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Mae-Wan Ho (born 12 November 1941 in Hong Kong) is, according to Tim Gardam of Channel 4, a leading scientific authority with critical views on genetic modification. According to Polly Curtis of The Guardian, she is a geneticist and biophysicist at Open University in the United Kingdom.
Career
Mae-Wan Ho has authored or co-authored a number of publications, including 10 books, such as The Rainbow and the Worm, the Physics of Organisms (1993, 1998), Genetic Engineering Dream or Nightmare? (1998, 1999), and Living with the Fluid Genome (2003).
Activism
Mae-Wan Ho has taken a number of public stands for good science and against bad science. As a result she has sometimes been seen as polemical and controversial.
Genetic manipulation
Dr. Ho has expressed concerns about the spread of altered genes through horizontal gene transfer, that the experimental alteration of genetic structures may be out of control. One of the biggest concerns is if the antibiotic resistant gene used in some GM crops crossed over to bacteria. "If this happened it would leave us unable to treat major illnesses like meningitis and E coli."
Dr. Ho and colleague Joe Cummins of University of Western Ontario have argued that a sterile gene engineered into a crop could be transferred to other crops or wild relatives. "This could severely compromise the agronomic performance of conventional crops and cause wild relatives to go extinct". They said that this process could also produce genetic instabilities, "leading to catastrophic breakdown", and concluded that we simply have no data to assure us that this has not happened or cannot happen.
Evolution
Dr. Ho is a signatory to "A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism", which professes skepticism of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life.
Bibliography
- Mae-Wan Ho. The rainbow and the worm, the physics of organisms, Singapore; River Edge, NJ: World Scientific, 1998. ISBN 981024813X.
- Mae-Wan Ho. Genetic engineering: dream or nightmare? Turning the tide on the brave new world of bad science and big business, New York, NY: Continuum, 2000. ISBN 0826412572.
- Mae-Wan Ho. Living with the fluid genome, London, UK: Institute of Science in Society; Penang, Malaysia: Third World Network, 2003. ISBN 0954492307.
- Mae-Wan Ho, Sam Burcher, Rhea Gala and Vejko Velkovic. Unraveling AIDS: the independent science and promising alternative therapies, Ridgefield, CT: Vital Health Pub., 2005. ISBN 1890612472.
See also
References
- Tim Gardam, Director of programmes, Channel 4, "Seeds of discontent at C4", The Guardian, March 18 2000. Reprint. Accessed 2008-06-09.
- Polly Curtis, "Exploitation on the agenda at ethics forum", The Guardian, February 22, 2002. Reprint. Accessed 2008-06-09.
- Tom Wakeford, "Coming a cropper: review of Genetic Engineering: Dream or Nightmare? by Mae-Wan Ho". New Scientist, 11 April 1998. Reprint. Accessed 2008-06-09.
- Antony Barnett, "GM genes 'jump species barrier', GM food: special report", The Guardian, May 28 2000. Reprint. Accessed 2008-06-09.
- Donald MacLeod, "Who's listening? Will public opinion on genetically modified crops make any difference to the government?", The Guardian, May 19 2003. Reprint. Accessed 2008-06-09.
- A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism. Original document, April 2008. Accessed 2008-06-09.
External links
- Institute of Science in Society web site. Accessed 2008-05-31.