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Authors: Michael Specter

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The scientific roots of synthetic biology are explored in Philip J. Pauly’s book
Controlling Life: Jacques Loeb and the Engineering Ideal in Biology
(Oxford University Press, 1987). It’s expensive and hard to find; but it is out there. I would also recommend Michael Rogers’s book about the early days of recombinant DNA technology,
Biohazard
(Knopf, 1979). That, too, is difficult to find. For anyone inclined to wonder why Eckard Wimmer created a synthetic polio virus, I suggest reading his 2006 article on the implications of the research, published in the
Journal of the European Molecular Biology Organization
, “The Test-Tube Synthesis of a Chemical Called Poliovirus
.
” A free, full-text version of the article can be found at
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=16819446
.

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———.
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———.
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Controlling Life: Jacques Loeb and the Engineering Ideal in Biology.
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———.
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INDEX

abortion

abstinence

ACT UP

acupuncture

Adamchak, Raoul

Aetiology

Africa:

arable land in

declining food production in

desertification in

drug resistance in

fears and denialism in

and HIV/AIDS

hunger in

malaria in

population growth in

poverty in

African Americans:

and disease.

See also
race

Age of Autism

ageism

Aggrastat

agriculture.
See
organic foods

AIDS activism

AIDS deniers

AIDS epidemic

AIDS virus

albuterol

Aleve (naproxen)

alternative medicines

and antioxidents

and Briggs

CAM

dangers of

deregulation of

and food additives

and food labeling

and health care

and HIV/AIDS

homeopathy

and nutrition

and placebo effect

and snake oil

and supplements

and Weil

Alzheimer’s disease

amalgam protestors

American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Medical Association (AMA)

American Museum of Natural History, New York

American Neurological Association,
Eugenical Sterilization

Ames, Bruce N.

amorphadiene

Amyris Biotechnologies

anthrax attacks (2002)

antibiotics

antioxidents

APOE protein

Apollo 13 mission

APP (amyloid precursor protein)

APPROVe study

Armstrong, Neil

artemisinin

arthritis, and Vioxx

ashwagandha

Asilomar Conference, California (1975)

aspirin

asthma:

and genetics

in Hispanics

AstraZeneca

atomic bomb

Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine

authority, questioning

autism:

advocacy groups on

anecdotal evidence on

blame sought in cases of

definitions of

developmental disorders in

and fear

genetic research on

litigation-driven hypotheses on

research funding on

rise in cases of

and special education

and state aid

symptoms similar to mercury poisoning

and vaccines

avian influenza

ayurvedic medicine

Bacon, Francis

Baltimore, David

BASF, and canola

Benedetti, Fabrizio

Berg, Paul

Bextra

Big Oil

Big Pharma

Big Tobacco

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

BioBricks

biochemistry

Biodesic

biofuels

biotech games

biotechnology:

birth of

and organic food

risks of

and world hunger

bioterrorism

bird flu

birth control pills, deaths from

Blair, Cherie

Blair, Tony

Blake, William

Blue Heron

Borlaug, Norman

Borloo, Jean-Louis

Briggs, Josephine

Bromley. Allan

Brownell, Kelly

Bt

Bügel, Susanne

Burchard, Esteban González

Burton, Dan

Bush, George W.

Butler, Samuel, “Darwin Among the Machines,”

CAM,
see
alternative medicines

Campbell, Kent

Canada, vaccinations in

cancer:

cell manipulation

and HPV vaccine

and measles

risk of

canola

Caplan, Arthur

Carlson, Rob

Biology Is Technology

Carlson Curve

Carnegie Foundation

Carrey, Jim

Carroll, Lewis

Caruso, Denise,
Intervention

cassava

Ceci, Stephen

Celebrex

Celera Genomics

censorship

Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)

Centers for Disease Control, and polio vaccines

cervical cancer

Challenger

Charles, Prince of Wales

Chernobyl disaster

Chesterton, G. K.,
Eugenics and Other Evils

children, synthetic

China:

cotton industry in

environmental issues in

isolationism of

rice in

rising income in

tea in

chloroquine

cholera

cholesterol

chondroitin

Church, George

civilizations, emergence of

Clark, William (explorer)

Clark, William C. (professor)

Clarke, Arthur C.

Clean Water Act

Cleveland Clinic

Clinton, Bill

Clinton, Hillary

Club of Rome,
The Limits to Growth

Coca-Cola Company

Collins, Francis S.

Colten Snyder v. HHS

common ancestor

complementary and alternative medicine (CAM),
see
alternative medicines

Complete Genomics

Condit, Celeste

conspiracy:

assumptions of

confusion among theorists of

Continental Army, vaccination of

cordyceps

corporate greed

cowpox

cox-2 inhibitors (coxibs)-

Creation Museum

Crick, Francis

Crohn’s disease

crystal meth

Cuba, agriculture in

Cuyahoga River, afire

cyclooxygenase-2

DALYs (disability-adjusted life years)

