The Human Genome Project: Cracking the Code Within Us (Impact--Science)

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Summary: A good book to start understanding eugenics
Review: Cracking the Code Within Us by Elizabeth L. Marshall, details of the Project are discussed in a clear and rational manner, devoid of the scare tactics by those who oppose genetics. She explains some of the genetic diseases that can be cured and points out that the Project could eventually lead to discovering the genetic errors responsible for more than 4,000 inherited diseases. She also assures us that intelligence is a combination of many complex genes, and we should not be looking for a cure for stupidity or a magic bullet for genius. Genetic intelligence can only be increased for the near future by good breeding. She does answer the question about the number of girl babies not born in China due to sex selection: an estimated 1.7 million a year in a population of 1 billion. This explains why Rothblatt didn't want to give an exact number. With a slightly over-representation of females born to males born naturally, there are already many more females and 1.7 million less in this large a population can only help to give women more value in the future.