Artificial organisms. Creating life. When most people hear these words their minds immediately think about Frankenstein. Dr. Frankenstein, the mad genius, created a human-like monster using science. Many people are frightened by this concept; however, some people are perplexed and curious. Should real life scientists create artificial organisms? Should they delve into this extremely complex and almost fictional science. Yes, I believe that they should dive in head first. Although scientists are many years away from achieving this goal, the road to success will produce many byproducts that would greatly benefit the world’s health. An artificial organism can be considered any living organism that has been genetically altered in a laboratory. Utilizing artificial organisms will greatly improve the efficacy and potential of scientific laboratories. Instead of having to cultivate a colony of unpredictable bacteria to undergo harmful testing, scientists can just create an artificial organism that would behave in any way desired. These artificial test subjects could be made to fit specific designs and requirements, that would perfectly fit into an experiment. With experiments that can be more specifically designed, the possibilities are endless. …show more content…
In order to build something, you must know everything about it. Therefore, in order to synthesize artificial human genes, scientists must first know or learn everything about them. To meet this requirement, a very large amount of research must be done; therefore, resulting in many new groundbreaking discoveries. Understanding how something works, also means understanding what does not work about it. These discoveries could be invaluable to treating illnesses and diseases; furthermore, it could also provide the means to a multitude of
It helps medics to find a direct genetic cause of the patient’s condition and target it with pharmaceutical or other therapies. The technology is used for the identification of DNA sequences that increase risks of current diseases and disorders; with this information carriers can start to make efforts to prevent them before the development of the problem. The video mentioned 200 actionable genes, structures that have direct links with a specific condition. Knowing about their presence, people have a chance to bring in preventive measures like taking anticoagulants in the case of identification of a thrombogenic gene. The technology led to the significant improvement of diagnostics and personalized treatments. It helped to find a rare, life-threatening mutation in case of Beery twins and assign a drug to a girl (Alexis) that returned her to a normal life. In the case of cancer genome sequencing led to the development of genetic drags, which target essential tumor genes and make malign structures to shrink. The video mentioned a product that works with the BRАF protein that induces cells to uncontrolled division; the drug led to the remission in the patient with metastasizing melanoma. Such treatment was effective in the case of cystic fibrosis. In the case of the breast cancer the technology helps to evaluate the aggressiveness of the condition and make a personalized decision about chemotherapy. The video also mentioned the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis – an early-staged technology that prevents the development of inherited disorders in
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is a novel narrated by Robert Walton about Victor Frankenstein and the Monster that he creates. Frankenstein grew up surrounding himself with what he loved most, science. He attended Ingolstadt University where he studied chemistry and natural philosophy, but being involved in academics was not enough for him. Frankenstein wanted to discover things, but did not think about the potential outcomes that could come with this decision. Frankenstein was astonished by the human frame and all living creatures, so he built the Monster out of various human and animal parts (Shelley, 52). At the time Frankenstein thought this creation was a great discovery, but as time went on the Monster turned out to be terrifying to anyone he came in contact with. So, taking his anger out on Frankenstein, the Monster causes chaos in a lot of people’s lives and the continuing battle goes on between the Monster and Frankenstein. Throughout this novel, it is hard to perceive who is pursuing whom as well as who ends up worse off until the book comes to a close.
Today, we as a society world wide have a new issue to deal with. Science has discovered the means in which to clone animals, opening a whole new discussion. Many people are inclined to say why would science even wish to peruse this method of research. Lewis Thomas says in his essay "The Hazards of Science"
The Concepts of Creation and Nurture in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. When Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818 she had lost her own. mother and three children. It is against this background of loss that Many chose to explore the possibility of bringing the dead back to life. It is a good thing.
