January 19, 2001, Hour 1: Hour One: Event Horizon / Privatizing Genetic Information

THIS WEEK ON
SCIENCE FRIDAY...

Science Friday > Archives > 2001 > January > January 19, 2001:

Hour One: Event Horizon / Privatizing Genetic Information

Last week, two groups of astronomers reported that they believed they had found evidence for an event horizon -- the "point of no return" that light and matter must pass though on its descent into a black hole. One researcher, using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, watched for tell-tale flashes of radiation coming from heated gas as it circled around the object Cygnus XR-1. Another group, using data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, compared the radiation given off by two different kinds of x-ray novae -- one associated with black holes and one not. Both the studies support the existence of event horizons, a concept predicted by Einstein and central to theories of black holes. We'll talk to one of the researchers about what the new findings may mean.

Artist's concept of hot gas spiraling
around the object Cygnus XR-1.
(Greg Bacon, STScI/AVL)

Then, we'll turn to the world of biotechnology. The information contained in the human genetic code will be worth lots of money -- once pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies figure out what it all means. To do that, the companies need many samples of genetic material, and access to reams of medical information about the people that provided those samples. By scanning through huge databases of such information, the companies hope to be able to get leads on which genes code for which traits. But where should all that information come from?

Australian company Autogen has purchased the rights to create a private database containing the genetic information of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Tonga. An effort by the company Framingham Genomic Medicine to privatize data from the 50-year Framingham Heart Study was dissolved last week after complaints over the ethics of the plan. If you want to donate your DNA, another company has set up something called the Gene Trust that will happily accept your contribution.

On this hour of Science Friday, we'll talk about the ethics of creating such databases, about why some biotechnologists say they're necessary, and about who should profit from genetic information. Call in with your thoughts and comments at 1-800-989-8255, and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required)

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

Guests:
Joseph F. Dolan
Astrophysicist
NASA Goddard Space Flight Institute
Greenbelt, Maryland

Kevin Davies
Author: "Cracking the Genome:Inside the Race to Unlock Human DNA"
Executive Editor, "Current Biology"
Boston, Massachusetts

Pilar Ossorio
Professor, Law, Medical Ethics
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin

Kari Stefansson
President and Chief Executive Officer, deCODE Genetics
Reykjavik, Iceland

Jeffrey Kahn
Director, Center for Bioethics
Associate Professor
University of Minnesota Medical School
Division of Health Services Research and Policy, School of Public Health
Department of Philosophy
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Books/Articles Discussed:

"Cracking the Genome:Inside the Race to Unlock Human DNA" by Kevin Davies. Free Press, 2001.

(find more SciFri books here)

Search for books on:

This segment produced by: Annette Heist
Web Producer: Charles Bergquist

Have questions, comments, suggestions about the radio show? Contact us at scifri@npr.org.
Send questions, comments, suggestions about the site to producer@sciencefriday.com .

Science Friday^® and sciencefriday.com are produced by ScienceFriday Inc. "Science Friday" is a registered service mark.
Host/Executive Producer/Editor of Science Friday: Ira Flatow
Senior Producer of Science Friday: Karin Vergoth

Executive web producer: Ira Flatow
Web producer: Charles Bergquist