Genetic Engineering: A Blessing or a Curse?

Introduction

Science is a creature that continues to evolve at a much higher rate than the beings that gave it birth. The transformation time from plant, to ape, to human far exceeds the time from a calculator to a computer. However science in the past has always remained distant. It has allowed for advances in production, transportation, and even entertainment, but never in history has science be able to so deeply affect our lives as genetic engineering will undoubtedly do. With the new technology there will be, of course, people against it. People who are afraid that genetic engineering and cloning are nothing more than “toys of the devil”. They fear that it is unsafe. However, I believe genetic engineering is a safe and powerful tool that will yield extraordinary results, specifically in the field of medicine. It will usher in a world where gene defects, bacterial disease, and even aging are a thing of the past. By understanding genetic engineering and it’s history, discovering it’s possibilities, and answering the moral and safety questions it brings forth, the blanket of fear covering this remarkable technical miracle can be lifted.

The first step to understanding genetic engineering and embraccing its possibilities for society is to obtain a rough knowledge base of its history and method. To start off with, you must somehow find an understanding of how individuals pass on characteristics to their offspring. For instance, in regards to eye colour, a child could receive one set of genes from his or her father that were encoded one blue, and the other brown. The same child could also receive two brown genes from his or her mother. The conclusion for this inheritance would be the child has a three in four chance of having brown eyes, and a one in three chance of having blue eyes.

Genes are transmitted through chromosomes, which reside in the nucleus of every living organism's cells. Each chromosome is made up of fine strands of deoxyribonucleic acids, or DNA. The information carried on the DNA determines the cells function within the organism.

"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...

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...y, it will enjoy its time of realization and come into full use in society. The world is on the brink of the most exciting step into human evolution ever, and through knowledge and exploration, should welcome it and its possibilities with open arms.

- Thomas

Works Cited

· "Bioethics: an Introduction." http://www.med.upenn.edu/~bioethic/outreach/bioforbegin/beginners.html. Internet.

· “Genetic Engineering.” http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/srtscot/geneng0.shtml. Internet. -*Good Site*-

· “Biosaftey.” http://www.icgeb.trieste.it/~bsafesrv/. Internet.

· “Genetics and cloning.” http://library.thinkquest.org/19697/. Internet.

· Roberts, Michael. Biology: Nelson Science. Nelson, Thomas Nelson and Sons ltd., 1995,

Britanica. The New Encyclopædia Britanica. University of Chicago, Pan American, 1988.

Yount, Lisa. Genetics and Genetic Engineering. US, Facts on File, New York

· Clarke, Bryan C. Genetic Engineering. Microsoft (r) Encarta. Microsoft Corporation, Funk & Wagnalls Corporation, 1998.

· Lewin, Seymour Z. Nucleic Acids. Microsoft (r) Encarta. Microsoft Corporation, Funk & Wagnalls Corporation

· http://www.greenpeace.org/~geneng/. Internet.

Written by Thomas Grome