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Science Friday > Archives > 2003 > October
> October 17, 2003:
Hour One: China in Space / Gene Transfer Pregnancy
The club of spacefaring nations added a new member this week, as
China successfully launched a 'taikonaut' into orbit, and returned
him safely to the Earth. In this hour of Science Friday, Ira talks
with his guests about how China got to this point, where they might
be going, and what effect the Chinese spaceflight may have on space
policy here and abroad.
Plus, we'll talk about an experimental infertility treatment being
tested in China that some researchers here say comes dangerously close
to human cloning. In the method, genetic material from the nucleus
of an infertile mother's egg cell is extracted, then implanted into
an egg with its nucleus removed taken from another woman. The egg
is then returned to the womb of the first woman. With only slight
changes, the process could result in human cloning, a prospect that
has some doctors and ethicists worried. We'll find out more. Call
in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern),
and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).
Guests:
John Logsdon
Director, Space Policy Institute
George Washington University's
Elliott School of International
Affairs
Washington, DC
Marcia Smith
Specialist in Aerospace and Telecommunications Policy
Science
Policy Research Division
Congressional
Research Service
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Thomas Murray
Author, 'The
Worth of a Child' (University of California Press, 1996)
President, The Hastings
Center
Garrison, NY
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
NY
Times: China Ready for Human Spaceflight
China
Space Program - Focus On | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference
CNN.com:
The big message behind China's space effort
CNN.com
- China reveals space station plan - Oct. 16, 2003
NY Times: Pregnancy
Created With Egg Nucleus of Infertile Woman
Taipei
Times - archives: Chinese connection beats the ban on cloning technique
MySA.com:
Metro | State: Fertility idea to be touted at S.A. med conference
This segment produced by Charles
Bergquist
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