Taking Control of Our Fate

Even though the critics do not think that genetic medicine is safe, Americans should all support genetic testing because the testing is revolutionary, more effective, and can cause major diseases to fade away. This is why and why genetic testing should be used to enhance regular medicine. If society supports genetic experimentation, the United States of America can lead countries into a modern day medical renaissance in a new and exciting part of science and technology which can revolutionize the world. Scientists are currently working to develop a new branch of medical help. This new study is challenging the way people think about DNA.

All advancements in science have led to positive and negative results, yet, the rewards of genetics greatly outweigh the disadvantages. Mankind is entering a new era in medicine—genetic engineering—one that has received criticism. As the field of genetics inevitably becomes integrated with medical practice, people may continue to protest against what they believe genetic engineering will unleash on our society. Rather than allowing fear and ignorance to derail one of the most humane efforts underway, scientists and the society must find bridges of communication and understanding, through education, to promote the benefits of genetic engineering.

n.d. 10 April 2014. Qaim, Matin. The Benefits of Genetically Modified Crops. 2 April 2010. 1 May 2014.

It is completely unnecessary for scientists to create embryos to merely destroy; however, I fail to see the problem in using embryos destine for destruction for a greater good. These embryos have already be robbed of their life, so by being used for research they provide others with the blessing of a wonderful and healthy life. By federally funding research done on embryos, the society will not be continuing in the way of the complete degradation of society. The American people will benefit through the improvement of their health and the vast knowledge that they will acquire about their bodies and the way they work. Works Cited 1.Miller, John J.

29 Apr. 2014. www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/genetesting/page12>. "What Is Cancer?." - National Cancer Institute. N.p., 7 Mar.

Since these breakthroughs, the field of genetics has exploded with new research and ideas to help improve society. Genetic engineering is crucial to improving the health of organisms through early detection or by actually changing the DNA itself. If scientists were able to map out genomes of organisms, it would help them to find and prevent diseases. If some diseases were hereditary (inherited) they could be caught early and ... ... middle of paper ... ...the effects that altering of DNA will create so society needs to be careful. The advantages of genetic engineering are endless, but things like cloning and “tailor made” children are pushing the limit because they cause many moral and ethical issues.

A little over ten years ago on June 26, 2000 President Bill Clinton and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that the “draft sequence” of the human genome has been completed, it wouldn’t be completely sequenced until 2003 (Billings 2010), and with that the project has been brought back into the public conscious. The Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13 year long $3 billion dollar venture by the US Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health to “ferret out the genetic roots of common diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s and then generate treatments” (Wade 2010). Originally expectations were high that it would be the “be all end all” to bio medical research, that it would unlock the complete wonders of the human gene and also that it would bring in large sums of money for the pharmaceutical companies. As the project developed and researchers began deconstructing the human gene it became clear that a lot of what we knew about DNA structure wasn’t complete and this lead to the realization that it “wasn’t a race to the finish, but to the starting line” (The Economist 2010). Genetic technologies have grown by leaps and bounds over the years, and nowhere is it more evident than by the completion of sequencing the human genome.

Like any technology, GE has risks and benefits, but in this case, some believe the risks far outweigh the benefits and that forward progress must be stopped. Scientists define GE as “the artificial recombination of [DNA] in the test tube, their insertion into a… vector system, and the subsequent incorporation of the chimeric molecules into a host organism in which they are capable of continued propagation… usually [involving] the production of novel genetic combinations by biochemical means” (Mulligan). Using various techniques, scientists can splice DNA from one organism and place it into another in order to give the DNA recipient desirable characteristics. GE gives scientists an unprecedented amount of control over nature—although breeding has allowed humans to slowly weed out undesired traits, it operates at a much slower pace and only for macroscopic organisms. The control that GE gives scientists allows them to manipulate species of any size and create organisms highly unlikely to occur in nature.

Every day the progress, understanding, and development of genetic engineering is digging deeper and with this knowledge virtually anything is possible. Genetic engineering is a growing, prosperous industry and strikes interest in many people, some positive and others negative. Foods that have had foreign genes, genes from other plants or animals, inserted into their genetic codes would be a simple way of explaining genetic engineering. When it is broken down into a more scientific explanation, a plant’s genetic makeup has been altered through a process of recombinant DNA, or gene splicing, to give the plant desirable traits. Recombinant DNA uses bacterial plasmids and viruses to transport the new genes into the host cells.

Problems With GMOs. Retrieved February 23, 2012 , from www.ehow.com: http://www.ehow.com/info_8181702_problems-gmo.html Fernandez-Cornejo, J. (2011, July 1). Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from usda.gov: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/biotechcrops/ Goldstein, K., & Emami, G. (2011, May 25). Huff Post Green.