Genetic Engineering : The Field Of Human Biotechnology

Six years ago, an event in genetic history changed our perspective on "reproduction" and added to our conscience a new element in the study of biology. On February 23, 1997, the world was introduced to Dolly, a 6-month-old lamb that was cloned from a single cell taken from the tissue of an adult donor. Ever since the birth of this sheep, a question that never before existed now lingers in the mind of many: should human cloning be a part of our society?

Genetic engineering is a very beneficial thing for every human. Some advantages involve individuals health and affect society in general. The lifespan of a human is increased, the extinction of illness in children and babies and healthier foods with a cheaper production cost are all rewarding devices of genetic

On the other hand, genetic engineering can also be a great benefit as through gene therapy, genetic diseases can be prevented and quite possibly being wiped from existence. Another benefit of genetic engineering is that it can also allow infertile couples to have a baby but to do this would require the genetic information of a surrogate alongside the couple’s genetic information [12]. This could result in many complications which is why there is a great controversy on this matter. Although cloning is known by a plethora of people, whereas the minority of the population knows of genetic engineering which brings up the question, what is genetic engineering?

Genetic engineering is the process of manipulating genes by adding new DNA or modifying the genome (which is a made of DNA) to add new beneficial traits in that organism using biotechnology. It removes the DNA from one organism and transfers into another organism. This changes the actions of the genes to serve human goals. DNA plays a huge role in this process. It contains human’s unique genetic code and also hold the instruction to make the proteins in the body.

Cloning Dolly, the sheep in 1996 was a momentous moment in scientific history. Scientists removed the nucleus from one of Dolly 's skin cells and engineered an egg to be insert with then nucleus. This egg could have fertilized in a mothers ' uterus. Following this discovery, mice, pigs and cattle have been cloned based on the same concept. In 2012, a group of scientists took cloning a step further and cloned human embryos. With great certainty, human cloning will be banned by the government due to human rights. The government has already deemed it illegal to fund human cloning projects. Despite the human rights issue, cloning serves a great role in research. These cloned embryos will help understand the biological nature of human cells and the human body. Also the embryos will help advance medical treatments for a wide variety of diseases. Cloning is vital to genetic engineering. Problems do arise from such an advancement. Exploration of women would be a major issue due to the fact that these cloned embryos need to be implanted into a women 's ' uterus in order to under go gestation. Almost all scientific developments pose positive and negative outcomes.

Human genetic engineering is currently a hot topic of discussion in the scientific world. What is human genetic engineering? According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, “Genetic engineering is the process of using recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology to alter the genetic makeup of an organism. Traditionally, humans have manipulated genomes indirectly by controlling breeding and selecting offspring with desired traits. Genetic engineering involves the direct manipulation of one or more genes. Most often, a gene from another species is added to an organism 's genome to give it a desired phenotype.” In other words HGE, is the process of genetically improvising the genes of a human being and selecting desired traits and trying to eliminate certain diseases in utero. The goal is to develop physical characteristics known as the phenotype of the child to what the parents’ desire. This process is very expensive and still in the process of experimental research. This topic is very debatable, due to the fact that there may be a chance for the parent to enhance the child to whatever they may find desirable, and to eliminate diseases. The cons of HGE, includes taking away the autonomy of the child, their natural creation, enhancing the child, lead to eugenics, and lead to social inequality (Seck). Human genetic engineering is immoral and unethical due to the fact that it is taking away from the child’s individuality, it is unnatural, the adverse effects of trying to deplete

Genes are the functional unit of hereditary and carry the genetic information of the body’s cells. A gene is a DNA sequence that contains instructions for a specific protein. Genes encode instructions that make a number of types of proteins that involved with the growth and development of the human body. Genetic engineering involves the modification of these different traits in organisms. DNA is extracted from one organism and combined with another organism to give new hereditary traits to the organism receiving the traits. Combined DNA is then placed into a host cell and the DNA produces clones of itself. One method of technology used is called recombinant DNA technology. This method creates recombinant DNA molecules that can transform cells into groups of genetically identical cells. Even the slightest changes in combinations can cause significant changes for an organism.

The terms "genetic engineering", "genetic manipulation", gene technology and trans-genes or the utilization of recombinant DNA are the terms used to describe modification processes. Genetic engineering is a positioned of developments used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes inside and crosswise over species limits to deliver enhanced or innovative organisms. The systems include modern controls of inherited material and other organically energetic elements. Genetic engineering is also known GM or genetic modification.

