THE excitement about the human genome is all very well, but I can’t help
feeling somewhat disappointed. At the root of my problem are those quaint
notions about “nature” that pervade Western culture. The Victorians viewed
humans as the pinnacle of evolution. The Romantics thought of nature as pure and
perfect. If you think these attitudes are a thing of the past, just count the
number of advertisements that sell products as “natural” and “pure”.
Yet the picture that’s emerging of the human genome leaves such illusions in
tatters. Our genome, it turns out, is a mess. Far from being…