Darwin, Charles

deCODE genetics

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

denialism:

arguments used in

and conspiracy theories

distortion of facts in

forms of

and loss of control

use of term

DES (diethylstilbestrol)

diphtheria

disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)

disease,
see
illness

disposable biological systems, creation of

DNA:

capacity of tools for study of

comparisons of

components of

cost of processing

decoding sequences of

do-i t-yourself research on

and genome studies

Internet sales of

open-source biology of

personal analysis of

and polio virus research

recombinant technology

resurrecting

self-re plicating

structure of

synthetic

Dole, Bob

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor

Drazen, Jeffrey

drosophila

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

drug metabolizing enzymes

drug resistance

Duesberg, Peter

DuPont Corporation

Dyson, Freeman

echinacea

education

Ehrlich, Paul,
The Population Bomb

Einstein, Albert

eleuthero (Siberian ginseng)

Elizabeth I, queen of England

Emanuel, Ezekiel

encephalopathy

Endy, Drew

energy, new sources of

energy drinks

Enlightenment

Enriquez, Juan

environmental issues:

and agriculture

and genetics

pollution

solutions to

ephedra

ETC Group

eugenics

Every Child by Two

evolution

common ancestor in

and genetic modification

and human genome

intelligent design as alternative to

of machines

manipulation of

natural selection

rejection of the idea of

and survival

theory of

extinct animals, bringing back to life

falciparum parasite

Falk, Gary W.

Fallon, Sally

family planning

Fauci, Anthony S.-

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Federoff, Nina

Feinberg, Harvey

Feynman, Richard

Finland, vaccinations in

Fisher, Barbara Loe

flu virus (1918), reconstruction of

flying, fear of

folic acid

food,
see
genetically modified food; organic foods

food additives

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN

Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

and AIDS drug protests

bureaucracy of

drugs approved by

and ephedra

formation of

and public trust

and raw food

and safety issues

and vaccines

and Vioxx

food labels

Foo Fighters

Ford Motor Company, and Pinto

Frankel, Rob

“frankenfoods,”

Franklin, Benjamin

Franklin, James

free radicals

Fresco, Louise

Friends of the Earth

fuel:

biofuels

hydrocarbons burned for

GALA (Genetics of Asthma in Latino Americans)

Galanis, Evanthia

Galileo Galilei

Galton, Francis

Gardner, Steve

Gattaca
(film)

Geier, David

Geier, Mark

General Mills

Generation Rescue

genes:

construction of

evolution of

manipulation of

mutations in

unpredictability of

genetically encoded memory systems

genetically modified food-

for Africa

canola

cassava

environmental effects of

fears of

golden rice

opponents of

safety of

and seeds

unintended consequences of

vs. nature’s dangers

Genetically Modified Science Review Panel, UK

genetic code, nonlinear

genetic engineering

genetics:

and disease -

and environment

and eugenics

and human genome

and intelligence

pharmacogenetics

and race

recent developments in

Genetics of Asthma in Latino Americans (GALA)

genocide

genome:

data carried on one’s cell phone

sequencing of

study of

synthetic creation of

genomics:

abuse of

author’s tests in

industry-

medical applications of

Personal Genome Project

and SNPs

transgenic organisms created in

George I, king of England, children vaccinated

Gilbert, Walter

Gilmartin, Ray

global warming

Glofish

glutamine

Gluud, Christian

Godard, Jean-Luc

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von

golden rice

Gonzalez, Nicholas

Google

Gordon, Jay

Gorski, David

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Graham, David

Green Our Vaccines

Greenpeace

Green Revolution

Griffith, Saul

Gulcher, Jeff

Haley, Boyd

Hamill, Dorothy

Handley, J. B.

Harkin, Tom

harm, quantification of

Harvard Medical School, ethical questions in

Hatch, Orrin

Healing Every Autistic Life

Healy, Bernadine

Heidmann, Thierry

Helicobacter pylori

helmets, use of

hemochromatosis

herd immunity

heredity

Hib influenza (
Haemophilus influenzae
type B)

Hispanics:

asthma in

and disease

Holocaust deniers

Homa, David

homeopathy

homeschooling

hope

HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine

Huffington Post

Human Genome Project

Hunter, David J.

Hutchison, Clyde

hydrocarbons

I Am Legend
(film)

ibuprofen

Iceland, race and genetics study in

iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine)

illness:

avoiding altogether

creating new

fears of

and genetics -

and herd immunity

as judgment by God

old diseases returning

prevention of

risks of

vaccines vs.,
see
vaccinations

Immunization Safety Review Committee:

establishment of

Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism
report of

members of

public reactions against

India:

changing demographics in

environmental issues in

food supply in

golden rice in

Individuals with Disabilities Act

influenza

Institute for Genomic Research

Institute for OneWorld Health

Institute of Medicine (IOM):

on drug promotions

and public trust

and vaccine safety

Vioxx studies by

insulin

intellectual property, sharing of

intelligence, and race

intelligent design

International Center for Research in Organic Food Systems, Denmark

International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM)

Internet:

ordering DNA via

rapid communication via

inventions

iridology

Iskander, John

isoprenoids

Israelsen, Loren D.

Jacobs, Joseph

Japan, weapons of

Jefferson, Thomas

Jenner, Edward

Jetsons, The
(TV)

Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI)

Jones, Steve

Journal of the American Medical Association

Joy, Bill

Judicial Watch

Kaczynski, Ted (Unabomber)

Kartzinel, Jerry

Keasling, Jay

Kellogg Company

Kennedy, Robert F. Jr.

Kevles, Daniel J.,
In the Name of Eugenics

King, Larry

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