Human Genetic Engineering in Beneficial to Society

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Even after thousands of years of evolution, the human race is not perfect: it is ravaged by disease and limited by nature. Yet, in recent times, researchers have begun to ascertain an advanced understanding of the underlying genetic code of humanity. The Human Genome Project, now complete, has provided a map of the intricacies in human DNA, allowing researchers to begin looking at the purpose of each gene. When combined with selective embryo implantation, which is used occasionally today to avoid hereditary diseases or to choose gender, genetic discoveries can become a sort of artificial evolution. By changing the genes in embryos before implantation, humanity has the potential to control many aspects of its offspring. The human race should welcome human genetic engineering, because the technology will inevitably be used, is ethically sound, and provides opportunity for advancement in prevention of disease and enhancement of the human body. Modification of the human genome will occur as a natural result of genetic research, even if it does not directly pertain to reshaping human DNA. In areas such as agriculture and breeding, genetics already plays an important role in determining success. In just a few decades, genetically altered crops went from laboratories to farmland, foreshadowing the success of similar projects in humans in the future. Techniques scientists use to adjust the nature of plants are antecedents to slightly modified procedures that are today used to change the DNA of animals. In Redesigning Humans, Gregory Stock describes a specific way genetics is already used to determine traits, saying, “This is not pie-in-the-sky genetic design. Capecchi’s lab has already used the technique…in a mouse chromosome” ... ... middle of paper ... ...e?." USA Today (Farmingdale). Jan. 1999: 28-30. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. Green, Ronald M. "Human Genetic Engineering Should Be Allowed." Opposing Viewpoints: Genetic Engineering. Ed. Noel Merino. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven, 2013. 46-52. Print. "Learning About Cystic Fibrosis." National Human Genome Research Institute. N.p., 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Naik, Gautam. "New Advance Toward 'Designer Babies'." Wall Street Journal. 04 Oct. 2013: p. A.3. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. Stock, Gregory. Redesigning Humans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Print. Thadani, Rahul. "The Public Should Oppose Designer Baby Technology." Editorial. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Gale, 2013. Web. Wheeler, Sondra Ely. "Ethical Issues in Germline Genetic Engineering." Christian Social Action. Oct. 1999: 4-6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

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