Ever since the Human Genome Project, science and researchers
have been increasingly more and more fascinated by genetics and the DNA that
makes us who we are. Genes influence traits and behaviors as well as health and
disease and although the science community has learned a lot, there is so much
left for the science community to learn about what makes people who they are.
The Human Genome Project discovered that there are approximately 20,500 human
genes. This completed sequence allows us to identify the locations of genes and
the overall structure and organization of our genome. This knowledge has set a
basis for what research we are doing on genes in general.
The Cons to this Technology
When most people think about
Genetic Engineering, the idea of “Designer Babies” always appears to come up as
a topic. From a parent’s perspective, it would seem incredible if we were able
to remove a genetically linked disease from our child’s embryo. Unfortunately,
this leads to the question of where does this genetic-tweaking end? What are
the moral/ethical implications of making sure that our child visually looks
adequate according to society? It also questions the child’s lack of autonomy
for these decisions because they are decided at such a young age. Many people
argue that this idea of “Designer Babies” is just the beginning stages of
eugenics and we should stop research. 
Photo courtesy of University of
London Forum on Genetic Engineering
The Pros to this Technology
Although there would seem to be a lot of downfalls for this technology there are actually a lot of possible positive outcomes of such research. One thing in particular is gene therapy. Gene therapy is a technique that is being used as a treatment as opposed to drugs or medication. By using this therapy doctors and scientists are allowed to treat a disorder by way of inserting a gene into a patient’s cells. As of right now, the treatment is still under study but appears to show a lot of promise in terms of treating inherited disorders, types of cancers and some viral infections.
Although there is still so much to learn in this field of Human Genetic Engineering, there appear to be a lot of promising research that will hopefully benefit science and healthcare treatments in the long run. Overall, the subject needs a lot more research done and we are already making a decent amount of progress.
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It is really interesting how the science develops and how the scientists are close to treat Intractable diseases and disorders. I agreed with what you mentioned that some researches went Outside the bounds of morality and try to play God's role by "Designer Babies”. In the other hand, There is a lot of benefits that we have from Genetic Engineering and how it saves a lot of time and effort.
ReplyDeleteGenetic engineering is a very broad and new topic to many people so that’s why I think some people are afraid of it. It’s the same idea as when the vaccination was introduced for the first time to the public. Most likely there are going to be some side effect for genetic engineering, but hopefully side effect will become less by studying and doing more researches on genetic engineering.
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