In the recent years the advances in biological sciences has been convincing society to discuss issues concerning moral and ethics. Issues as cloning, stem-cell research and genetic engineering are called socioscientific issues because they put into evidence the interface between science and society. In this paper we aimed at understanding how High School students realize and interpret issues regarding human genetic improvement. As a result we have found divergent opinions regarding negative eugenics, specifically about its attempts of taking out undesirable characteristics of individuals; but there was an agreement among all the students in rejecting positive eugenics, that aims at improving individuals esthetical characteristics. The divergences and differences of opinions may be related to the students' social representations.
Biology teaching; Informal reasoning; Moral reasoning; Socioscientific issues
