“Our knowledge about the life sciences has been undergoing rapid change, and has even known some major upheavals. Today, everyone is aware to a greater or lesser degree of the major achievements in areas such as: the study of genome, cellular biology and the neurosciences, as well as the extraordinary analytical possibilities offered by biotechnology and the imagery procedures used to explore the human body in a non-aggressive manner, and in research into new therapeutic forms.
“This is why the French Ministry of Research wished to hold an international colloquium, which took place in Bordeaux, France, on 22-23 June 2000, on the subjects of human embryonic and strain cells, on biological samples of human origin, on data bases concerning genetic sequencing, and on patents on the human genome.
“It is to be hoped that as well as providing information on the most recent scientific advances, it [this book] will contribute toward bringing together differing viewpoints, if not in one single one, at least in an enlightened consensus,” writes F. Gros.

With contributions from A. Cambon-Thomsen, G. Cameron, M. Combanous, J. Dausset, J. Gearhardt, F. Gros, J. Hatzfeld, T. Hubbard. H. Imura, B.M. Knoppers, R.P. Lanza, C. Le Bihan Graff, N. Lenoir, N. Mallet-Poujol, É. Meslin, B. Péaud, M. Peschanski, A. Pompidou, R.-G. Schwartzenberg. D. Sicard, J. Strauss, C. Sureau, B. Tyrrell, and J. Weissenbach.