for those of you who have been slightly distressed by the fact that most of the handful of genes that separate us from mice seem to be remnants of viri and bacteria. here is a good hard scifi novel that will much more than disturb you. it has appeared in the also need to be updated and actually finished "reading list" for about ten months now. I made the mistake of reading it the first time while in the hospital with my wife giving birth to our youngest(now slightly over one year old). I heartily encourage you to read it but not while you have a pregnant wife.

Greg Bear keeps more up to date on molecular biology than many university professors in the field. It's one of the things that makes his work so real. He with David Brin, Orson Scott Card, Neal Stephenson, Gregory Benford, and many others, make a very compelling argument for something I have long said. Science fiction is the best place to work out the philosophical, moral, and ethical implications and applications of technology. Far better than working them out by trial and error. We are racing along toward thing that many people never even dreamed possible. Often I feel we are doing it without even looking where our foot will rest when next it touches down. While I don't think that we are rapidly approaching an abyss to fall into, we could be. My money is on a tree branch that we didn't see causing us to fall and break an ankle. Even then I always hope that somewhere along the line enough people will have had the minds open and looking forward to be able to shout "Look out for that Tree!!!!"