Will Saletan has a disquieting report on a recent biotech meeting.

I am largely in favor of the kinds of advances proposed here, but the community is indeed going to have to learn to respect the views of people who are concerned about it, and lighten up on the condescension, if they don't want to see progress shut down out of ignorance.

Am I the only one who finds here a disturbing echo of C. S. Lewis's book The Abolition of Man? The scientists and engineers at the conference described laughed at the foolish worries of the laity. This does not exactly fill me with confidence that they can be trusted to act with wisdom as they tinker with humanity's genetic makeup. Lots of people (like Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit) criticize Leon Kass and his ilk for standing in the way of reasonable progress. But Kass, at least, is a serious person.