Aug 19, 2010

Mix and Match

To get us thinking about creating new life forms, we tag along with a group of kids on a visit to the American Museum of Natural History exhibit on mythic creatures. Curator Laurel Kendall tells us that even figments of the human imagination deserve to be a part of natural history. But what do we mean when we say something is "natural?" Sometimes nature does things that might seem unnatural—at least at first glance. Karen Keegan and her doctor Lynne Uhl tell reporter Soren Wheeler a story of disputed motherhood that might throw your idea of natural for a loop. (Hint: Karen is more than one person, kind of.) Then we enter the world of bioengineering with scientist Lee Silver from Princeton University. Silver tells us about a strange creature created by scientists back in the 80s, called a "geep." And then he tells us about a very disturbing real-life incident that playwright Jeremy Kareken, in collaboration with Dr. Silver, turned into a play about the implications of combining humans and other animals.

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