the programming in his in-valid genes and competes against the best in the "valid" world. The scientific premise, like in most science-fiction movies, combines a mix of truth and fiction. In the movie, the alleles from parents are so chosen that the combination produces the optimal arrangement in terms of the child's genotype. But we know enough...
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...Human Genetic Engineering Imagine being able to design your own baby before it is even born, or prevent your unborn child from a dreadful disease, or make your baby a genius or an athlete. Scientists could be opening Pandora’s Box with the potential development of human genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is the process by which genes are added or transferred to alter the genetic code of an organism (“What is Genetic Modification”). Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2006, genetic engineering has developed rapidly and it seems as though a new discovery or breakthrough is announced every day. Many of the discoveries as well as future prospects have presented numerous challenges and concerns, and continue to be an ethical debate. Human genetic engineering will lead to unfavorable consequences that defy nature, lead to less diversity, and threaten our safety. Scientists are messing with nature in the process of human genetic engineering. There is a delicate balance in nature that should not be tampered with because of the unforeseen effects it could cause. With advancements in genetic engineering and new technologies, scientists are racing to uncover some profound new discovery by experimenting with our genes in a Petri dish. Manipulations to our genes are unnatural and unpredictable. It was just announced this year that the first human ear was grown from animal cells on the back of a rat (Briggs). While this major breakthrough has enormous potential for...
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...THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY OTHER ECONOMIST BOOKS Guide to Analysing Companies Guide to Business Modelling Guide to Business Planning Guide to Economic Indicators Guide to the European Union Guide to Financial Markets Guide to Management Ideas Numbers Guide Style Guide Dictionary of Business Dictionary of Economics International Dictionary of Finance Brands and Branding Business Consulting Business Ethics Business Strategy China’s Stockmarket Globalisation Headhunters and How to Use Them Successful Mergers Wall Street Essential Director Essential Economics Essential Finance Essential Internet Essential Investment Essential Negotiation Pocket World in Figures THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY THE ECONOMIST IN ASSOCIATION WITH PROFILE BOOKS LTD Published by Profile Books Ltd 3a Exmouth House, Pine Street, London ec1r 0jh Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Ltd 2005 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. The greatest care has been taken in compiling this book. However, no responsibility can be accepted by the publishers or compilers for the accuracy of the information presented. Where opinion is expressed it is that of the author and does not necessarily...
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