Genetic Engineering
GENETIC ENGINEERING
Within a short period of time, genetic engineering has turned into one
of the biggest growth areas in scientific research .It appears
regularly in the media although the general public have no idea the
meaning. It is currently one of the most sensitive areas of ethical
debate.1
Genetic engineering however is a variety of techniques used to
transfer a desirable gene from one organism to another, where it can
be expressed. This means that the required product can be synthesised
within the new organism. Very often these two organisms are totally
unrelated species. The products of genetic engineering are referred to
as genetically modified or transgenic organisms. Paul Berg produced
the first recombinant DNA molecules in 1972. However since the 1970's
genetic engineering has rapidly developed as a powerful tool for the
biotechnology industry. 2
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the biochemical material that occurs in
all living cells which carries the instructions for the maintenance
and reproduction of cells. The basic structure of the DNA molecule is
helical, its bases are stacked on top of each other .DNA's four bases
pair up and this system of pairing is referred to as the complementary
base pairing. Genes are the chemical blueprints that determine an
organism's traits. Moving genes from one organism to another transfers
those traits. Through genetic engineering, organisms are given new
combinations of gene and therefore new combinations of traits. This
does not occur in nature and, indeed, cannot be developed by natural
means.1
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Figure 1 from Google images
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...e cure of genetic diseases.
Scientists however are already working on the next giant step which is
to replace defective genes with healthy ones by means of gene therapy.
References
1) Bremmer M. Genetic Engineering and you. 1st Ed. London: Harper
Collins Publishers, 1999.p.21-32
2) Wymer P. Genetic Engineering. Cambridge: Hobson's publishing PLC,
1988. P.8-21.
3) Bruce D, Bruce A. Engineering Genesis. 2nd Ed. London: Earthscan
publications Limited, 1999. p. 40-45.
4) The dangers of genetically modified foods. Stephen R, Sandra Smith,
2000. www.biotech.iastate.edu
5) Genesis of genetic engineering. Mathews P, 2002.www.bbc.co.uk/news
6) Advantages of genetic engineering. www.genengnews.com
7) Lapppe M, bailey B. Against the grain, 1st Ed. London: Earthscan
publications Limited, 2000. p. 21-45.
Genetic engineering has been around for many years and is widely used all over the planet. Many people don’t realize that genetic engineering is part of their daily lives and diet. Today, almost 70 percent of processed foods from a grocery store were genetically engineered. Genetic engineering can be in plants, foods, animals, and even humans. Although debates about genetic engineering still exist, many people have accepted due to the health benefits of gene therapy. The lack of knowledge has always tricked people because they only focused on the negative perspective of genetic engineering and not the positive perspective. In this paper, I will be talking about how Genetic engineering is connected to Brave New World, how the history of genetic engineering impacts the world, how genetic engineering works, how people opinions are influenced, how the side effects can be devastating, how the genetic engineering can be beneficial for the society and also how the ethical issues affect people’s perspective.
To date, engineers are very important in our society. They have great success in various fields such as medicine, robotics, genetic engineering, and many others. From a scientific point of view, engineers are looking for the best tools and equipment to create the perfect product. Engineers focus on improving productivity and reducing costs associated with the various aspects of production. Engineering is the way out of problems, usually with relating to the environment. Genetic engineering makes it possible for a future, free from any disease. Today, genetic engineering allows you to change anything for the better of effecting the gene level. Most people think the use of genetic engineering - is an excellent idea to improve the world, because we can get better products. However, people do not think about the possible problems that may arise in the future using genetic engineering.
The debate over whether or not the use of genetic engineering in humans is ethical has been a highly controversial topic for the past two decades. True, scientists can genetically manipulate genes in order to help cure genetic diseases, but genetic engineering can also have some undesirable consequences. Not only could genetic engineering harm humans physically, but change the way we view other humans. While the use of genetic engineering in humans can treat and cure some medical conditions, genetic engineering is a discipline that should remain unexplored.
Genes are, basically, the blueprints of our body which are passed down from generation to generation. Through the exploration of these inherited materials, scientists have ventured into the recent, and rather controversial, field of genetic engineering. It is described as the "artificial modification of the genetic code of a living organism", and involves the "manipulation and alteration of inborn characteristics" by humans (Lanza). Like many other issues, genetic engineering has sparked a heated debate. Some people believe that it has the potential to become the new "miracle tool" of medicine. To others, this new technology borders on the realm of immorality, and is an omen of the danger to come, and are firmly convinced that this human intervention into nature is unethical, and will bring about the destruction of mankind (Lanza).
