Essay on Genetic Engineering
Genetic Engineering Term Papers
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Genetic engineering has been one of the most controversial ethical issues since 1997; when Dolly the first successfully cloned sheep was announced. Dolly has redefined the meaning of “identical twin”; not only does she look exactly like her mother she also has the same genetic make up. This experiment was not only impossible but unthinkable. Yet, Dr. Ian Wilmut revealed Dolly on February 23, 1997, at seven months old ( Travis 1). On the surface genetic engineering may appear to be the solution to all of society’s ills and the worlds problems. In all actuality it may have tremendous and unknown side effects. The issues that surround genetic engineering undoubtedly make it immoral and ethically wrong.
Long term prospects of mammal cloning remain in question. this is no where near clinically acceptable for experimentation on humans.
The answer is clear-- there is no safe place to draw the line on when genetic engineering is acceptable and is not. Governments can not say that the uses are strictly limited to curing disease because then there becomes a question of what is a genetic disease. For example, we may feel comfortable defining a mutation in the cystic fibrosis gene as causing disease if it leads to chronic respiratory infections from birth to death at the age of twenty five. However a different mutations in the same gene might caused little or no problem is this also cystic fibrosis? Other unknown aspects of an individuals genetic make-up and environmental factors also influence the outcome. Soon to be parents were advised that their child had an extra chromosome that would not cause Down syndrome, but this mutation was possibly linked to other undesirable traits such as severe acne and aggressive behavior. Given those circumstances the parents of a would be infant, may selfishly chose to abort the child(Shenk 6). To many Americans today the abortion of that child was wrong yet, in a genetically altered society the egg would be thrown away, implying that it was not normal or was not what the parents wanted.
To simply remove the gene that causes increased aggression and reprogram it to be very passive and optimistic, is a possibility for parents. But why stop there? The parents agree that their child will be tall, peaking somewhere between five feet eight and five feet eleven female and near six feet three inches because dad wants a NFL quarterback and mom want a super model. Both mom and dad have decided that the child should be smart, to take out the obesity gene, the gene that controls the risk of alcoholism, also the one that runs the risk of the child getting lung cancer, and lastly the gene that is prone to hereditary heart failure. It is at this point where you find the parents searching for their children in a catalogs, altering the child so much they now have a child who looks nothing like either of them. The issue of sex selection with in the United States would not have immediate effects, but in the long run we could become like China and India are now, aborting one sex in order to control the population of male/female ratios within the society (Hughes 11).
By condoning genetic manipulation or cloning the world see one the most important values disappear. Genetic engineering will destroy individualism and become more of a fashion, much like we see New York fashion shows go through. From one summer to the next the fashions change as will the use of genetic engineering. Blonde hair and green eyes will only last as a trend for so long thus, creating a child on what the current trend is. Individualism would be destroyed.
A bigger cultural concern about genetic technology is that people will begin to see genetics as more central and influential in life than they should. Eugenics and genetic determinism are being fueled by contemporary genetic technology and research, at the expense of attempts to ameliorate social ills. (Hughes 9).
Many opponents of genetic engineering and the investigation that has gone into it are concerned that the growing knowledge of genetics will lead to discrimination and the problem that may be raised with confidentiality. It’s a well known fact that employers are already attempting to discover the genetic risk of their employees and deny or limit employment or health care on the basis of that risk profile. Keeping genetic information confidential from insurers and other non-medical personnel in the health care system is trickier, since the records will show any special screening or treatment that genetic risks called for. This could strengthen the powers of insurers in enabling them to exclude any person from obtaining coverage based on their genetic make up (Hughes 10).
Currently there are medical procedures within this country that most insurance companies will not cover but wealthy people who fall stricken with these diseases are able to pay for treatment. Does genetic manipulation hold the same fate? The answer to this is yes, the people would find themselves broadening the economic gap between the rich and the poor. Not only that, but we would find ourselves a genetically divided society. The rich being genetically altered and the middle and lower classes genetically inferior(Hughes 11-12)
Privacy and confidentiality may also be threatened if a family member gets a genetic test and the results imply that untested relatives also have the disease, have an increased risk of having it, or even being a carrier. Some family members may not wish to submit themselves to these physical discomforts.
