by Mohamed Larbi Bouguerra

About the author: Mohamed Larbi Bouguerra is the former director of the National Institute for Scientific and Technical Research in Tunisia. He has written several books about the negative effects of new science and technology on the Third World and the environment.

New drugs and treatments based on genetic research are set to widen existing disparities in access to medical treatment.

Medicine in the 21st century is likely to be based on genetics. The decipherment of DNA being done as part of the international Human Genome Project will probably unleash a flood of applications which will make it possible to improve the physical condition of human beings at a time when many experts are saying the limits of “conventional” medical care have been reached.

Over the next two decades...