Victor Frankenstein creates a creature that he considers to be treacherous. Since the creature was created it obtains no knowledge of what it is or what is happening. Victor abandons the creature and the creature becomes filled with hate as it is constantly rejected by humans. The creature uses nature to survive. The creature also self teaches himself and becomes aware that he is a monster. He then swears to get revenge on Victor for leaving him alone. He gets his revenge by killing Victor's family. Victor then swears to get revenge on the creature, and decides that the best way to do so is by bringing the creature as far away from human civilization as possible. Thesis?!
because of the way he is just abandoned by Victor and the way in which
obtain love from something , it is easy and very possible to have love for
Synthetic Biology is “the design and construction of new biological parts, devices, systems, and the re-designing of existing, natural biological systems for useful purpose” ("Synthetic Biology"). In the essay A Synthetic World by Seirian Sumner, he illustrates the possible outcomes of synthetic biology and how it specifically affects the “natural world.” Furthermore, he explains that by manipulating organisms goes completely
In today’s world of genetically engineered hearts and genetically altered glowing rats, the story of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, seems as if it could be seen in the newspapers in our near future. The discoveries seen in modern science, as well as in the novel, often have controversy and negative consequences that follow them, the biggest of which being the responsibility the creator of life has to what has been created. Victor Frankenstein suffers from a variety of internal and external conflicts stemming from the creation of his monster, which in return also experiences similar problems. Shelley uses these tumultuous issues to portray the discrepancies between right and wrong, particularly through romanticism and the knowledge of science.
Compassion and empathy are often described as human-kind's greatest quality. Yet, many things can distract or overpower our compassion to allow room for things like cruelty, selfishness, and the need for vengeance. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein has no compassion for his creation; however, his creation is born with large amounts of compassion, but Frankenstein ignores and abuses his monster. Victor’s lack of compassion towards the monster, makes the monster lose his own compassion in a need for vengeance to make his abuser feel the same pain he does.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein opens with Robert Walton’s ship surrounded in ice, and Robert Walton watching, along with his crew, as a huge, malformed "traveller" on a dog sled vanished across the ice. The next morning, the fog lifted and the ice separated and they found a man, that was almost frozen lying on a slab of floating ice. By giving him hot soup and rubbing his body with brandy, the crew restored him to his health. A few days later he was able to speak and the stranger, Victor Frankenstein, seemed distressed to learn that a sled had been sighted prior to his rescue from the ice. Then he began to tell his story.
Every artist draws inspiration from somewhere, and the inspiration shows in their work. When looking deeper into the life of Mary Shelley, it is easy to say that the inspiration she drew to create her novel Frankenstein, came from her own personal experiences. Frankenstein is riddled parallels to Marry Shelley’s own life. It was not just by mere coincidences either, Mary Shelley makes various references to family members (specifically by name), places she visited, and situations she faced, herself, all of these experiences are documented in her novel Frankenstein.
Although humans have altered the genomes of species for thousands of years through artificial selection and other non-scientific means, the field of genetic engineering as we now know it did not begin until 1944 when DNA was first identified as the carrier of genetic information by Oswald Avery Colin McLeod and Maclyn McCarty (Stem Cell Research). In the following decades two more important discoveries occurred, first the 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA, by Watson and Crick, and next the 1973 discovery by Cohen and Boyer of a recombinant DNA technique which allowed the successful transfer of DNA into another organism. A year later Rudolf Jaenisch created the world’s first transgenic animal by introducing foreign DNA into a mouse embryo, an experiment that would set the stage for modern genetic engineering (Stem Cell Research). The commercialization of genetic engineering began largely in 1976 wh...
The introduction of synthetic biology, explained as "the design and construction of new biological parts, devices, and systems, and the re-design of existing, natural biological systems for useful purposes" ("Synthetic Biology") has almost taken over the field of biology. This branch of biology has become fairly new with the technological era that has every country funding money towards their science departments. Synthetic biology has many sections under it because of it 's broad coverage. It can affects medicine, the economy, global health, consumerism, security, the environment and much more. One big controversial issue under synthetic biology is the thought that because new strains and types of DNA are being introduced
Synthetic biology, also known as synbio, is a new form of research that began in the year 2000. The Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC Group) says that synthetic biology is bringing together “engineering and the life sciences in order to design and construct new biological parts, devices and systems that do not currently exist in the natural world’ (Synthetic Biology). Synthetic biology is aiming to create safer medicines, clean energy, and help the environment through synthetically engineered medicines, biofuels, and food. Because synthetic biology has only existed for fourteen years, there is controversy involving its engineering ethics. In this literature review, I am going to summarize and correlate the International Association for Synthetic Biology (IASB) Code of Conduct for Gene Synthesis, the impact of synthetic biology on people and the environment, and the philosophical debates.