Genetic Engineering: Good Or Bad?

“With genetic engineering, we will be able to increase the complexity of our DNA, and improve the human race. But it will be a slow process, because one will have to wait about 18 years to see the effect of changes to the genetic code”(Hawking). Scientists have been practicing editing the DNA of organisms in order to remove unwanted genes and or enhance their survival rates. As technology advances, it allows this practice to become more precise and successful. Scientist have been having successful test in modifying human dna which causes more controversies on whether it should be allowed or not.Genetic engineering should be permitted due to its ability to benefit the medical and environmental future.To begin with the idea of potentially removing unwanted traits in DNA sequences, to aid in removing hereditary diseases.

Imagine if we could make disease a thing of the past and extend the average human lifespan past 100 years. With genetic engineering, someday this future could become reality. Genetic engineering can cure genetic diseases, and extend and empower human life. However, many people have overestimated and reacted to ethical and safety concerns associated with this new technology.

Human genetic engineering can save people's lives now and could save more in the future. According to a New Scientist article (Le Page, 2015), Layla was three months when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a kind of cancer in the bone marrow. She underwent other treatments like chemotherapy, but those failed so she underwent gene therapy by using the TALEN protein to edit her genes to produce a cancer fighting T cell called UCRAT19; She survived and thrived (Le Page 2015). Saving someone’s life through human genetic engineering doesn’t even have to be as complicated as altering genes. According to TIME Health (Park, 2014), Mya Burkhart was six months old when her parents started to look for a cure to her rare mutation in the gene for citrate. This mutation prevented certain parts of her from getting enough energy, causing breathing and development problems, and after having no luck with any other diagnosis, a genetic scan figured out what the issue was and gave her citrate supplements (Alice Park, 2014). Both Layla’s and Mya’s lives were saved because of human genetic engineering. Layla was cured of cancer because of human genetic engineering, which is one toughest diseases for humans to cure right now, while Layla’s cancer was cured, but Mya’s condition was only treated so maybe if human genetic engineering could continue a cure could be developed to improve her life.

Genetic engineering or “genetic enhancement refers to the transfer of genetic material intended to modify nonpathological human traits” (Hanna 1). These enhancements are used to modify human embryos and during gene therapy. There are currently two different approaches to gene manipulation, embryo elimination or genetic alteration. There is a choice of either disposing of an embryo because it has a genetic defect or genetic alterations which are removing traits or enhancing them. Modifying human embryos and gene therapy should only be used for medical reasons because it will reduce health problems like birth defects or fatal incurable diseases thus eliminating the suffering and pain of both the children and their parents.

There are many incurable diseases in the world that affect an organism’s way of living. Cystic Fibrosis, a disease with no known cure, affects 1 out of 3600 Canadian child’s digestive system and lungs, while a person with sickle cell anemia is only expected to live forty to sixty years. Both of these diseases are similar in the way that they are inherited genetically; they are passed on from parents to their children. Scientists are producing a way to help these people called Genetic Engineering. This is a way of modifying an organism’s genome to produce a more desirable trait by manually adding new DNA.

Imagine the possibility of eliminating serious genetic diseases from the world. Imagine the idea of treating, preventing or even curing diseases that are yet to be cured. Imagine the feeling of being given improved health and a prolonged lifespan. This can all be accomplished with the aide of genetic engineering. Human genetic engineering refers to the process of directly manipulating human DNA to produce wanted results. DNA is a simple but very complex chemical that has the power to change the world and has begun to do so already. Many opponents to gene therapy fail to realize that genetic engineering has great potential to become very important in the biomedical industry. Though controversy exists regarding the ethics of human genetic engineering, it can produce numerous benefits, which outweigh its disadvantages and side effects; therefore, scientists should be able to manipulate the human genome for the purpose of helping people with serious medical conditions.

Genetic engineering has been the subject of controversy since it first started. There is a lot of fear and concern surrounding the possibilities it presents. It is difficult to make ethical decisions about genetic engineering because if offers opportunities to solve many genetic problems such as hereditary diseases. The consequences are positive and negative, but there is no way to determine which will have a greater impact. Genetic engineering could lead to new treatments for hereditary diseases, but it could also have long-term adverse effects. Although there are benefits to genetic engineering, the negative side cannot be overlooked.

