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Social issues of genetic engineering
Issues surrounding genetic engineering
Issues surrounding genetic engineering
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Genetic engineering seems decades away, but through modern technology, it has recently entered the human realm. Some believe genetic engineering will bring forth great advancements in the human brain and body, but instead some believe one mistake creates a world where every child will be genetically engineered just to keep up with the rest of society. Many times, the media plays a very strong role in the image of this issue, and masks the true identity of this social injustice. However, what forms of genetic engineering can be done in humans today? What is in store for the future? What are the risks and what could be the possible benefits? Currently gene therapy is one of the only ways to change the genetic makeup of an animal or human. Also,
Human Genetics Alert believes “Once we begin to consciously design ourselves, we will have entered a completely new era of human history, in which human subjects, rather than being accepted as they are will become just another kind of object, shaped according to parental whims and market forces”. HGA gives background information on the current available resources used in Genetic Engineering. Mentioned later in the article, “Most scientists say that what is preventing them from embarking on HGE is the risk that the process will itself generate new mutations, which will be passed onto future generations. Official scientific and ethical bodies tend to rely on this as the basis for forbidding attempts at HGE, rather than any principled opposition to the idea.” The idea of creating mutations in humans is one of the main reasons why human genetic engineering is such a controversial topic. The main positive effect on HGE is the elimination of a disease in a family line. Although this is true, genetic engineering is rarely the only option for curing a genetic disease. A pregnant woman that has a disorder that is most likely to be passed on has several options. The woman could adopt a child, or choose to not have children, as well as using donor eggs and sperm. HGA understands there are limited choices for helping and preventing HGE from occurring, “Not only are there no accepted criteria for deciding
SUMMARY: Director of the Ethics Institute, Ronald M. Green, in his article “Building Baby from the Genes Up” discusses why he thinks that genetically modifying babies genes is more beneficial than destructive. He begins his article off by mentioning a story of a couple who wishe to genetically modify their baby so that they could make sure the baby would not develop the long family line of breast cancer. Green then notifies the reader that no matter where they stand on the matter, genetically modifying babies is going to become more and more popular. Even the National Institute of Health is beginning to invest in technology that can be used to genetically modify human genes. He then explains how genetically modifying human genes can be beneficial,
Many people often ask, “Is it acceptable for human beings to manipulate human genes” (Moral and Ethical Issues in Gene Therapy). Most of the ethical issues centralize on the Christian understanding of a human being. They believe God made them the way they are and people should accept their fate.The Society, Religion and Technology Project have researched and found that countless people are curious if gene therapy is the right thing to do. They have a problem with exploiting the genes a person is born with due to the fact they consider it to be “playing God” (Moral and Ethical Issues in Gene Therapy). They are also concerned with the safety. On account of the unfamiliar and inexperienced technology. Gene therapy has only been around since 1990, so scientists are still trying to find the best possible way to help cure these diseases. Multiple scientists are cautious with whom they share their research. For the reason that if it were to get into in the wrong hands it could conceivably start a superhuman race. Author Paul Recer presumes using germline engineering to cure fatal diseases or even to generate designer babies that will be stronger, smarter, or more immune to infections (Gene Therapy Creates Super-Muscles). Scientists could enhance height, athleticism and even intelligence. The possibilities are endless. Germline engineering, however, would alter every cell in the body. People would no longer have to worry about the alarming and intimidating combinations of their parents’ genes. Genetic engineers are able to eliminate unnatural genes, change existing ones or even add a few extra. Like it or not, in a few short years scientists will have the power to control the evolution of
Despite being magical of gene therapy, it is high-risk. Few people got benefits from it, and it has a low rate of success. Prior to the human trial, Batshaw and Wilson had done experiment on animals to ensure the safety. Over 20 experiments have been done on mice but only 12 of them survived at last (Sophia, M. and Kolehmainen, J.D., 2000). More seriously, complicating diseases, which can be more dangerous than genetic diseases, might set in during the treatment period. In December 200...
