Darwin and Wallace proposed that natural selection is the process responsible for the evolution of adaptive features. Mutations provide the raw material of evolution. Interacting species influence each other’s evolution through coevolution. Evolution offers insight into many past and current controversies including Proximate (extrinsic) and ultimate (intrinsic) factors influence species’ vulnerability to extinction. Going through a bottleneck results in low genetic diversity and the high risk of becoming extinct due to inbreeding, catastrophes, and fluctuations in birth and death rates and the sex ratio. The theory of island biogeography states that extinction risk is high in small, isolated populations. Understanding evolution has practical implications for managing the evolution of resistance to pesticides, problems from hybridization, and populations at risk of extinction.

To introduce the subject, the history of genetics since Mendel’s work which was rediscovered in 1900 is outlined. The discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953 marked the start of the molecular genetics era. When restriction enzymes and DNA ligase were discovered, DNA fragments could be cut and joined, with the first recombinant DNA molecules generated in 1972. Rapid methods for sequencing DNA were developed in the late 1970s and eventually were improved to the level needed to enable the Human Genome Project to be undertaken. The completion of this in 2003 marked the start of the ‘post-genomic era’ that led to further development of the technology and a reduction in time and cost of genome sequencing. We are now firmly in the post-genomic era, where DNA technology is having a major impact in areas such as transgenic plants and animals, genome editing, diagnosis and treatment of disease, forensic analysis and personalised medicine.

This chapter describes a “second wave” of modifications to the UN system that would further strengthen its capabilities during the latter half of the twenty-first century. It focuses on two major challenges that the UN will be facing during the coming decades: the international regulation of biotechnology, and the global effort to remove excess carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere. New, CRISPR-based technologies for editing genomes have allowed scientists to make path-breaking innovations, bringing the concept of “designer babies” far closer to realization than ever before. At the same time, the climate crisis has prompted some scientists to propose radical new forms of “solar radiation management” such as artificial clouds or even a space shield to prevent runaway global warming. Effective regulation of such extreme new technologies will require new international instruments over the coming decades, such as a democratically elected World Parliament, a more representative Security Council, and a standing UN army equipped to respond swiftly to emerging crises.

This chapter explores some of the ways transhumanists envision the posthuman family. From attempts to create digital offspring through the use of software fertility doctors, to establishing intimate relationships with robotic kin, to advocating for forms of biological reproduction that involve multiple genitors and occur in a laboratory rather than a womb, transhumanists propose that the posthuman family will look considerably different than it does today. The point of this chapter is not to determine whether or not these possibilities will be actualized in the future, but rather, to explore and explain why this way of construing kinship makes sense to transhumanists. In so doing, the chapter will further our understanding of transhumanism and provide yet another example of the diverse ways our species has attempted to imagine and configure something we call family.

Chapter 3 retraces the development of ethics expertise both in domestic contexts and in global governance arenas. It goes back to the first debates on the need to include a social and ethical assessment of science of technology in the late 1970s in the UnitedStates, in the context of new social challenges presented by technological innovations (such as organ transplantation), the publicising of several instances of bad practices on the part of medical professionals, and risks which arose when molecular biologists discovered they could create DNA sequences in the laboratory that did not naturally exist. In this context, isolated scientists and politicians, theologians and groups of engaged citizens felt the need to regulate medical and scientific activities.But while concerns over the ethics of medicine and science were initially voiced as a strong critique, bioethics eventually took the form of a new expert discourse, which became entangled with politics. This genealogy of the emergence of the notion of bioethical expertise is key to understanding the function payed by such experts in policymaking today.

In the chapter “The Biotechnology Sector – Therapeutics”, the author covers a wide range of topics summarizing the significant role that the formation and growth of the biotechnology sector has played in the entire biopharmaceutical industry. The chapter begins with a bit of history, from the earliest days of how genetic engineering gave birth to this sector, and takes the reader through an overview of biotechnology as it exists today and how the growing innovation in science over the years has been able to both drive the sector and have a tremendous impact on healthcare overall. There is a particular focus on describing various types of innovation which have played a huge role in driving product development in the broader biopharmaceutical industry. Later in the chapter, there is a focus on many of the business aspects of the sector, as drug development in biotechnology requires enormous amounts of capital for success. The author outlines many of the key issues related to different business and financing models that we see across the sector, in addition to the unique management issues in small biotechnology companies. There is significant description and explanation of the symbiotic relationship between the larger pharmaceutical companies and smaller biotechnology start-ups with a focus on how they help each other to bring transformative medicines to patients. The chapter concludes with a discussion about international and regulatory aspects impacting the sector. Overall the author tells the story of the birth and growth of this exciting sector, and its impact on patients and drug development over the last forty years, well substantiated with current data to build the case for how biotechnology today plays a major role in driving one of the most important and exciting technological industries of our time.

In France, civil law provisions on research involving human subjects, on donation and use of human body parts, and on medically assisted reproduction – originally developed between 1988 and 1994 and generally referred to as loi de bioéthique (law on bioethics) – specify whether and under which statutory conditions activities potentially leading to human germline genome modification can be undertaken. International law, including European law, poses further conditions. This chapter explores legislative and regulatory constraints on this type of research in France, analyzing how they developed over time to reach their present state. We will show that, in France, it is prohibited to create a human embryo solely for research purposes; that, however, research activities on supernumerary embryos and human embryonic stem cells are possible upon authorization by the national agency on biomedicine; but that, nevertheless, alterations to the genome of an embryo under circumstances that allow the modifications to pass on to future generations (i.e. through a successful pregnancy) are strictly prohibited. A peculiar feature of French legislation in this domain is that the law on bioethics is regularly updated in light of new technological or scientific developments, and as a result of a national public consultation held at least every five years. In 2018 one such rounds of public consultation took place, and a report summarizing its outcome is now being considered as the basis for possible legislative reform – including in the domain of genetic engineering. While it is not possible to anticipate future legislative developments, the report signals some degree of openness in the French civil society regarding the use of genetic engineering and genome editing, at least in the context of research.

The use of genetic technologies for reproductive, farming, agricultural and scientific purposes has long been a matter of public concern in Switzerland. As a result of a series of legislative initiatives at the federal level, as well as of popular referenda, the country developed one of the most restrictive regulatory environments in Europe for research, potentially leading to human germline genome modification. In particular, any genetic manipulation of reproductive cells or embryos is strictly forbidden, regardless its intended purpose. This chapter will illustrate the way constitutional- and federal-level legislation, as well as international law and regulatory provisions rigidly constrain research activities that could potentially lead to genetic alterations in humans and their progeny. In such a restrictive context, it is highly unlikely that recent technical advances in genetic engineering and genome editing will be employed to produce germline genome modifications for either medical or purely scientific purposes. Furthermore, while the Swiss National Advisory Commission for Biomedical Ethics has recently expressed partial support for basic research possibly involving the genetic modification of human embryos, there are currently no indications that legislative initiatives will be undertaken to ease current regulations on such controversial matters.

China’s advances in the field together with the size of its scientific community and resources, position it at the forefront of biotechnological and gene editing research. Most recently, the still unconfirmed report of the first life birth of humans following IVF and gene editing techniques, has place China at the center of the global scientific, socio-ethical, and legal debates. This makes understanding the Chinese regulatory framework and the strength of its governance to address the vast scientific, social, ethical, and political global implications of germline genome modification paramount. This chapter explores how the legal system in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) regulates human gene editing with particular focus on germline applications. It further outlines existing governance frameworks and addresses the possibility of policy convergence by contrasting Chinese approaches to those adopted worldwide.