What is Genetic Futures News?

The pace of discovery in the life sciences is breathtaking. The Human Genome Project is laying bare the genetic underpinnings of human health, while neuroscience is revealing the biological basis of perception, memory and behaviour. Biomedical research promises to deliver substantial benefits, but also poses unprecedented questions for society.

In 2001 Y Touring Theatre Company, an operation of Central YMCA received a New Opportunities Fund award to digitalise our Creating the Debate programme – 5 original plays, debates and resources inspired by the ethical issues raised by current biomedical research.

Y Touring commissioned Maverick Television to work in association with the company to digitalise the plays and supporting resources for the web. This site is the result. Each play and resource has been transformed into a series of fictionalised news stories with video, audio and text – the end result meaning that you can choose how much information you want to find out at any one time.

What you will need to view the video clips

You will find an option for viewing the video clips at 56k and broadband and cable modem speeds, you will need the Quicktime player, if you don’t have it follow the instructions on this page for a free download.

Have Your Say

On all the news story pages on this site, you will find an opportunity to join a discussion page to have your say about what you think about the issues in question. You will find the links you need on the left hand side of the page under the ‘Have Your Say’ heading.

SIN

Genetic Futures site is a member of a consortium of related sites under the umbrella title SIN – Science Invention and Nature. Our partners are The Science Museum, The Natural History Museum and the Wild Screen Trust. On selected pages you will find a SIN button – click this to connect to a wealth of topic related articles and images from our partner sites.

Original Scripts

The playwrights have generously allowed us to publish their scripts for you to read online. You may not however copy and paste any part of the script or print it out without permission and payment. Contact David Jackson for further details.

"WAYS of engaging the public in debate on scientific issues, like the applications of genetic technology, are desperately needed. The way not to do it is for the media to provide images of scientists and their creations as monsters. But a highly imaginative theatrical venture by Y Touring Theatre Company may have found a brilliant solution."

Prof Lewis Wolpert The Independent