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Joshua Lederberg, PhD

JAMA. 2005;294:1415-1417.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

In retrospect, I realize that it was with some reluctance that I had accepted the commission to compose a futuristically oriented presentation. In part, had I not used up a self-imposed lifetime quota that goes back over nearly 50 years? In part, it might expose questionable error or redundancy in the exercise. Was there anything more to be said that had not been explored many times over? Molecular biotechnologies had reached such a state of potential power that there might be no limit to the possible. Did that need further recitation? It then occurred to me that however problematic the product, there might be merit in a process (call it a game) that would stretch my own imagination, and that of readers.

Designs for the Future

Futures over a period of decades are not strictly limited or determined by today’s technological maps—rather, they will be a product of current accomplishments and . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Author Affiliation: Rockefeller University, New York, NY.