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Government policies to deal with the ethical and social consequences of bioengineering do not now exist. But this isn't stopping the researchers or the government. As of the end of October, Congress was estimating that the government would have to spend about $4 billion for nano research over the next four years.

Woody Allen once quipped, "More than at any time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly."

It is my prayer that the body of Christ, inspired by the Holy Spirit and the gospel's perfect vision for human flourishing, can help us avoid either path. Instead, I pray that we will be able to guide our surrounding culture to a truly human future.

C. Christopher Hook is a hematologist, director of bioethics education for the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, and chairman of the Mayo Clinical Ethics Council. Hook's comments are solely his own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Mayo Clinic.

Bio Engagement: Making a Christian Difference Through Bioethics Today (Eerdmans, 2002) edited by Nigel M. de S. Cameron, Scott E. Daniels, and Barbara J. White

Cutting-Edge Bioethics: A Christian Exploration of Technologies and Trends (Eerdmans, 2002) edited by John F. Kilner, C. Christopher Hook, Diann B. Uustal

Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age (Times Books, 2003) by Bill McKibben

Habits of the High Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age (Baker, 2002) by Quentin J. Schultze

In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit (Fortress, 2002) by Noreen L. Herzfeld

Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution (Farrar, Straus, and Giraux, 2002) by Francis Fukuyama

TechGnosis: Myth, Magic, and Mysticism in the Age of Information (Three Rivers, 1999) by Erik Davis

Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences (Knopf, 1996) by Edward Tenner

www.betterhumans.com
"Connecting people to the future so that they can create it, we explore and advocate the use of science and technology for furthering human progress."

www.bioethics.com
Global information source on bioethics.

www.bioethics.gov/topics/beyond_index.html
"Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness" report by The President's Council on Bioethics.

www.thecbc.org
The Center for Bioethics and Culture.

www.cbhd.org
The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity.

www.ctns.org
The Center for Theology and Natural Sciences.

www.foresight.org
The home of Foresight Institute whose mission is "preparing for nanotechnology."

www.smalltimes.com
"Big news in small tech." A news magazine.

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January 2004, Vol. 48, No. 1