In the modern world humans have been able to design and create nearly anything, most to aid us in our daily lives and improve our standard of living. It is only inevitable that eventually humans would take our superior knowledge and skill to manipulate life itself and change our genome to produce a healthier and even more superior human standard of life. In recent years discussion about gene therapy has changed into a promising possibility to treat many of our common human diseases and disorders. Although gene therapy might be the answer to many problems, it has been met with a number of logistical and ethical hardships. With the prospect of being a treatment for inherited genetic disorders, cancers, and viral infections, gene therapy seems like the logical fix-it-all bandage that many people would benefit from. Gene therapy is a relatively new concept owing mainly to our current knowledge of the human body and the relatively modern understanding of genetic coding and process. We now are able to better identify and understand the genetic causes of human ailments, and are just beginning to understand how to fix, replace, or eradicate the chromosomal basis for these issues; this is the concept of gene therapy. However logistically dealing with the small structure of genes, chromosomes, and DNA is not as easy as repairing a cracked wall or damaged water pipe, we are dealing with complex and microscopic materials that ordinary tools cannot deal with. Manufacturing such tools to deliver corrective DNA into affected cells within the body is just one of the obstacles that scientists and researchers are facing. Arthur Bank, guest journalist for BioJournals, recently detailed that modifying viruses proves to be an effective w... ... middle of paper ... ... therapy. With further research and development it might just be possible to take the genetic evolution of the human genome into our own hands. However, it is no surprise that there are some that question the ethical background of such a procedure. Works Cited "An Introduction in Gene Therapy." Haemophilia 6.(2000): 110-114. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 July 2011. Bank, Arthur. "Human Somatic Cell Gene Therapy." BioEssays 18.12 (1996): 999. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 July 2011. Southwell, Amber L., and Paul H. Patterson. "Gene Therapy in Mouse Models of Huntington Disease." Neuroscientist 17.2 (2011): 153-162. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 July 2011. "Genetics Home Reference: Gene Therapy." Genetics Home Reference. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 11 JUL 2011. Web. 16 Jul 2011. .
In this paper, I will argue that genetic therapies should be allowed for diseases and disabilities that cause individuals pain, shorter life spans, and noticeable disadvantages in life. I believe this because everyone deserves to have the most even starting place in life as possible. That is no being should be limited in their life due to diseases and disabilities that can be cured with genetic therapies. I will be basing my argument off the article by “Gene Therapies and the Pursuit of a Better Human” by Sara Goering. One objection to genetic therapies is that removing disabilities and diseases might cause humans to lose sympathy towards others and their fragility (332). However, I do not believe this because there are many other events and conditions in society that spark human compassion and sympathy towards others.
... find small traces of the virus, and predicted that at one point in time would make an escape to the human population.
... fight the disease. It is crucial that regulation be a necessary component of gene therapy research and applications. In hopes that the government can regulate and can receive this treatment, not restricting it to people that has serious genetic diseases. Gene therapy will change the field of medicine from what it is today. As scientist discovers more genes and their functions, the potential of this treatment is limitless. Though gene therapy is an auspicious treatment choice for numerous diseases (including inherited disorders, some types of cancer, and certain viral infections), the procedure remains precarious and is still under study to make sure that it will be safe and effective. Thus government regulators and scientist must take a lead role in adopting a practical approach to address these issues and determining the correct procedures for dealing with them.
Sade R.M.,and G. Khushf “ Gene therapy: ethical and social issues.” J So Carolina Med
In September 14, 1990, an operation, which is called gene therapy, was performed successfully at the National Institutes of Health in the United States. The operation was only a temporary success because many problems have emerged since then. Gene therapy is a remedy that introduces genes to target cells and replaces defective genes in order to cure the diseases which cannot be cured by traditional medicines. Although gene therapy gives someone who is born with a genetic disease or who suffers cancer a permanent chance of being cured, it is high-risk and sometimes unethical because the failure rate is extremely high and issues like how “good” and “bad” uses of gene therapy can be distinguished still haven’t been answered satisfactorily.
