Race, Genetics and Eugenics
The dawn of evolutionary theory in the mid-1800s sparked an interest in the selective breeding of humans. Prominent scientists like Charles Darwin, Ronald Fischer, and Francis Galton wondered: “If animals could be bred for certain traits, could not humans?”. This initiated a popular Eugenics movement bolstered by the prevailing ethnocentric and racist perspectives of the colonial era. Some formidable intellectual heroes of the 19th and 20th centuries were fooled by this nebulous combination of racism packaged in incomplete science.
Completion of the human genome project at the start of the 21st century informed us that the boundaries between races were blurry and that all humans could trace shared ancestry back to Africa.
Though Eugenics is largely debunked today important questions still remain. For example, is there a genetic link to traits like intellect and lifespan? And is it fair to categorize people based on something as arbitrary as skin color? What even is the genetic basis for skin color? Finally, will our ability to engineer our own genome pave the way for a new era of eugenics? One where the highest bidder can select for the best traits in his/her children?
Come along for a sincere attempt to learn about these rather controversial topics.
About the Speaker:
Moeez Ahmed Khan is a synthetic biologist, now based at Imperial College London. Moeez’s research focuses on constructing super-spreading genes that can be used for Malaria eradication. His work involves synthetic biology, genetic engineering, classical genetics, developmental biology, and entomology. Moeez has a bachelor’s in Molecular Genetics from King’s College London, a Master’s in Synthetic Biology from University College London, and is due to graduate with a PhD from the Royal Veterinary College. He also has 7 years of experience in science communication, having worked closely with the social enterprise; Science Fuse and his own organization; Genes and Machines. Genes and Machines aims to inculcate curiosity for the life sciences amongst young Pakistanis.
This session is free and open to all. Just visit the venue to attend it.
The Black Hole
Plot 5H, Street 100, G-11/3, Islamabad.
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