Journalists have designated the twenty-first century the Age of Genetics. Almost every day, the media carry at least one story about breakthroughs in this fast-growing field. Unlike other science news that is often buried on the back pages, genetics competes with politics and economics for front-page attention. For example, during one thirty-day period toward the end of 2001, the New York Times carried twenty-eight major news stories and commentary pieces on advances in genetics and related areas of study.

More dramatically, on a single day, April 12, 2002, three stories reporting the results of groundbreaking genetic discoveries appeared in the nation's newspapers. The headlines that accompanied these articles in one U.S. daily paper reflect the scope of the impact genetics is having on our understanding both of ourselves and the world around us: "Humans, chimps have 98.7% of same genes," "Genes may hold...