Английский язык: Аннотирование и реферирование текста

294 designs become available for more and more nanodevices, someone, somewhere – if only out of sheer spite – would figure out how to com- bine those nanodevices to make a dangerous replicator and turn it loose. There will almost surely be warning signs, however: In the natural course of events, causes attract protesters before stone-throwers, and produce letter bombs before car bombs. Abuse of nanotechnology is likely to be visible long before it is devastating, and this at least gives some time to try to respond. Guiding means Making Many choices Guiding a technology is a complex task. It means grappling with myriad decisions regarding which applications are beneficial and which harmful in such complex areas as medicine, the economy, and the envi- ronment. It means making such happy choices as which of several good approaches to apply in cleaning up toxic-waste dumps and reversing the greenhouse effect. It also means making more difficult choices in plan- ning ecosystem restoration and environmental modification. These problems will confront us with a range of choices better than we have today, yet choices that throw values into conflict. Which is a better use for a particular piece of land – the slow restoration of a wilderness ecosystem, or development as a recreational park? Either may be far better than pavement, strip mines, and dumps, but the choices will be controversial. Likewise, in medicine, we will have a choice of developing many different ways to cure cancers, many different ways to cure heart dis- ease, many different ways to cure AIDS. But the technologies that can be used to rebuild damaged heart muscle could be extended to rebuild muscle and connective tissue structures elsewhere in the body, without the harmful side effects of steroid drugs. The range of choices open to people will be enormous, and again will be cause for great debate. When a new medical technology is discussed today, a frequent comment is, "This procedure raises ethical questions." This is often taken as a signal to delay its use, neglecting such ethical questions as