Next - Michael Crichton
Crichton's new novel is a haphazard look at the wonders, possibilities, and abuses of genetic engineering. Unlike his previous heavy-handed book on the environment, this book is light and humorous. Throughout the story, Crichton gives evidence of his concerns. For example, he argues that we really won't know if stem cell therapy will work until 2050, but that universities and corporations stir up media hype in order to bring in grants: "And increasingly, researchers and universities are all commercially motivated, just like corporations" (61). There are currently three million researchers in America. Their career depends on funding, grants - and hype! Crichton writes, "Science is a corruptible a human activity as any other. Its practitioners aren't saints, they're human beings, and they do what human beings do - lie, cheat, steal from one another, sue, hide data, fake data, overstate their own importance, and denigrate opposing views unfairly. That's human nature. It isn't going to change" (62). Overall, this is predominantly a cautionary tale - a Frankenstein for the genetic age. Crichton closes the book with his own conclusions. Among them, he argues that we must stop patenting genes. "[G]enes are facts of nature. Like gravity, sunlight, and leaves on trees, genes exist in the natural world. Facts of nature can't be owned" (417).