Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Research paper on gene therapy
Gene therapy disagreement essay
Gene therapy disagreement essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Research paper on gene therapy
Ethics of Human Gene Therapy Gene therapy is a technique which has developed in the wake of recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology. It is a process which results in the correction of a genetic disorder by the addition of a piece or fragment of DNA into the genetic material of a living, functioning cell. A mere thirty years ago this concept belonged to the realm of the human imagination made manifest in the works of science fiction. Today it belongs to the realm of the human imagination made manifest in the works of science, period. It is mind boggling to try to comprehend the far reaching effects of gene therapy. How is it affecting society? Who will benefit from its use? Should it be used at all? Should research continue? How do we answer all of these questions? The answers are not readily available, nor are they black and white, but an attempt at finding some solutions must be made. Before exploring this line of thought further, a basic understanding of the technical aspects of gene therapy is essential. Technical Aspects Although the highly technical aspects of human gene therapy are somewhat complex, the basic concept is very straight forward. The goal of gene therapy is to correct mistakes that have occurred within the genetic material, or DNA, of the living cell. In very simple terms, DNA is often thought of as the "language" of the biological functioning of organisms. This language is organized by letters (nucleotide pairs), words (codons), sentences (genes), and books (genomes). Before being able to repair the damaged or defective genetic material, the location of the gene or genes causing the dysfunction in the individual must be determined. Over the last fifty years or so, scientists have made a great amount of progress in this area, including the development of techniques which allow for the controlled manipulation and replication of specific segments of the human genome. These types of techniques have come to be known as recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology and have allowed scientists to analyze functions of genes which are not necessarily directly expressed at the phenotypic level. This is done by "cutting out" or excising a particular segment of DNA of interest from the genetic material of an individual and inserting it into a bacterial plasmid (a tiny ring of DNA in addition to the normal chromosomal material found within the cells of bacteria).
A person's individuality begins at conception and develops throughout life. These natural developments can now be changed through genetically engineering a human embryo. Through this process, gender, eye and hair color, height, medical disorders, and many more qualities can be changed. I believe genetically engineering a human embryo is corrupt because it is morally unacceptable, violates the child's rights, and creates an even more divided society.
In the 2001 cult movie The Royal Tenenbaums, directed by Wes Anderson, a seemingly abnormal family, through two decades of unfortunate events, reunites once again. One might watch this movie and infer that the Tenenbaum family's way of reuniting is obscure and most was done out of pure selfishness, but it actually is a representation of an American life. The movie begins with showing that at young ages all three Tenenbaum children found major success in their lives. Chas Tenenbaum creates a successful small business from breeding dalmatian mice, Richie Tenenbaum is a tennis prodigy, and their adopted daughter Margot Tenenbaum received grants from writing short plays. Soon after, the three children find themselves in a severe, post-success, midlife crises. As well as the father of the family, Royal Tenenbaum-who at the beginning of the movie, is portrayed as money leeching and a compulsive liar- produces an extravagant lie about having cancer to gain the sympathy from his former family. Through a series of unfortunate events the three children, and Royal, are all found staying at their childhood home with their mother, Etheline. Spiraling into an uncontrollable story of an absurd, deviant family, that beneath the surface is actually an accurate representation of the average American household.
Gene therapy is the application of the technique where the defect-causing "bad" genes are replaced by correct "good" genes. The idea of gene therapy is to treat the disease by correcting the "bad" DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) rather than the current me thod of providing drugs, or proteins not produced by the defective gene. Gene therapy addresses the problem first hand by directly working with the genetic information causing the disease. From the book Shaping Genes, Dr. Darryl Macer says "It is like f ixing a hole in the bucket, rather than trying to mop up the leaking water." There are two kinds of gene therapy, somatic cell gene therapy and germline gene therapy.
School boards and teachers have a responsibility for protecting the minds of their students and covering age appropriate material. However, does this responsibility cover the extreme act of banning books from school classrooms? Does not the teacher have a duty to introduce to their students world issues in order to better the students ability to cope with problems in the world? How does a school decide which books should be banned from the classroom, and should it be left up to the teacher to decide what is decided in his/her classroom. By banning books from the classroom, we prevent our students from learning about controversial topics in a safe environment, and we also encroach upon the student’s freedom of reading what they want in school.
Each of these characters have a self running personality and they feel real. Each of them react differently to the situation. What makes it interesting is there are perspectives the reader will and won’t agree with. After Addie dies the characters even become more complex and their actual concerns and needs become apparent after the fact. Faulkner was able to stem this tree of complexity all seeded with Addie’s death. Even Addie develops further like roots to the base before and after her death. That’s quite admirable to make the corpse of a character develop as the story continues.
