Genetic diagnosis : progress of purgatory?.

Three programmes from a series in which a regular panel chaired by Michael Buerk considers some of the problems likely to emerge from current developments in medical science. The panel members are:- John Browning (Editor, "Wired" magazine); Susan Greenfield (Prof. of Pharmacology, Oxford University); Sheila MacLean (Prof. of Law and Ethics in Medicine, Glasgow University); Rosalind Miles (psychologist and sociologist) and Peter Stanford (Catholic journalist). Michael Marshall (author) creates dramatic scenarios of future events relevant to the subject under discussion. Genes. The panel surveys the uncertanities that accompany advances in genetic research. Can scientific knowledge be value-free? Do we want to identify more and more genes for diseases that cannot be treated? Will genetic screening become compulsory, what pressures will accompany a positive diagnosis, and will an increasing number of diseases become unacceptable in society? Who will have the right to demand our genetic credentials? Many scientists claim that genetic information gives us more control over our lives, but will it, in fact, restrict our choices?