Waldâs approach to studying genetics is to examine the way the science is represented in popular culture and, in turn, how the popular understanding of genetics influences science.

"My interest is in studying the way that language, imagery and narrative influence our perception of really important issues," she said.

"The kind of analysis that literary critics are trained to do can really help them in their disciplines," she said. "And, of course, vice-versa."

On Nov. 21, science-fiction writer Greg Bear, author of "Darwinâs Radio," will give a lecture titled, "The Really Big Problems in Life: What I Didnât Learn in Kindergarten or at MIT for that Matter."

"Darwinâs Radio" is a biological thriller in which scientists race to save humankind after an ancient disease encoded in human DNA comes to life again. A sequel, "Darwinâs Children," is due out this spring.

Bear said he will talk about the limitations of a mathematics-oriented approach to science, and how scientists will have to change their methods as knowledge of genetics grows.

"We donât even know the right questions to ask right now on some of these major issues," Bear said in a telephone interview. "Itâs obvious that sometime in the next 20 years weâll have nearly complete control over our bodies. We have to ask ourselves what we want to do once we have the reins of control.

"So far, science, relying on mathematics, doesnât have the answer."

Dr. Robert Cook-Deegan, the director of Dukeâs Center for Genome Ethics, Law and Policy, will give the keynote speech Nov. 22.

Cook-Deegan said he will talk about the successes - and failures - of programs such as the one he directs.

"Why do we have a program to study the implications of the science while the science is still happening?" he said. "Iâm going to use this as an opportunity to listen to others at Duke about what are the most important things we could be doing that other folks are not doing."

One of the main themes of the conference, funded by a $70,000 grant from the Center for the Study of Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, Calif., is the role of religion in the science of genetics.

"One of the main fears people express about genetics is that we are at risk of playing God," Wald said. She notes that religious themes permeate popular representations of genetics, from the new "Planet of the Apes" to "Gattaca."

At the Nov. 22 session of the conference, Kathleen Joyce and Brian Madison of Dukeâs religion department will talk about religious implications and responses to genomics, and Alex Rosenberg of the philosophy department will give a talk titled, "On the Irrelevance of Religion to Ethical Issues in Genomics: Platoâs Argument."

Other speakers include Marcy Speer, from the Center for Human Genetics at Duke University Medical Center, talking about how genetic results are interpreted; Felicia Mebane, from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, discussing how journalists cover genetics; and Allison Dushane, of the Duke English department, who will discuss vampire narratives.

The conference begins with Bearâs talk at 4 p.m. Nov. 21 at Von Canon Room A in the Bryan Center, and continues Nov. 22 and 23 in the Carpenter Boardroom in Perkins Library.

As part of the grant, Wald is also teaching a course called, "Religion and Genetics in Popular Culture," in which undergraduate and graduate students examine how genetics is changing our collective sense of what it means to be human and how religion shapes the way we understand and respond to the science of studying the human genome.

Students from the course are designing workshops to teach local middle school students about bioethics and popular culture. In early December, the students will go to a school and conduct the workshops theyâve designed.

"We are in the process of redefining what it means to be human," she said. "I just think this is so important to be thinking about."