The Future of Species

'The book we need right now ... Essential reading' Professor Tom Ellis, Imperial College London 'Raises some of the most challenging philosophical and ethical issues that humankind has ever had to address' Sunday Times 'A fascinating read ... I throroughly recommend for all audiences' Professor Mumtaz Patel, President of the Royal College of Physicians _____ Imagine a world that is designed and grown rather than evolved. Where buildings are made from spider silk, smartphones have opinions and all human knowledge fits into a speck of DNA. It might seem like science fiction, but Adrian Woolfson argues this future is closer than we think. As artificial intelligence and synthetic biology converge, we stand on the cusp of a new reality where we won't just read and edit DNA - we'll write it. The possibilities are extraordinary: growing crops in the desert, creating sustainable sources of energy, eradicating disease, even extending the human lifespan. Yet with that power comes great responsibility and profound risk. Life itself becomes a blank page. If this sounds unsettling, it is. But understanding what's coming is no longer optional. Written from the frontlines, The Future of Species is an essential guide to the next technological revolution and a compelling vision for how we can navigate it safely, wisely and ethically. _____ 'Explores the profound opportunities and challenges that arise when we turn evolution upside-down' John-Arne Rottingen, CEO of The Wellcome Trust 'An intriguing and disturbing analysis of a biological revolution' Guardian

Adrian Woolfson is the co-founder of Genyro, a California-based biotechnology company specialising in synthetic genome design and construction. Born in London, he studied medicine at Balliol College, Oxford, and was formerly the Charles and Katherine Darwin Research Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge, working at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Life Without Genes: The History and Future of Genomes and An Intelligent Person's Guide to Genetics. He has authored over 160 scientific papers, book chapters, reviews, and patents, and is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal and Science magazine. He currently lives in San Francisco.