To answer the question when might genetic engineering go too far, it already has if there can be article written about it, that in turn, allowed me to write this paper.
Genetic Engineering, history and futureAltering the Face of Science
Science is a creature that continues to evolve at a much higher rate than the beings that
gave it birth. The transformation time from tree-shrew, to ape, to human far exceeds the time
from analytical engine, to calculator, to computer. But science, in the past, has always remained
distant. It has allowed for advances in production, transportation, and even entertainment, but
never in history will science be able to so deeply affect our lives as genetic engineering will
undoubtedly do. With the birth of this new technology, scientific extremists and anti-technologists
have risen in arms to block its budding future. Spreading fear by misinterpretation
of facts, they promote their hidden agendas in the halls of the United States congress. Genetic
engineering is a safe and powerful tool that will yield unprecedented 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 its history, discovering its
possibilities, and answering the moral and safety questions it brings forth, the blanket of fear
covering this remarkable technical miracle can be lifted.
The possibilities of genetic engineering are endless. Once the power to control the
instructions, given to a single cell, are mastered anything can be accomplished. For example,
insulin can be created and grown in large quantities by using an inexpensive gene manipulation
method of growing a certain bacteria. This supply of insulin is also not dependant on the supply
of pancreatic tissue from animals. Recombinant factor VIII, the blood clotting agent missing in
people suffering from hemophilia, can also be created by genetic engineering. Virtually all
people who were treated with factor VIII before 1985 acquired HIV, and later AIDS. Being
completely pure, the bioengineered version of factor VIII eliminates any possibility of viral
infection. Other uses of genetic engineering include creating disease resistant crops, formulating
milk from cows already containing pharmaceutical compounds, generating vaccines, and
altering livestock traits (Clarke 1). In the not so distant future, genetic engineering will become
a principal player in fighting genetic, bacterial, and viral disease, along with controlling aging,
and providing replaceable parts for humans.
Medicine has seen many new innovations in its history. The discovery of anesthetics
permitted the birth of modern surgery, while the production of antibiotics in the 1920s
minimized the threat from diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and cholera. The creation
of serums which build up the bodies immune system to specific infections, before being laid low
with them, has also enhanced modern medicine greatly (Stableford 59). All of these discoveries,
however, will fall under the broad shadow of genetic engineering when it reaches its apex in the
medical community.
Many people suffer from genetic diseases ranging from thousands of types of cancers, to
blood, liver, and lung disorders. Amazingly, all of these will be able to be treated by genetic
engineering, specifically, gene therapy. The basis of gene therapy is to supply a functional gene
to cells lacking that particular function, thus correcting the genetic disorder or disease. There
are two main categories of gene therapy: germ line therapy, or altering of sperm and egg cells,
and somatic cell therapy, which is much like an organ transplant. Germ line therapy results in a
permanent change for the entire organism, and its future offspring. Unfortunately, germ line
therapy, is not readily in use on humans for ethical reasons. However, this genetic method
could, in the future, solve many genetic birth defects such as downs syndrome. Somatic cell
therapy deals with the direct treatment of living tissues. Scientists, in a lab, inject the tissues
with the correct, functioning gene and then re-administer them to the patient, correcting the
problem (Clarke 1).
Along with altering the cells of living tissues, genetic engineering has also proven
extremely helpful in the alteration of bacterial genes. "Transforming bacterial cells is easier
than transforming the cells of complex organisms" (Stableford 34). Two reasons are evident for
this ease of manipulation: DNA enters, and functions easily in bacteria, and the transformed
bacteria cells can be easily selected out from the untransformed ones. Bacterial bioengineering
has many uses in our society, it can produce synthetic insulins, a growth hormone...
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