The Body: Bulletproof

Even so, a backlash against these technologies, and a political battle over their control, are inevitable results of this kind of transformation. The subtext of the bioethics hearings is that ethical people need to say no to the temptations of technology lest they be enticed into a new, nonhuman state. Just as President Bush's administration acted to restrict funding for stem-cell research in the United States, only to be partially rebuffed by California, we can expect plenty of wrangling over genetic technologies.

Legalize It

Trying to stop people from using products they clearly want is a pretty dubious exercise, however. Prohibition would simply create a black market, raising prices, eliminating effective regulatory oversight, and hindering long-term safety studies. As Steven Hyman, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, has said, "Regulation that flies in the face of reality . . . decreases respect for regulation, and fails."

We're right to be cautious of new biological technologies until they've proven themselves, of course. Artificial limbs, pacemakers, birth-control pills, organ transplants, in vitro fertilization, even vaccinations--all took time to be accepted. But once they're proven to be safe, and to reduce pain, increase health and well-being, or just make climbing into a bathing suit a happier experience, we come to see them merely as products, weighing the costs and benefits accordingly. And, as Hyman says, if "we can find medications that will enhance our performance, lengthen our life, decrease the stress," then "no regulation in the world" will keep us from getting at them.

Ramez Naam is the author of More Than Human (Broadway Books, 2005). He helped lead the development of Outlook and Internet Explorer for Microsoft, where he is director of program management at MSN Search.