The Gene Industry
Major companies are already in pursuit of commercial application of the new biology. They dream of placing enzymes in the automobile to monitor exhausted and send data on pollution to a microprocessor that will then adjust the engine. They speak of what the New York Times calls “metal-hungry microbes that might be used to mine valuable trace metals from ocean water”. They have already demanded and won the right to patent new lifeforms.
Nervous critics, including many scientists, worry that there is corporate, national, international, and inter-scientific rivalry in the entire biotechnological field. They create images not of oil spills, but of “microbe spills” that could spread disease and destroy entire populations. The creation and accidental release of extremely poisonous microbe, however, is only one cause for alarm. Completely rational and respectable scientists are talking about possibilities that stagger the the imagination.
Should we breed people with cow-like stomachs so they can digest grass and hay, thereby relieving the food problem by modifying us to eat lower down on the food chain? Should we biologically alter workers to fit the job requirement, for example, creation pilots with faster reaction times or assembly-line workers designed to do our monotonous work for us? Should we attempt to eliminate “inferior” people and rear a “super-race”? (Hitler tried this, but without the genetic weaponry that may soon issue from our laboratories.) Should we produce soldiers to do our fighting? Should we use genetic forecasting to pre-eliminate “unfit” babies? Should we grow reserve organs for ourselves, each of us having, as it were, a “savings bank” full of spare kidneys, livers, or hands?
Wild as these notions may sound, every one has its advocates (and opposers) in the scientific community as well as its striking commercial application. As two critics of genetic engineering, Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard, state in their book Who should Play God?, “Broad scale genetic engineering will probably be introduced to America much the same way as assembly lines, automobiles, vaccines, computers and all the other technologies. As each new genetic advance becomes commercially practical, a new consumer demand will be exploited and market for the new technology will be created.”
41. According to the passage, the exhaust from a car engineer could probably be checked by _____.
A. using metal-hungry microbes.
B. making use of enzymes.
C. adjusting the engine.
D. patenting new lifeforms.
42. According to the passage, which of the following would worry the critics the most?
A. The unanticipated explosion of the population.
B. The creation of biological solar cells.
C. The accidental spill of oil.
D. The unexpected release of destructive on microbes
43. Which of the following notions is NOT mentioned?
A. Developing a “savings bank” of one's organs.
B. Breeding soldiers for a war.
C. Producing people with cow-like stomachs.
D. Using genetic forecasting to cure disease.
44. According to the passage, Hitler attempted to _____.
A. change the pilots biologically to win the war.
B. develop genetic farming for food supply.
C. kill the people he though of as inferior.
D. encourage the development of genetic weapons for the war.
45. What does Jeremy Gifkin and Ted Howard's statement imply?
A. The commercial applications of genetic engineering are inevitable.
B. America will depend on other countries for biological progress.
C. Americans are proud of their computers, automobiles and genetic technologies.
D. The potential application of each new genetic advance should be controlled