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Wednesday,
February 25, 2004
Scientists close to breaking the genetic code for “values” - Blix Panda As the current crop of presidential candidates argue over the importance of “values,” Americans can find comfort in knowing that recent breakthroughs in the field of genetics may someday allow them to actually understand what exactly the candidates are talking about. “We’re getting closer every day to some real solid evidence of what a value actually is,” said Dan Filbert, lead researcher at HERSC Genetic Labs in Burbank, California. He and his team have been hard at work putting together what they call a “roadmap to values.” “It is similar to an organization flow chart more or less,” said Filbert. “You start with the basic form of values at the top and from there, if it works as we envision it to, the chart will break down the rudimentary basic value form into sub categories such as ‘family values’, the ‘value of unborn life’, ‘traditional values’ and possibly even virtue.” Not everyone shares Filbert’s enthusiasm about the potential benefits of a more informed electorate. Some view unlocking the true meaning of values to be the “Holy Grail” of politics, and potentially damaging to a well entrenched American political establishment. Indeed, firms like HERSC have for the past few years struggled to find public funding for their studies, especially with a Republican stronghold on both congressional houses as well as Pennsylvania Avenue. “Oh, yeah,” said Filbert. “ We’re working on nickels and dimes down here. It’s our private donors that really keep us going.” In Bush’s most recent budget submitted to Congress, "value" research was near the bottom for scientific funding, coming in well below traditionally Republican-loathed programs such as stem cell research, AIDS and SETI.
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