Introduction or preface

The recent accomplishments in the field of biological research are not only exercising an important impact on medicine, but also have the potential to transform the political and legal forms of society, modifying the very destiny of human nature. The scientific revolution in the sphere of the life sciences is resulting in a shift from biopolitics (in the meaning reconstructed by Foucault) to a new, original dimension, where the human species start to dominate living matter, as anticipated by Jürgen Habermas. The developments in biosciences and biotechnologies raise new problems regarding the manipulation of living matter, genetic selection, genetic information and the social legitimisation (in a democratic way) of such possibilities. We are facing a new dimension, both real and conceptual, which can be defined as polis genetica. It is a perspective that includes the influences of gene research on human behaviour and physical performance, new gene and cell therapies, embryo manipulation and the effects of these procedures in the social sphere and on the individual.