The Benefits of Genetic Research

For as long as mankind has walked the Earth, there have always been things standing in its way; things scientists have taken centuries to try and understand. Finding the key to why someone has a pre-disposition to cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart problems, or even skin conditions like psoriasis, lays within their genetic make-up. Many remain reserved on the subject and insist that the risk of genetic testing isn’t worth the reward, though there is much evidence to the contrary. The debate on the benefits of genetic research and what they can do to help mankind has been argued with the help of extensive scientific testing, anonymous surveys, and rulings from our own Federal Government.
People are hesitant about genetic research for several reasons; most of them centered around the invasion of their privacy and the negative effects it could have on their lives were the information to be displayed publically. There’s also the sticky question of ownership when it comes to genetic material; does it belong to the patient being tested, or the scientists who discovers what’s being tested in the first place? Although steps have been taken via the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act to prevent a patient’s information from being accessed without their permission, there is still no law that will allow someone to put a patent on genetic material within a human body. (“21st-Century Genetics.” The New Genetics, 2010) Looking at a commonly known example, the Black Death, also known as bubonic plague, remains to be one of the worst cases of human casualty due to illness. The people of the 14th Century had very little knowledge of the inner workings of the human body and therefore chalked ...

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...lass; let kids know what problems our scientists and doctors are being faced with, what avenues they are exploring to fix them, and how they are attempting to do so. Genetic research is a wonderful scientific advancement; one that takes new steps every day, and one that people need to recognize and embrace.

Works Cited

Kerath, S.M., Klein, G., Kern, M., Shapira, I., Witthuhn, J., Norohna, N., ... Taioli, E. (2013). Beliefs and attitudes towards participating in genetic research. BMC Public Health, 13(1), p1-9.
Li, J, Zhen, T., Tsai, S.Y., & Jia, X. (2013). Epidermal Stem Cells in Orthopaedic Regenerative Medicine. International Journal of Molecular Science, 14(6), p.11626-11642.
National Institute of General Medical Sciences. (2010). "21st-Century Genetics." The New Genetics, p. 74-83. Retrieved from http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/thenewgenetics/chapter5.html