The Pursuit of Genetic Engineering
Imagine a world where diabetes is effectively treated, where cancer has a cure, and where food is altered for higher quality and increased production. This “fantasy” world is on the brink of becoming a reality due to advances in genetic engineering and cloning. These medical innovations have the potential to revolutionize our lives in numerous ways. However, the fear of controversy and the fear of the “new” could hinder and possibly halt any progress that we are capable of making. There are concerns that society should carefully consider. It is important, though, to thoroughly research and examine a topic in order to understand why there should be no fear caused by cloning and genetic engineering one must know the factual processes behind them before a strong argument on behalf of their advancement can be formed. Cloning and genetic engineering are very controversial subjects; however, when used appropriately as a means to solve a problem or ease pain and suffering in a person, rather than to “play God” and take life into one’s own hand can be very beneficial. The pursuit of cloning and genetic engineering should be continued as they provide a means for improving health care and making major advancements in food production and waste disposal because when ethics come into play the facts show that the two are not actually processes in which ethical issues should arise.
The terms “genetic engineering” and “cloning” are often used interchangeably but there are conceivable differences between the two that should be pointed out. Genetic engineering is the alteration of one’s DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, (Walker 1). It is defined as, “the use of manipulations of an individual’s genetic ma...
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Children grow up watching movies such as Star Wars as well as Gattaca that contain the idea of cloning which usually depicts that society is on the brink of war or something awful is in the midsts but, with todays technology the sci-fi nature of cloning is actually possible. The science of cloning obligates the scientific community to boil the subject down into the basic category of morality pertaining towards cloning both humans as well as animals. While therapeutic cloning does have its moral disagreements towards the use of using the stem cells of humans to medically benefit those with “incomplete” sets of DNA, the benefits of therapeutic cloning outweigh the disagreements indubitably due to the fact that it extends the quality of life for humans.
Genetic engineering, sometimes called genetic modification, is the process to alter the structure and nature of genes in humans, plants, and animals (what is genetic engineering). Because DNA is a code that is universal, genes can be manipulated
There is always debate over human genetic engineering. Disputes over human genetic engineering concern the means for achieving assumed ends, rather than being a healthy discussion about the ends themselves. This book not only explores how decisions about the ethics of human genetic engineering are made, but also shows how the structure of the debate has led to the technological choices we now face.
Genetic engineering has been around for many years and is widely used all over the planet. Many people don’t realize that genetic engineering is part of their daily lives and diet. Today, almost 70 percent of processed foods from a grocery store were genetically engineered. Genetic engineering can be in plants, foods, animals, and even humans. Although debates about genetic engineering still exist, many people have accepted due to the health benefits of gene therapy. The lack of knowledge has always tricked people because they only focused on the negative perspective of genetic engineering and not the positive perspective. In this paper, I will be talking about how Genetic engineering is connected to Brave New World, how the history of genetic engineering impacts the world, how genetic engineering works, how people opinions are influenced, how the side effects can be devastating, how the genetic engineering can be beneficial for the society and also how the ethical issues affect people’s perspective.
The scientific process of genetic engineering is very complex and much more difficult than it would seem. First, an organism with the desired trait is located and selected. Cellular DNA is extracted from this organism to transplant the desired trait into the new organism. Gene cloning follows, with the locating and copying of the desired trait. The new gene(s), called a transgene is delivered into cells of the recipient organism, or trans...
The debate over whether or not the use of genetic engineering in humans is ethical has been a highly controversial topic for the past two decades. True, scientists can genetically manipulate genes in order to help cure genetic diseases, but genetic engineering can also have some undesirable consequences. Not only could genetic engineering harm humans physically, but change the way we view other humans. While the use of genetic engineering in humans can treat and cure some medical conditions, genetic engineering is a discipline that should remain unexplored.
Imagine how it would feel walking into the hospital with a failing heart and being able to get a transplant of your own organ. Humans are born with only one copy of the organs for each function required by the body. Despite the ability to recover certain cells, not everything within the body is able to regenerate itself. With the now never-ending possibilities of our advancing technology, genetic engineering has entered the lives of humans in ways that were never before expected. Genetic engineering is a modern topic that should be implemented at a greater rate because it helps us fight problems that are beyond basic medicine, it prolongs life, and increases the quality of it by adding techniques to treatment rather then more medication.
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...
