The Selfish Gene by RIchard Dawkins. Chapter by Chapter Overview of the book.
Chapter 1 - Why are people?
Darwin made it possible for us to give a sensible answer to the curious child whose question heads this chapter. ['Why are people?'] We no longer have to resort to superstition when faced with the deep problems; Is there meaning to life? What are we for? What is Man?
The argument of this book is that we, and all other animals, are machines created by our genes.
This brings me to the first point I want to make about what this book is not. I am not advocating a morality based on evolution. I am saying how things have evolved. I am not saying how we humans morally ought to behave. ... If you wish to extract a moral from it, read it as a warning. Be warned that if you wish, as I do, to build a society in which individuals cooperate generously and unselfishly towards a common good, you can expect little help from biological nature. Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have a chance to upset their designs, something that no other species has ever aspired to do.
I shall argue that the fundamental unit of selection, and therefore of self-interest, is not the species, nor the group, nor even, strictly, the individual. It is the gene, the unit of heredity.
Chapter 2 - The replicators
Was there to be any end to the gradual improvement in the techniques and artifices used by the replicators to ensure their own continuation in the world? There would be plenty of time for their improvement. What weird engines of self-preservation would the millennia bring forth? Four thousand million years on,
More Biotechnology
essays:
The GMO Debate: Controversies Surrounding Recombinant Gene Technology and Attitudes of the British Public.
... moral objections aside, can be divided into two groups: Those threatening potential damage to human health and those threatening damage to the natural ...
Gene and Phineas in "A Seperate Peace" by John Knowle.
... tie through his clever social talent. Phineas once more is able to relieve himself of getting into trouble. This disappoints Gene: "He had gotten away with everything. I felt a sudden stab of disappointment. That was because I just wanted to ...
Curing CF by gene therapy
... enhance life for a person that would otherwise have no chance, gene therapy may be their only answer. We believe that all things natural happen for a reason. If gene therapy helps an individual to live, use it. Otherwise, just leave ...
Research into Human Cells Has Vast Implications. this essay discribes the effect stem cell research has on society.
... cell differentiation at specific stages of fetal development, something that moral and ethical considerations have largely prohibited in the past. In ... widely hailed as a pioneering event with vast potential for biological research. Many experts believe the cells, known as embryonic stem ...
Stem Cell- clearly describes the benefits of stem cell research to modern medical research and advancement- done for a high school Anatomy/Physiology class-5 pages
... research based on the use of cells that are a biological blank slate? The answer is very unclear. The process of harvesting the stem cells ... experts on philosophy, science and law to study ethical and moral questions regarding biotechnology research. The government last year earmarked $500 ...
POLYMER REACTIONS A DNA paper. Very Formal.
... expression vector. Also, antibodies can be used to screen clones from expression-vector cDNA libraries in order to identify unknown genes. Expression of Proteins in Eukaryotes: Since prokaryotes may still not be able to produce eukaryotic proteins (due to a glycosylation ...
Molecular Biotechnology in Our Life
... the answers for the problems mentioned above. In conclusion, if the 20th century was the century of physics, the 21st century should be the century of biology. Bibliography Works Cited Drlica, Karl. Understanding DNA and Gene Cloning ...
Analytical Argument - "Golden Rice" and genetically engineered food
... rice gram. In order to obtain the required intake of vitamin A, a child would need to eat approximately 4.8kg of cooked rice every day ... the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology created golden rice by splicing three foreign genes, one from a bacterium and two from the daffodil, into Japonica rice. ...