It seems the future of this is now. “The science making human genetic engineering possible already exists and is being carried out, albeit in its nascent form, in labs and clinics around the world”(Metzl,2015). The early stages of doing this have started. For now it is just screening early stage embryos during vitro fertilization to find certain diseases that this baby may get (Metzl 2015). This is the first step in changing our genetics. This is a tricky one because it is helping someone, but what we don’t know is what damage that help maybe doing to them in other areas even though they can get rid of that particular disease. 80 percent of the medical school students were against genetic engineering that gives children enhanced athletic,

There is no denying the argument that it would be incredibly useful to have the ability to control and manipulate embryos in order to prevent diseases. However although there would be possible benefits, it is believed by many, including myself, that this huge medical step would cause more harm than good. On top of this, the concept of screening to prevent genetic disorders also suggests that a person with a disorder is somehow inferior, less desirable or not equal. Coming from a family that has lost many to the heartbreaking disease of cancer, I would love to see humans advance to a point where things like this were no longer a part of life. However, in my opinion, genetic engineering is not the solution to this nor is it the way of the future. In the article “ Engineering the perfect baby,” Antonio Regaldo quotes Edward Lanphier who says, “There really isn’t a medical reason.

This development has made the speculation of genetic engineering a reality, raising the question of whether or not it should be allowed. This is also just the beginning of what will be possible with genetic engineering of a human. Eventually, whole diseases could be eradicated, diseases such as alzheimer's or down syndrome. But as the technology would advance, it would make genetic engineering cheaper, and more available to the public, which raises the issue of people using the technology to create a

Genetic engineering is one of the most significant advancements in scientific history. This discovery possesses the potential to eliminate hereditary diseases and to add more desirable traits to humans. Changing the human’s genes can lead to eugenics, a controversial subject explained below. People are for and against genetic engineering, and as long as it’s regulated by the government, it should be allowed to continue.

With this, we will be able to tackle some of the most deadly and disastrous diseases (Rinkesh). With genetic engineering it is possible to live longer, to abolish diseases that could kill early on, and help humans adapt to the growing problems of things like global warming (Rinkesh). There are very few examples where genetic engineering is the only good solution to the medical problem of a genetic disease (Human Genetics Alert). It has the possibility of being a cure for disease, but it is still extremely unsafe. It can cause huge problems to the human body. It could cause babies to die early on. Genetic engineering could also cause a new disease we may not be able to stop with genetic engineering. It is wrong to mess with nature and play the role of God

Genetic Engineering has been hailed as one of the greatest scientific developments of the 21st century. The argument above is one of many, posed to ask human beings to think about whether or not genetic engineering is morally and ethically right. By modifying genes and DNA or by introducing new genes into an embryo, organisms are given new, often beneficial,

Imagine a utopian world with the human race where problems have limited human beings for centuries to live a long life. It's possible for human beings to be born without genetic diseases and viruses; due to this era being highly advanced in technology it is possible of curing diseases and viruses that are in the human genes. Doctors have developed a way to prevent newborn babies from receiving health problems through genetics. For example, health problems on the Cystic fibrosis, Sickle-cell anemia, Hemophilia, and Alzheimer's disease has the potential of being cured by enhancing the gene. Genetic engineering works by manipulating the genetic material and modifying its characteristics. It works is that doctors manually input a different form of DNA or remove a certain part of the DNA.

Genetic engineering has constantly been a major point of focus in the world of science over several years. From 1989 to present day, many people have questioned not only the process, but the motives behind genetic engineering. Over the years, the term “designer baby” has made the transition from movie screens to dictionaries, where it is defined as “a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering combined with in vitro fertilization to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics.” “Designer baby” is the very term feared by many people for so many years; it’s controversial, it’s unethical, it’s destructive, it’s immoral. Many ideas related to this subject are constantly being challenged.