The genetic engineering of offspring has many benefits to it, benefits such as a cure for ailments and terminal diseases. If a scientist were able to genetically modify genes, perfecting each gene to function as it should then the cure to cancer would not be so far from grasps. Cancer could be made a thing of the past, with every newborn being genetically modified cancer could be prevented way before it starts takes its hold on a victim. If genes were to be composed then every homo sapien would be secured from diseases, the likely hood of being ill would be rare. According to the NLCATP, genetic engineering could forestall babies from being born with diseases such as muscular dystrophy, Epilepsy, heart problems and mental retardation.

Genetic engineering has to do with manipulating organisms and DNA to create body characteristics. The practice of genetic DNA has shown an increasing amount over the past years. The process of genetic enhancement involves manipulating organisms by using biotechnologies. The technique is by removing a DNA from one life form and transferring it to another set of traits or organism. Certain barriers are conquered, and the procedure involves changing a form of cells, resulting from an improvement or developed organism. GMO which is a (Genetic Modified Organisms) is the operation done in a laboratory where DNA genetic from one particular species or animals is directly forced into another gene from an unrelated subject of plants or even animals.

Early in 1997, Scottish scientist Dr. Ian Wilmot revealed to the world that he had successfully cloned an adult sheep, Dolly. With this invention, the world made a aggregate astonishment at the realization that cloning was no longer an aspect of a Science Fiction movie. Since then, human cloning has become one of the most expressing divergent topics in the world, discussions began regarding the ethic consequence of human cloning. In several recent opponents argue that it 's unethical and that it won 't benefit humans in anyway but cause harm. At variance, I believe that human cloning can have many benefits for the human race in terms of helping infertile couples and people with genetic problems. As well as being really helpful for a person with diseases such as kidney and liver defects or cancer. Nevertheless human cloning can have it defects such as being immoral and unethical to clone human beings for both religious and humanitarian reasons.

In 1996, “Dolly the sheep” was born. Dolly was the first mammal cloned from an adult cell. This process was immensely difficult, “of the 277 attempts to fuse an adult sheep cell nucleus with an egg, only 27 developed normally” (Elsner 597). Although this paved the way for most of the cloning that takes place today, like human reproductive cloning, the success rates and dangers it proposes outweigh any benefits. Human reproductive cloning is a reproductive technology that helps a parent produce a genetically identical offspring. It is a practice that seen to be unjust in many aspects. Some even argue this process as “playing god” (Halmoff 3:32). Human reproductive cloning presents countless psychological and physical dangers that disrupt the natural order of life.

Cloning has been a mystery that has puzzled the majority of scientists through many decades on how they could be able to achieve the impossible, many have given up and thought of this action as an impossible accomplishment that may never become a reality of the world. Over the past recents decade this impossible accomplishment is now becoming a reality to the world. “A clone is a genetically identical copy of an organism, and it may be created asexually oe created in a lab. The three types of cloning consist of reproductive, gene, and therapeutic cloning” (“Cloning”). There have been many attempts throughout the years of trying to produce a cloning until finally in 1979 the first reproductive animal clone was developed a sheep named polly who was the clone of her surrogate mother dolly the sheep. Therapeutic, reproductive, and animal cloning should be implemented more in the United States of America; because it will increase medical advancements in organ transplants, will give infertile parents a chance to procreate, and will give scientists the chance to further cloning and acknowledgments of diseases.

“Dolly is the name of a sheep that has the honor of being the first mammal to be cloned by a group of scientists in Scotland. Dolly was born July 5th, 1996 and she passed away in 2003. She lived for 6 and a half years, as an active ewe. She was not that normal though, she was a clone after all,” (Farmer, 1). Dolly lived a relatively normal life as a sheep and lived more than half of the lifespan of an average sheep, which is about ten to twelve years. This success, with the success of other cloning experiments, including the cloning of mammals like mice, cattle, and cats; fish such as carp; and rodents like Ralph the Rat; could lead to a widespread knowledge of how to clone humans. But allegedly, animals are not the only organisms that have been cloned. “Hwang Woo-suk, a geneticist in South Korea, claimed in Science magazine in 2004 and 2005 that he and a team of researchers had for the first time cloned a human embryo and that they had derived eleven stem cell lines from it,” (Anne Safiya Clay, 1). Notwithstanding Hwang’s claim, the cloning of a human has never been proved or verified yet, but the positive effects of human cloning outweigh the negative effects.

Genetic Engineering is a process in which a gene is physically removed from an organism and is inserted into another organism which now expresses the qualities given by that gene.