The Age of Biological Control by the Scientists who Cloned Dolly the Sheep.
'The Second Creation' is the most important science book of our generation, for the issues it raises will affect us all.
When Dolly was cloned from the cell of an adult sheep in 1996 by the team led by Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, it was a pivotal moment in history. For the first time, scientists were in full colour of what they were creating and the technique they had devised could be applicable to other mammals, thus bringing the possibility of human cloning that much closer.
But the true power of cloning will be realised only when it is combined with the growing science of genomics and genetic engineering. With the three technologies in harness, we will truly enter the age of "designer animals" - animals created to a specification, to meet whatever criteria the designer requires, giving us absolute control over living systems.
Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell describe how they make the revolutionary discoveries that have opened up such vast new areas of science. With award-winning science writer Colin Tudge, they discuss the intricacies of cloning as only they are in a position to do. The authors ask what it is right to do, and how humans can stay in control of their own God-like power once the awesome possibilities become a reality.
