UNESCO Courier articles from September 1999

UNESCO Courier archives from September 1999

FOREVER TWENTY IN CUBA.(young people's hopes quickly betrayed in one-party country)
September 1, 1999... Cuba's young men and women in a hurry face up to a frustrating situation where time seems to stand still Spend an evening in Havana or some other Cuban town such as Matanzas or Pinar del Rio and you get the feeling time is at a standstill....

A CRUCIAL ENCOUNTER.(genetic discrimination must be prevented)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... Genetic tests and treatments must not be allowed to create new forms of discrimination - between those who, for whatever reason, can or want to take advantage of them, and those who cannot, mostly for lack of money If a scientific...

MILLENNIUM BUGS WITH A DEADLY BITE.(disrupting ecosystem can lead to disease outbreaks)
September 1, 1999... Through an arrogant or ignorant disregard for ecological complexities, ceaseless human encroachment on nature can unleash a terrible new threat of killer diseases carried by microbes that have long lain undisturbed At first, the men seemed...

WERE THE TEN PLAGUES OF EGYPT TRIGGERED BY AN ECOLOGICAL DISASTER?(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... While concern mounts over the risk of new diseases emerging from the seas and rivers, one leading expert believes that they may hold the key to an ancient catastrophe: the Ten Plagues that struck Egypt almost 3,300 years ago. According to...

SCHOOLING IN TIMES OF STRIFE.(emergency education)
September 1, 1999... From 'school-in-a-box' packages to counselling for children traumatized by fear and bereavement, education is playing a pivotal role in emergency relief operations When people are robbed of their homes, land and possessions by violent...

Bioethics: the lure of the perfect child.(problems posed by completion of genome project)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... A new age unfolds as scientists put the final touches on a map of the human genome: our some 100,000 genes. Among the wealth of potential benefits, future parents will not only be able to screen foetuses for "defects", but also may one day be...

Uncharted terrain on tomorrow's genetic map.(Human Genome Project and eugenics)
September 1, 1999... In the post-genomic age, medical science's good intentions could lead us to the frontier of new forms of eugenics In about three years, we should have the keys to decode our biological "ego". Through the Human Genome Project, thousands of...

Genetics in three easy lessons.(short summary of human genetics)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... 1 Our bodies are made up of cells, each containing a nucleus of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid). This huge molecule resembles a sort of spiral ladder, a double helix whose parts twist and overlap. It is divided between 23 pairs of complementary...

Screening awakens spectres of the past.(North American and European history of eugenics)
September 1, 1999... Confronting the eugenic pasts of North America and Europe is a painful but crucial experience for shedding light on today's debate. For almost half a century eugenics - literally the science of "improving" the gene pool - has been equated...

Religion, genetics and the embryo.(various religious views of the human embryo)
September 1, 1999... Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, Muslims and Jews bring an array of responses to the bioethical questions posed by genetic technologies. Once upon a time Christian theologians argued about the sex of angels. Nowadays they argue about the...

Medicine's last frontier.(ethics of genetic engineering)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... New technology making it possible to produce children immune to chronic genetic disease also paves the way for 'designer babies' for parents who can afford them. This prospect is opening a Pandora's box of ethical, social and legal dilemmas -...

The dangers of laissez faire.(eugenics)
September 1, 1999... "With QualGene services, you too can have the highest quality embryo money can buy. Our scientists are dedicated to your heritage - don't leave your precious children to chance!" It's just a matter of time before such an ad tantalizes...

In India, sex selection gets easier.(abortion of female fetuses common in India due to use of ultrasound technology)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... New sex pre-determination techniques are likely to reinforce anti-female prejudice. A single word on a sign advertises a thriving business in India: ultrasound. Using sound waves to produce images of foetuses, this diagnostic tool is a...

'A concern for collective good'.(family planning in China)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... China's approach to family planning has been attacked in the West as authoritarian and an infringement on individual rights. Below, Chinese Academician Qiu Renzong rejects claims that his country's Law on Maternal and Infant Health is eugenic....

'The legislation imposes decisions'.(laws about eugenics in China)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... Supporters of China's Maternal and Infant Health Law often argue that the word yousheng is mistranslated as "eugenics", instead of "healthy birth". Besides the simple observation that a term has no given meaning outside the context in which it...

Human cloning is Dolly's debatable offspring.
September 1, 1999... The dawning possibilities of human cloning raise unprecedented ethical and political dilemmas. Nowhere is the debate more intensive than in Britain, where the cloned sheep Dolly was created using a revolutionary technique. In February...

Germany: the dark shadow of the past.(eugenics experiments by Nazis make cloning research less acceptable and delay German contributions to the field)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... Memories of the Nazis' eugenics ideology provide a sombre backcloth to German debate on applications of human genome research Germans tread very delicately in the field of bioethics. When the birth a cloned sheep called Dolly was announced...

Genes of inequality.(genetic research)
September 1, 1999... New drugs and treatments based on genetic research are set to widen existing disparities in access to medical treatment Medicine in the 21st century is likely to be based on genetics. The decipherment of DNA being done as part of the...

IS COPYRIGHT ON THE WRONG TRACK?
September 1, 1999... Efforts to strengthen intellectual property rights are posing a challenge to their original purpose - striking a balance between the protection of individual property and the public interest What is the purpose of intellectual property...

CARTHAGE'S LONG-AWAITED RESCUE.
September 1, 1999... Despite 30 years of protection, the site of the great city of Antiquity is still being eroded by urban pressures. A major conservation project now in the works should pave the way for new excavations Imagine an urban area whose population...

TUG-OF-WAR IN BEIRUT AND CAIRO.(efforts to protect ancient sites are thwarted or not done)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1999... The defence of archaeological treasures in the Lebanese and Egyptian capitals has triggered epic battles and led to mixed results The efforts to safeguard Carthage and the nearby village of Sidi Bou Said (see page 40) are particularly...

THE DARKER SIDE OF THE NET.(dissemination of child pornography)
September 1, 1999... To combat child pornography on the Net, there is a strong consensus that governments, law enforcement, industry and users each have a role to play The most cunning criminals have always sought to outsmart police, and cyberspace is no...

SUNILA ABEYSEKERA: PEACE CAMPAIGNER ON A WAR-TORN ISLAND.(Interview)
September 1, 1999... Defying threats to her life, a UN award-winning Sri Lankan human rights activist has brought abuses in Sri Lanka to the attention of the international community (see box opposite page) According to a recent United Nations study, Sri Lanka...