As human knowledge about genetics grows, so have the difficult questions about how to apply it. Cloning, stem cells, genetic testing—DNA technology has been the focus of much debate. As human knowledge about genetics grows, so have the difficult questions about how to apply it. When researchers pull apart the human genome and look inside, how much do culture and shared assumptions influence what they see? Will we have to change our views about our relationship to the life around us? If we can manipulate life or even create new forms, should we limit our use of those skills? Who owns the information gleaned from the genome and how should individual privacy be protected? Is there a responsibility to distribute the fruits of science—especially those funded by taxpayers—equitably? Genetics today has its roots in the U.S. eugenics movement at the turn of the 20th century, in which scientists hoped to guide human evolution by preventing “unfit” people from reproducing. In widely supported programs, women and men judged mentally feeble or criminally inclined were sterilized—without consent and often without their knowledge. Sterilizations in mental institutions continued through the mid-1970s. In 1988, the U.S. Congress funded the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy to take on the Human Genome Project. In recognition of this history as well as the new territory scientists were likely to uncover, Dr. James Watson, who led the NIH side, asked that three percent of funding be dedicated to ethical, legal and social issues. The goals of this part of the project included not just research and education, but also public discussions of the best ways to apply genetic knowledge.