What is genetic engineering one might ask and why is there so much moral controversy surrounding the topic? Genetic engineering as defined by Pete Moore, "is the name given to a wide variety of techniques that have one thing in common: they all allow the biologist to take a gene from one cell and insert it into another" (SS1). Such techniques included in genetic engineering (both "good" and "bad") are, genetic screening both during the fetal stage and later in life, gene therapy, sex selection in fetuses, and cloning. Because of many ethical, religious, and safety concerns, genetic engineering is the source of much debate and argument. Many people, even scientists, have raised strong questions concerning the issue. In his article Moore raises such questions as, "Could the technology get out of control and damage human health or the environment? Who will decide which of the many uses are safe and permissible, and which should be banned? How can we assess the safety of genetic engineering?" (SS1) These questions and similar ones raised by the opposition do hold valid moral and ethical considerations. However, the vast benefits of regulated genetic engineering techniques could greatly improve human health, the environment, and agriculture, and must be allowed to be explored by responsible scientists. Simply put, genetic engineering offers a possible brighter future for our world and everyone in it and it must be pursued in a restricted manner so the positive effects can be obtained.
Genetic Engineering is the deliberate alteration of an organism's genetic information (Lee 1). The outcome scientists refer to as successful entitles the living thing’s ability to produce new substances or perform new functions (Lee 1). In the early 1970’s, direct manipulation of the genetic material deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) became possible and led to the rapid advancement of modern biotechnology (Lee 1).
After reading this book, I thought this book was really amazing. This book made some really good points that I had never known before. The author informed the readers everything they needed to know about genetic engineering. Also, this book did a really good job at clearing all the questions I had before. The most impressive part of the book was how it was organized. It was very neat in the fact that each subject in this book was set up with a negative and a positive. That way when there are opposing arguments, the readers get to experience different viewpoints. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about genetic engineering.
Every organism has a huge amount of information, this information is found in a molecule called DNA, throughout the centuries science has had an immense development in most of its fields, one of them, Genetic Engineering also known as genetic modification, this process can be used for bacteria and eukaryotic cells (animals and plants). Genetic Engineering manipulates DNA, it can from one body to another, this alterations can be made to fix genetic defects or to improve DNA, this process does not normally include traditional animal and plant breeding which has caused a lot of controversy because it can cause health problems.
Human genetic engineering can provide humanity with the capability to construct “designer babies” as well as cure multiple hereditary diseases. This can be accomplished by changing a human’s genotype to produce a desired phenotype. The outcome could cure both birth defects and hereditary diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Human genetic engineering can also allow mankind to permanently remove a mutated gene through embryo screening as well as allow parents to choose the desired traits for their children. Negative outcomes of this technology may include the transmission of harmful diseases and the production of genetic mutations. The benefits of human genetic engineering outweigh the risks by providing mankind with cures to multiple deadly diseases.
Genetic engineering is the purposeful addition of foreign genes to the genome of a different organism. This is a new concept of genetically modifying. To start off the engineering process, scientists must successfully extract the DNA from the desired organism. Once they have done that, they will clone that gene. The specific genes that they need from the whole DNA will be separated and cloned to make thousands of
People have been altering the genomes of plants and animals for many years using traditional breeding techniques. In recent decades, however, advances in the field of genetic engineering have allowed for specific control over the genetic changes introduced into an organism. New genes can now be incorporated from one species into a completely unrelated species through genetic engineering. Biotechnology is the application of biological research techniques to create new processes and products while using biological systems, living organisms, and/or derivatives of organisms. Many jobs in the fields of industry farming, medicine, and food are being generated from biotechnology. Life can be improved through biotechnology in the following ways: advanced
Genetic engineering is the alteration of genetic material by direct intervention in the genetic processes with the purpose of producing new substances or improving functions of existing organisms. According to Gale’s Science of Everyday things, “it is a very young, exciting, and controversial branch of the biological sciences.” Genetic engineering has been used almost exclusively to make corn, soybeans, canola and sugar beets resistant to herbicides or [that] make their own insecticide. Both advances offer real benefits to farmers by increasing yields or farm income” (Jacobson). Genetic engineering also offers the possibility for the cures of diseases and countless material improvements to daily life. Hopes for the benefits of genetic engineering are symbolized by the Human Genome Project, a vast international effort to categorize all the genes in the human species. On the other hand, genetic engineering frightens many with its potential for misuse; either in Nazi-style schemes for popu...
Genetic engineering is the modification of an organism’s genes, to achieve a desired product. It is a likely possibility that in the future, this process will be used on humans. Many people think that genetic engineering is a good idea, but they are wrong because it can lead to even stronger mutations and will erase individuality.
What are the principle, ethical issues and experimental procedures used in genetic engineering and cloning? Should Cloning be allowed to continue?
"The new science of genetic engineering aims to take a dramatic short cut in the slow process of evolution". In essence, scientists aim to remove one gene from an organism's DNA, and place it into the DNA of another organism. This would create a new DNA strand, full of new envcoded instructions, instru...