James D.Watson

James D. Watson, a biochemist, shared the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1962 for his work in discovering the molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the substance that makes up genetic material in humans and all other organisms. From 1989 to 1992, he directed the National Center for Human Genome Research, an agency of the National Institutes of Health. In the following viewpoint, Watson argues that baseless fears about genetic engineering in the 1970s unnecessarily delayed important scientific research. He goes on to state that while genetic engineering is now generally recognized as safe, research into inserting genetic material into human sperm and egg cells is still not being conducted because of apprehension about possible harmful consequences of tampering with humanity’s genetic makeup. Watson asserts that forgoing such research because of ill-defined fears...