The Coming Biotech Age

The convergence of genetics and materials science is about to change everything fast. Author Richard Oliver describes himself as a disciple of the brilliant Canadian futurist Marshall McLuhan, so you can expect a book rife with sweeping predictions and neologisms. Parental advisory: In this book, buzzwords proliferate like that lab experiment you started in high school and just couldn’t stop. To cut to the "bio" bottom line: The world as you know it will basically cease to exist in about five years. (Oh, that’s no surprise, but how can you make a buck off of it, right?) Well, give Oliver credit: He backs up his bio-ideas with solid bio-research, and you get the uncanny feeling that his bio-predictions are probably accurate, in spite of the annoying prefixes. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that a certain don north of the border was ridiculed for his zany description of an impending "Global Village." getAbstract recommends this book for anyone who could benefit from a user’s manual on the future. Indeed, you could say it’s a veritable bio-crystal ball.