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Benefits of genetically modified food
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The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Use of Gene Technology
The field of gene technology is an extremely vast and largely unknown
one. Within it are many different sections of application and within
these come many advantages and many disadvantages. It is a relatively
new area of science and as such many people are unaware of the full
potential of the applications of gene technology, or even the possible
negative repercussions. This gives rise to questions such as, 'Is it
right for us to play God?'
One of the largest areas of application of gene technology is in
medicine. The first practical use of genetic engineering was to use
bacteria as 'factories' to make substances that are useful to humans.
The prime example of this is insulin, where previously it had to be
obtained from animals for those people who needed regular insulin
injections. This process was more expensive, but it was also animal
insulin, so there was a high risk of side effects. With gene
technology, it is now possible to manipulate bacteria to produce vast
quantities of human insulin at a cheaper cost with no side effects.
Another practical use in medicine is to check unborn babies for
possible genetic disorders. With gene technology it is possible to
assess the likelihood of an unborn child being born with or developing
a disease that would seriously affect their life. With this
information, parents have the choice of keeping the baby or not, to
spare it from a seriously impaired or shortened life. An exciting and
likely prospect in medicine is gene therapy, which is being tested
currently. This would allow doctors to cure a disorder which was a
result of a...
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... (a right to privacy): 'Genetic profiles' pg.
38
2) 'Biological Sciences Review' Volume 17 Number 2 November2004
- Advantages in agriculture: 'Birds, bees and superweeds' pg.24
- Disadvantages in agriculture: 'Birds, bees and superweeds' pg. 24
3) http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?Article=3081
- Advantages in agriculture: 'Genetically modified food'
4) http://www.spinneypress.com.au/122_book_desc.html
- Advantages in agriculture: 'Debates- arguments for genetically
modifies foods'
- Disadvantages in agriculture: 'Debates- arguments against
genetically modified foods'
5) http://www.txtwriter.com/Backgrounders/Genetech/GEcontents.html
- Advantages in medicine: 'Medical applications'
- Advantages in crime fighting: 'DNA fingerprinting'
- Ethical disadvantages: 'Ethics and regulation'
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
The age of genetic technology has arrived. Thanks to genetic technological advancements, medical practitioners, with the help of genetic profiling, will be able to better diagnose patients and design individual tailored treatments; doctors will be able to discern which medications and treatments will be most beneficial and produce the fewest adverse side effects. Rationally designed vaccines have been created to provide optimal protection against infections. Food scientists have hopes of genetically altering crops to increase food production, and therefore mitigate global hunger. Law enforcement officers find that their job is made easier through the advancement of forensics; forensics is yet another contribution of genetic technology. Doctors have the ability to identify “high-risk” babies before they are born, which enables them to be better prepared in the delivery room. Additionally, oncologists are able to improve survival rates of cancer patients by administering genetically engineered changes in malignant tumors; these changes result in an increased immune response by the individual. With more than fifty years of research, and billions of dollars, scientists have uncovered methods to improve and prolong human life and the possibilities offered by gene therapy and genetic technology are increasing daily.
Gene patenting is a very controversial topic that has many scientists and researchers facing issues with their work. Patenting of genes raises many flags in the scientific world. Some examples of the cons of gene patenting are as follows. With all of this new technology coming out every day, the government has a hard time regulating the work of these companies. The most controversial topic in gene patenting is that you can’t patent something found in nature.
Human gene therapy is a method used in the medical field that treats diseases at a molecular level, by solving the source of the problem; our genes. Today, diseases and disorders are commonly treated by solving the symptoms, the surface of the problem. Many disorders and diseases are caused by defective proteins and within those defective proteins are damaged and defective genes. These defective genes can be treated through gene therapy. Gene therapy is not new and has been developed and improved by researchers for the past couple years. Being an experimental technique, gene therapy also has its pros and cons, but so far is showing positive and rising success rates.
...s of gene therapy is that the mortality rate is very high. This is because Immune system may attack cells and cells may attack vital organs. Furthermore, ethical issues should be dealt in a positive way. The technological institute has to reduce the unnecessary expenses of the treatment. I highly suggest the government investing more money on the development of gene therapy.
The controversy of these issues stems from the immense potential in genetic sciences for both positive use and harmful misuse. Though the questions and fears of critics reflect the wisdom of caution, the potentially unlimited benefits mandate that we pursue these technologies.
One of the most necessary uses of genetic engineering is tackling diseases. As listed above, some of the deadliest diseases in the world that have yet to be conquered could ultimately be wiped out by the use of genetic engineering. Because there are a great deal of genetic mutations people suffer from it is impractical that we will ever be able to get rid of them unless we involve genetic engineering in future generations (pros and cons of genetic eng). The negative aspect to this is the possible chain reaction that can occur from gene alteration. While altering a gene to do one thing, like cure a disease, there is no way of knowing if a different reaction will occur at the cellular or genetic level because of it; causing another problem, possibly worse than the disease they started off with (5 pros and cons of gen. eng.). This technology has such a wide range of unknown, it is simply not safe for society to be condoning to. As well as safety concerns, this can also cause emotional trauma to people putting their hopes into genetic engineering curing their loved ones, when there is a possibility it could result in more damage in the
Genetic engineering is now being used to create new medicines and therapies for many disorders and diseases, and also to improve agricultural plants and animals to produce bigger yields or enhanced nutrient composition and food quality. In Gene therapy, copies of healthy human genes produced in bacteria can be inserted into human cells with defective or missing genes, to fix the problem. Gene therapy is promising because it can use to treat genetic
Another area of medical advancement is genetic engineering. Genetic engineering will detect and possibly stop diseases before birth. Many diseases are associated with specific genes that can be checked for disease and replaced if dysfunctional. Genetic testing has already revealed genetic mutations that cause hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer, polycystic kidney disease, Alzheimers disease, and others. (5) Replacing missing, altered, inactive, or dysfunctional genes will prevent diseases or even death. Also, progression of a disease can be monitored, and
Human Genetic Engineering: Designing the Future As the rate of advancements in technology and science continue to grow, ideas that were once viewed as science fiction are now becoming reality. As we collectively advance as a society, ethical dilemmas arise pertaining to scientific advancement, specifically concerning the controversial topic of genetic engineering in humans.
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.
Safdar, M. (2010) Gene Therapy: Advantages and Disadvantages [Online] Available at: http://www.biotecharticles.com/Genetics-Article/Gene-Therapy-Advantages-and-Disadvantages-271.html [Accessed July 17 2011]
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.
In the end, gene therapy in humans needs to come a long way before it will be widely accepted, but there is great potential in the technology and it needs to be pursued. Bibliography Anderson, W. F. (1992). The Species of the World. Human Gene Therapy -. Science, 256 (5058), 808-813.
Genetic Engineering may or may not be beneficial. In terms of being an advantage, it can help decrease the death rate by destroying disease and has the potential to increase the lifetime of humans. Based on what scientists have discovered , genetic engineering is used as a beneficial technique to slow down the aging process of people, meaning it helps to store more life existence. Cloning is one of its biggest successful advantages which developed a whole new discovery in today’s life making life more interesting and easier. This cloning process has made it pos...