One of the most necessary uses of genetic engineering is tackling diseases. As listed above, some of the deadliest diseases in the world that have yet to be conquered could ultimately be wiped out by the use of genetic engineering. Because there are a great deal of genetic mutations people suffer from it is impractical that we will ever be able to get rid of them unless we involve genetic engineering in future generations (pros and cons of genetic eng). The negative aspect to this is the possible chain reaction that can occur from gene alteration. While altering a gene to do one thing, like cure a disease, there is no way of knowing if a different reaction will occur at the cellular or genetic level because of it; causing another problem, possibly worse than the disease they started off with (5 pros and cons of gen. eng.). This technology has such a wide range of unknown, it is simply not safe for society to be condoning to. As well as safety concerns, this can also cause emotional trauma to people putting their hopes into genetic engineering curing their loved ones, when there is a possibility it could result in more damage in the
In the past 40 years, scientists have developed and applied genetic engineering to alter the genetic make-up of organisms by manipulating their DNA. Scientists can use restriction enzymes to slice up a piece of DNA from an organism with the characteristics they want and spliced (joint) to a DNA from another organism. DNA that contains pieces from different species is called recombinant DNA, and it now has different genetic material from its original. When this DNA inserted back into the organism, it changes the organism’s trait. This technique is known as gene-splicing (Farndon 19).
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.
People should not have access to genetically altering their children because of people’s views on God and their faith, the ethics involving humans, and the possible dangers in tampering with human genes. Although it is many parent’s dream to have the perfect child, or to create a child just the way they want, parents need to realize the reality in genetic engineering. Sometimes a dream should stay a figment of one’s imagination, so reality can go in without the chance of harming an innocent child’s life.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a highly debated topic all around the world. Someone from each side of the debate has an argument as to why GMOs should or should not be produced. Unfortunately, many others who are consuming these genetically modified products do not know that they are eating them and they do not know what they are. According to The American Heritage Dictionary online edition, a GMO is “an organism whose genetic characteristics have been altered by the insertion of a modified gene or a gene from another organism using the techniques of genetic engineering.” For example, corn had been modified to withstand herbicides giving farmers the ability to spray their crops with much more pesticides. In return, these pesticides
Genetic Engineering has recently become a contentious topic within medical and social circles. Controversial topics such as Sex Selection and Designer Babies are linked to Genetic engineering. They are destructive in every circumstance. Genetic Engineering is detrimental towards the individual and all posterity.
Assuming that we did genetically engineer for positive, medicinal purposes, it would require germ-line therapy, eliminating the necessity of constant somatic cell therapy. Germ-line therapy is the process of replacing genes, whereas somatic cell therapy is adding genes and hoping that they replicate at a higher rate than others. Possible targets for genetic engineering would be genetic diseases, such as Huntington (The Benefits of Genetic Engineering) and Parkinson, those proven to be linked to genetic predisposition, such as cancer (Ao, 140), psychological disorders like schizophrenia (Bernstein, 518), and major birth defects (Resta). There are however drawbacks to these treatments. Examples include undue suffering to the subjects due to botched engineering of the genes (Wolfson), also known as the Frankenstein factor, psychological trauma associated with...
With the advancement of technology over the years, we as a society have created ways to do things that were completely unimaginable not long ago. These technological advancements have led to the development in medical research and treatment. The things that hospitals can do nowadays are mind blowing on a scale that is ridiculous is size. Technology in the medical field has led to things like cloning, gene splicing, skin grafts, transplants, transfusions, and many more amazing innovations. But some of these medical practices are controversial, debated, and sometimes even banned in the United States of America. One of newest advancements that have only been majorly used in crop and animals so far is genetic engineering. Genetic engineering has already been debated and is a very controversial topic in the medical field when it comes to the engineering of children. What if you could genetically modify children before and after they are born so that you could have the flawless child? Would you? What if you had to because the life of you or your child depended on it? What if your child was going to have birth defects? What if you wanted a boy instead of a girl? What if you could make your child smarter, faster, stronger, or better at something like music or sports? And could genetic engineering lead to eugenics? There are tons of questions that can be asked about this amazing ability to change children so that they can grow up to be perfect, but the big one is what kind of laws could this break and do parents have the right to privacy when it comes to choosing whether or not they should modify their child.
The term GM foods or GMO (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques (Whitman, 2000). These plants have been modified in the laboratory to offer desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. Also, genetic engineering techniques have been applied to create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and accurately. For example, this is done by the geneticist isolating the gene responsible for drought tolerance and inserts it into another plant. The new genetically-modified plant will now have gained drought tolerance as well.
Human Genetic Engineering: Designing the Future As the rate of advancements in technology and science continue to grow, ideas that were once viewed as science fiction are now becoming reality. As we collectively advance as a society, ethical dilemmas arise pertaining to scientific advancement, specifically concerning the controversial topic of genetic engineering in humans.
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.
Although genetic engineering seems to be more harmful than helpful, when used correctly, it will help the society prosper. Considering the technology our society has currently developed, genetic engineering is a difficult topic to discuss and confirm. If the researchers confirm this process, it may become easier for the scientists and will help cure the diseases easily. The debate, however, will still be on the rise because of the issue in human morals and ethics.