Pathogenic bacteria initially intrigued me last year, when I created an award-winning analysis on phage-host specificity. Exploring antibiotic resistance inspired me to harness phages as antidotes to bacterial infections. I became curious about drug resistance in mycobacteria while annotating the genome of a phage that may infect M. tuberculosis. To that end, I aspire to develop novel treatments for infectious diseases throughout my academic and professional careers. My desire to become a biomedical scientist has empowered me to apply for the Wadsworth Center Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program.
Every cell in our body contains a copy of our genome. A human body contains over 20,000 genes and 3 billion letters of DNA. DNA consists of 2 strands, twisted into a double helix and held together by a simple pairing rule: A pairs with T and G pairs with C. It is our genes that shape who we are, as individuals and as a species. Genes also have profound effects on health and due to advancements in DNA sequencing, researchers have identified thousands of genes that affect our risk of disease. To understand how genes work, researchers need ways to control them. Recently a new method has been developed that allows us to edit the genes of any species including humans. The CRISPR method is based on a natural system used by bacteria to protect themselves
Imagine if there was a cure for cancer right at our fingertips… Gene therapy is attempting to achieve that goal by replacing a mutated gene, such as a cancer gene, with a healthier copy of it. However gene therapy is still very new in the medical field and as such comes with plenty of risks with one being that it may cause a tumor to grow. How can gene therapy act as a potential cure for cancer and what are the potential harms that can come out of treatment?
Sometimes genes can also be transformed by viruses that can extract a gene from one bacterial cell and inject it into another (3).... ... middle of paper ... ... This understanding must extend to the need to preserve microbial communities that are susceptible to antibiotics, so they will always be able to out-compete resistant strains.
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.
Genes are made of DNA – the code of life (Gene Therapy- The Great Debate!). The changes in genes may cause serious problems, which we called genetic disorder. In theory, the only method to cure genetic disorders is gene therapy, which basically means the replacement of genes in order to correct the loss or change in people’s DNA. Although gene therapy gives patients with genetic disorders a permanent cure, it is controversial because it has safety and efficacy problems, and raises ethical issues.
Image what it would be like if doctors could cure Huntington's disease, muscular dystrophy, or even hemophilia. Could this be possible? With gene therapy this all could be reality in the near future. Gene therapy is a potential approach to the treatment of genetic disorders in humans. This is a technique where the absent or faulty gene is replaced by a working gene, so the body can make the correct enzyme or protein and consequently eliminate the root cause of the disease (BIO, 1990).
There are many people in this world with disorders and diseases that disrupt the balance of crucial proteins in the human body necessary for proper function and survival. Without these important proteins such as enzymes, humans are bound for disability and/or death. Recently, Gene Therapy has been more researched and studied, and is currently being improved and developed for the benefit of mankind. However, with the rise of this new and effective type of therapy, there comes a heavy topic of debate over the ethical issues in bringing this revolutionary research into play. Certain questions arise on the subject of this treatment such as: How can “good” and “bad” uses of gene therapy be distinguished? Who decides which traits are normal and which
Gene therapy poses many risks, but may prove the ideal solution for countless diseases. As seen throughout the past few decades, gene therapy can cure genetically inherited diseases by introducing therapeutic genes into the body. Critics may argue that there are moral and ethical problems associated with this novel technique, but for the most part scientists realize the importance this advancement will have. Gene therapy may be the key to curing dozens of diseases, and has endless possibilities, but more research is needed before its safe or accepted as common practice.
Retro-viruses and gene-specific medications could be used to alter a person’s genetic code, ridding a person of inherited maladies such as heart disease or diabetes. With the introduction of some, if not all, of these different methods of treating ailments, we could effectively wipe out a large amount of diseases that would otherwise be untreatable. Senior citizens would no longer have to suffer from maladies such as Alzheimer’s or other such illnesses related to age. With these procedures, a child can grow up never having to suffer from a learning disorder such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper-activity Disorder) or even cases of mental retardation by eliminating or modifying the genes that are responsible for these and other problems.