Public attitudes towards human genetics research: endorsement, indifference or opposition (1)

Research in human genetics presents major ethical and moral issues as well as scientific and technological challenges. The potential contributions of genetics research to the alleviation of human suffering are virtually unlimited. It offers opportunities to help shift medicine from the biomedical model of "diagnosis and treatment" of disease to the ecological model of "prevention and early intervention" of disease. Genetics research promises to yield approaches to medical diagnosis and therapy that are truly "primary" technologies, rather than the "half-way" technologies that comprise much of the medicine practiced today. At a fundamental level, genetics research is a search for new knowledge. It is at this level that many of the ethical and moral issues arise. These issues are best addressed by an informed public willing to approach them honestly and dispassionately. Creation of an informed and objective public demands a productive and ongoing dialogue between science and society. Establishment of such a dialogue requires a major commitment of scientists, especially those engaged in genetics research.