Bio Hackers : Saving The World !

“Who would want, in his right mind, to bring back to life a 4-meter high creature weighing approximately 8 tons?” asks French bioethicist, Jacques Clement, at the University of Versailles in Paris. “There is already a leading consensus that GMO foods can cause damage to human DNA, and now we are creating a Frankenstein-like creature from dinosaur DNA? If extraterrestrials are looking at us right now, they must be shaking their heads in disbelief,” he says with humor. “What happens if this species cross breeds with modern chickens? This could alter our modern chickens DNA forever as do GMO plants when they interbreed with millennia-old species,” he adds as a warning.

Throughout our lifetime we are in constant change, many of those changes are ones that you don’t notice. However permanent we set a change to ourselves, one thing we hardly notice change is our DNA. Just growing recently in popularity is genetic engineering , along with its immense potential which can do very much for us, in the future and today. However, with all the potential that genetic engineering carries many people have begun to resent what genetic engineering could become instead of focusing on the great capabilities, and what lies ahead of its bright future. Regardless of what others believe, Genetic engineering will renovate the way we do things today, genetic engineering is a tremendous step to accept, and without a doubt a step

One of the most famous quotes from the movie “Jurassic Park” states as follows, “Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they did not stop to think if they should.” This quote by Jeff Goldblum not only interprets his characters wit, but also sparks an interesting debate. “Jurassic Park” brings the idea of genetic modification to people’s attention in an entertaining way. Amazingly, scientists and geneticists are able to alter specific genes, much like in the movie. Many benefits from altering genes exist, but some are viewed as morally unacceptable.

The Gene Hackers published by the New Yorker’s Michael Specter talks about a breakthrough technology that could allow for the creation of genetically modified humans- “humans 2.0” as he calls it. This new technology could also be the cure for many genetic disorders like Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s etc. as it would allow scientist the ease of genetically identifying and editing specific genes responsible for these genetic abnormalities. This exciting new technology will be known as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats associated protein 9 or CRISPR-Cas 9 for short.

Genetic engineering is a powerful tool that can be used to accomplish a multitude of tasks. From species population control to ensuring certain traits in a human baby, there isn’t a lot that genetic engineering can’t do. It is becoming more and more acceptable to genetically engineer organisms as our knowledge on the subject grows. There have been experiments manipulating entire ecosystems by introducing a genetically modified organism into it. It’s even possible to change tiny details all the way down to the color eyes a child has. However these developments are not without controversy. Many people claim that changing the genetic make-up of a living being is playing God, and are against it. The works of Kiera Butler, John J. Conley, Ronald Bailey, and Simon Wallace speak on the controversy as well as utility value of genetic engineering.

Genetic engineering is the figurehead of the ethical concerns of scientists in the 21st century. Nothing is more engrossed with criticism and dislike than the idea of altering the baseline for living organisms. Many people are skeptical of genetic engineering due to the versatility it exhibits. A scientist could use a genetic editing tool, such as CRISPR, to remove the genes for a hereditary disease in an embryo, but they could also utilize it to alter the physical characteristics of a human baby. This thought provoked the flood gates of ethics to unleash a multitude of unanswered questions and concerns about the usage and further development of genetic engineering. The field of genetic engineering is

In the Biotech Century scientist are now able to splice, recombine, insert, and stitch living material into economic utilities. Viruses and genes are isolated, and placed

Humans have been manipulating the genetic code of not only us but various organisms that inhabit earth. From fruit to plants to animals. We have also been tampering with the idea of cloning to make an identical copy of the original organism. However, processes such as SCNT cloning and gene knockdown are not without their implications, both successful and failures.

Ever since the agricultural revolution, humans have been selecting plants and animals with beneficial traits like increased yield, resistance to diseases, or environmental pressures and breeding them together. Even if at the time they had no concept of DNA, and for that matter genetically modified organisms, humans have been modifying animals for over 300,000 years and plants for the last 10,000 (Rangel & Maurer, 2015). The only difference

Scientists have been changing the DNA in bacteria in order to benefit the world, but it could be doing more worse than good. I’m actually against scientist altering the DNA found in bacteria. I say this, because it has so many negative affects on people. I say this, because in the article “ Specialized Transduction” Paras Jain goes on to say, “ Changing the DNA found in bacteria can change the good bacteria in an organism such as humans getting diabetes” (Jain). In other words she means this process is really unhealthy. I also don’t enjoy this procedure, because it harms the environment as well as other kinds organisms. I say this, because in the article Specialized Transduction” Para Jain goes on to state, “ Bacteria being modified can become

Since Gregor Mendel began his experiments with pea plants in the mid 19th century, the field of genetics has grown vastly. Now known as the father of genetics, Mendel was the first one to study heritable traits. Since then, we’ve gone on to discover the structure of DNA, sequencing the entire human genome, studying genetic diseases, discovering mitochondrial DNA, and currently diving into a new field of genetics, called epigenetics, which looks at how the outside environment can affect how a person’s genes are expressed. But as we learn more and more about the microscopic molecules that make us who we are, we begin to step into controversial territory concerning human ethics. Lately, scientists

Bioengineering is still a developing area of study today with many controversial ethical problems involved. I really liked Atwood’s artistic approach for analyzing the subject and exploring the consequences ahead of time. It is a brilliant and provocative story that could leave the readers pondering on the subject matter for a long

Thousands of years ago, humans were pushing the limits of technology through agriculture in ways such as domesticating animals or making the wheel. Today our dedication to understanding and trying to control the world is leading us to engage in controversial topics and ethical debates. Curiosity is one of our race 's greatest gifts but, it is also a curse on the human population. The classic story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelly showed a scientist 's curiosity leading to a monstrous creation. This story was science fiction in the past, but in modern times it is closer to becoming a reality. Advances in technology are creating new possibilities in science, including the idea of manipulating human genes through the process of genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is revolutionizing and reshaping modern medicine and agriculture. While genetic engineering is leading to many innovations and discoveries in science, there are still questions in society regarding the ethics of testing and manipulating humans.

With only a 20-year history, genetic engineering is only a young science with much uncertainly relativity compared to other fields. Much of the elements bioengineering studies and experiments, the DNA genome and sequence, are still unknown to the scientific community. Changes in genes greatly transform the condition, structure, and essence of an organism, giving us an entirely different and unnatural creation. Even when the physical effects are barely noticeable or deemed safe and ethical, these modified creations’ effects on the environment are impossible to predict and will only emerge when the damage done becomes evident to the human population. Though a large unknown looms over modifying genes, bioengineering industries insist upon dismissing the scare over genetic foods with the vast potential “miracle” foods can benefit upon human society.

Michael Specter in his essay “The Gene Hackers” and Atul Gawande in his essay “Slow Ideas” both delve into scientific topics. Although each essay style is different, both authors maintain readability for their audience of The New Yorker and educate them while also making them question the future of science. Each essay is different but the both approach science, journalism and public policy.