Re: Genetic Engineering?
Y'know, when the first TRAINS were invented, it was thought that people would DIE if they went faster than 30 mph. 'Strue. Can't make this stuff up.
So, at first, genetic engineering is feared and hated, until ONE PERSON goes forward and does it and survives. Then the rich take it over. Then, eventually, everybody gets into it.
And then . . . something better (such as nanotech or even picotech) comes along and acts like the automobile or the plane acted on the trains -- reducing their use to that which is the most common and makes the most money (like freight hauling) while PEOPLE go by cheaper and more-convenient private transport.
Then, gas goes through the roof, and private transport doesn't look so good. Nano-tech might show problems at the most basic level, or what have you. Good ol' tried-and-true genetic engineering to the rescue!
Or, they're both replaced by Picotech, which is a concept I completely stole from Freefall (http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1400/fv01395.htm), a fantastic webcomic.
"Maybe for now, but one day building with natural atoms will seem as quaint as living in log cabins."