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What is 'public opinion' about genetics?

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 2, pages 811–815 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Every biotechnology success story increases the number of decisions that the lay public must make about genetics. But vibrant public discussion about these far-reaching changes has been rare, and research on the public's understanding of genetics has barely scratched the surface. This article reviews what we know about the public's attitudes towards genetics, proposes some concepts for thinking about public involvement and indicates some future lines of research.

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Figure 1: Genetics in fiction.
Figure 2
Figure 3: Attitudes in US public discourse about breast cancer genetics in 1987–1997.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 110 Terrell Hall, Athens, 30602, Georgia, USA

    Celeste Condit

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  1. Celeste Condit
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Condit, C. What is 'public opinion' about genetics?. Nat Rev Genet 2, 811–815 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35093580

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