Making people

摘要

Stem cells, cloning, regeneration and life extension are frequently in the news. When they are, the media often resort to sensationalist cliches - invoking Frankenstein to conjure up a stereotypical mad scientist 'playing God' by creating out-of-con-trol monsters. Whereas the creation of non-human artificial life, such as Craig Venter's engineered microbes, gets a mixed press, the making of humans is invariably controversial. Clearly, human life has a special moral status. In Unnatural, science writer Philip Ball explores the history of our fascination with -and fear of- creating artificial people, from ancient folklore to today. Tracing a clear path from medieval alchemists' homunculi to routine assisted conception is a feat. Through his impeccable research, Ball successfully argues that the tenacious myths of the past that surround the making of people or 'anthropoeia' (his coinage) affect life-science research today.