Genetic cloning has become an issue in these past years, and many questions have arisen due to this scientific breakthrough. As with any new technology, ethical and moral ideals have clashed between those who support it and those who favor the opposing side. The dispute involves what to do with our ability to clone and manipulate DNA of human beings, plants, and animals, and whether it is ethical for us to pursue research and experiments with genetics or whether it is people just playing "God". Genetic cloning is a problem because it splits the country and for many of its questionable natures causing people not to trust it. Yes, it is a proven fact that people are scared of what they do not know about, and with genetic cloning, they have a very good reason to be both scared and relieved.
Genetic Engineering is essentially altering / adding new DNA into an organism, to provide that organism with more desirable traits. Process - desired gene is isolated with restriction enzymes from organism, and then extracted. The gene then undergoes PCR (polymerase chain reaction) where the gene is sequenced and then copied multiple times, to be re - inserted into the new organism (transgenic). This process is commonly used to provide plants with more desirable traits (e.g. less reliance on water) and can be used just as easily to provide humans with the traits that they themselves desire (e.g. blonde hair and blue eyes). However, medical complications and ethical issues prevent such procedures from occurring, as the theory and practice is still very much in its infancy, and as there is no glass ceiling as such in this particular field of engineering, resulting in countless possibilities that the world may not yet be prepared for.
The advent of genetic engineering leads to many medical and agricultural innovations that benefit the world. From preventing/curing diseases, to increasing agriculture production, the miraculous effects of genetic engineering are the next step in evolution for the scientific community. The benefits of such powerful technology may seem like science fiction, however, it is very possible that genetic engineering may become an everyday occurrence in the years to come. However, such advancements in technology, especially since genetic engineering is in its infancy, often have questionable ethical concerns. Ethical concerns such as human rights, equal distribution, and long-term outcomes/effects, often appear as important areas of discussion for those who question the morality that is involved in genetic engineering. Three ethical concerns pertaining to genetic engineering are Eudaimonistic Utilitarianism, Libertarianism, and Distributive Justice. Eudaimonistic Utilitarianism can be described as
Genetic engineering is the manipulation of an organism’s genetic structure. Genetic engineering typically involves splicing DNA from different donor organisms and then inserting the spliced DNA into a host organism. So far, genetic engineering has made great strides in a short period of time. For example, pet stores started selling zebrafish. Zebrafish had a jellyfish gene inserted into them that allows them to glow in the dark. Similarly, scientists engineered tomatoes that have a flounder gene, which allows the vegetables to resist cold temperatures the same way the fish tolerates cold water. Entire organisms have been cloned too by transferring a nucleus from an organism into an egg that doesn’t have a nucleus. That’s how Dolly the sheep was born. She was cloned from the nucleus of a mammary cell of an adult ewe. Unfortunately, Dolly died early of lung cancer, which was the cause of her unnatural birth. Although, Genetic engineering is not perfected, but in the near future scientists will uncover everything that needs to be known about genetic
Unlike so many issues, much of the debate about cloning and genetic engineering is about acts that have never been committed. They are unique in the fact that we have never before had the technology to perform these acts. We do not know the consequences of cloning a human being. We do not know the damage we can do by altering someone's genes. We do not know what disease we can cure. We do not know the limits of the evil we can unleash.
Human genetic engineering can provide humanity with the capability to construct “designer babies” as well as cure multiple hereditary diseases. This can be accomplished by changing a human’s genotype to produce a desired phenotype. The outcome could cure both birth defects and hereditary diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Human genetic engineering can also allow mankind to permanently remove a mutated gene through embryo screening as well as allow parents to choose the desired traits for their children. Negative outcomes of this technology may include the transmission of harmful diseases and the production of genetic mutations. The benefits of human genetic engineering outweigh the risks by providing mankind with cures to multiple deadly diseases.
Scientists and the general population favor genetic engineering because of the effects it has for the future generation; the advanced technology has helped our society to freely perform any improvements. Genetic engineering is currently an effective yet dangerous way to make this statement tangible. Though it may sound easy and harmless to change one’s genetic code, the conflicts do not only involve the scientific possibilities but also the human morals and ethics. When the scientists first used mice to practice this experiment, they “improved learning and memory” but showed an “increased sensitivity to pain.” The experiment has proven that while the result are favorable, there is a low percentage of success rate. Therefore, scientists have concluded that the resources they currently own will not allow an approval from the society to continually code new genes. While coding a new set of genes for people may be a benefitting idea, some people oppose this idea.