Every year in the United States we have books being banned and challenged by many people who do not like the contents of books. When researching for this argument essay I found an article written by Rebecca Hagelin. Rebecca Hagelin is the author of Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That’s Gone Stark Raving Mad and the vice president of communications and marketing at the Heritage Foundation (Lankford).
An estimated 450,000 were killed or injured last year in distracted-driving accidents. Some people don’t look at texting and driving as a big deal, while others do. There needs to be more strict laws on this subject. Texting and driving should be more enforced because it causes many deaths.
The most debatable and controversial form of censorship today is the banning of books in school libraries. Banning books that educate students is wrong and selfish. Censorship of books in school libraries is neither uncommon nor an issue of the past. Books with artistic and cultural worth are still challenged constantly by those who want to control what others read. The roots of bigotry and illiteracy that fuel efforts to censor books and free expression are unacceptable and unconditional. Censoring school books in libraries can often lead to censorship of our basic freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. In some cases, a minority ends up dictating the majority in censorship cases. To be told what is permissible reading material and what is not is a direct violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Goodall, Jane. "Hunting Contributes to Animal Species Extinction." Hunting. Ed. Dawn Laney. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Wildlife Trade Is Driving Species to Extinction." International Herald Tribune 13 Oct. 2004.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 July 2014.
Brenyo, Michael. "Book Banning in the US Education System." Journal of Law and Education. Jul. 2011: 541. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
When books are not allowed in a school library the ability to choose what is right for each individual student is taken from them. Some organizations, like the American Library Association, go as far to say the restriction of books is a “threat to the freedom of speech and choice” (Sloan). When a book is banned it is no longer a student’s personal choice to read or not read what they feel comfortable with, they have lost a small freedom, and many view that as unconstitutional. In addition, even the supreme court of the United States has sided against banning books in the past. In 1982 during the case of Island Tree School District v. Pico, the court decided that “local school boards may not remove books from the school library shelves because they dislike the ideas contained in those books” (Somanader). In other words, one of the highest courts in the land has said that banning books is a violation of human rights. Removing books from school libraries not only limits students’ choices, but also undermines their freedom of speech and their ability to decide what they feel comfortable with on their
Since its inception, gene therapy has captured the attention of the public and ethics disciplines as a therapeutic application of human genetic engineering. The latter, in particular, has lead to concerns about germline modification and questions about the distinction between therapy and enhancement. The development of the gene therapy field and its progress to the clinic has not been without controversy. Although initially considered as a promising approach for treating the genetic of disease, the field has attracted disappointment for failing to fulfil its potential. With the resolution of many of the barriers that restricted the progress of gene therapy and increasing reports of clinical success, it is now generally recognised that earlier expectations may have been premature.
The birth of genetic engineering and recombinant DNA began in Stanford University, in the year 1970 (Hein). Biochemistry and medicine researchers were pursuing separate research pathways, yet these pathways converged to form what is now known as biotechnology (Hein). The biochemistry department was, at the time, focusing on an animal virus, and found a method of slicing DNA so cleanly that it would reform and go on to infect other cells. (Hein) The medical department focused on bacteria and developed a microscopic molecular messenger, that could not only carry a foreign “blueprint”, or message, but could also get the bacteria to read and copy the information. (Hein) One concept is needed to understand what happened at Stanford: how a bacterial “factory” turns “on” or “off”. (Hein) When a cell is dividing or producing a protein, it uses promoters (“on switches”) to start the process and terminators (“off switches”) to stop the process. (Hein) To form proteins, promoters and terminators are used to tell where the protein begins and where it ends. (Hein) In 1972 Herbert Boyer, a biochemist, provided Stanford with a bacterial enzyme called Eco R1. (Hein) This enzyme is used by bacteria to defend themselves against bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses. (Hein) The biochemistry department used this enzyme as a “molecular scalpel”, to cut a monkey virus called SV40. (Hein) What the Stanford researchers observed was that, when they did this, the virus reformed at the cleaved site in a circular manner. It later went on to infect other cells as if nothing had happened. (Hein) This proved that EcoR1 could cut the bonding sites on two different DNA strands, which could be combined using the “sticky ends” at the sites. (Hein). The contribution towards genetic engineering from the biochemistry department was the observations of EcoR1’s cleavage of
Robert. "History of Bora Bora Island – The Past Origin." Beautiful Places. N.p., 17 Apr. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
O'Connor, Jennifer. "National Wildlife Refuges Under Fire." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 21 Oct. 2013: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.