Genetic Enhancement and Politics Essays

DNA are like legos, they work together to build the traits of living things. They are the building blocks of the body. Many scientists today have been figuring out different ways to manipulate, change, add, and subtract genes from the DNA in living things; this is process is called genetic engineering. Some of the living things being experimented on are live people, plants, and animals. Today scientists are debating on the morals of genetic engineering due to what the community thinks of it, because of the christian 's viewpoint of genetic engineering. To some christians it may pose a threat to their, but to others it may be a blessing or a gift. Genetic Engineering is a growing breakthrough in the science community. “Over the last 30 years, the field of genetic engineering has developed rapidly due to the greater understanding of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as the chemical double helix code from which genes are made. The term genetic engineering is used to describe the process by which the genetic makeup of an organism can be altered using “recombinant DNA technology.” This involves the use of laboratory tools to insert, alter, or cut out pieces of DNA that contain one or more genes of interest.”(Pocket K No. 17) Scientist have yet to unlock the full potential of genetic engineering, but the information and the use they have found for it today has reached farther than anyone 's expectations.

I support the guidelines outlined by Kitcher for the use of genetic information because of their responsible and ethical nature. I believe that future generations will benefit as a direct consequence of these guidelines. I shall begin by defining eugenics as the study of human genetics to improve inherited characteristics of the human race by the means of controlled selective breeding.

Genetic Modification is often perceived as the answer to humanity’s faults because it will enhance human abilities, prevent the survival of incapacitating disabilities, and guide the innovation of the future. Sounds pretty good, right? That is not the reality. Genetic modification is not the solution to the ubiquitous problems of the human race, but rather infringes on individual rights, decreases diversity, permits too much power to the human race, and contributes to overpopulation.

Through these “battles”, authors also display their rhetorical prowess. One eloquent example of these “rhetorical battles” is the bout between the progressive Ronald M. Green and the conservative Richard Hayes. In his article “Building Baby from the Genes Up”, Green advocates for genetic engineering- realizing the inevitability of this new technology due the potential it has in improving mankind. Hayes responds to Green’s stance on human genetic modification in his own article “ Genetically Modified Humans? No Thanks.” Hayes’s own stance of the subject is polarizing to Green’s. Hayes believes that genetic engineering will not benefit society at all and in fact Hayes believes it would take away our humanity; claiming genetic engineering would “undermine the human community.”

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.

In the afterward to this book, author Lee Silver, professor of molecular ecology and evolutionary biology and neuroscience at Princeton, states, "My goal has been to present both the scientific and the political realities of reprogenetic technologies as I see them, along with the ethical dilemmas their use will raise. I leave it to philosophers and bioethicists to figure out how these ethical dilemmas might be resolved." As the book opens, the reader is moved scene by scene further into the future when, ultimately, the development of genetic engineering and its accessability will have formed a world even more polarized

Genetic engineering is the “altering of genetic material”, typically deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA (Parker 4). Human genetic engineering could advance today’s civilization, however, too many ethical dilemmas such as human testing associate with it. The future based World State in the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley uses human genetic engineering as the basis of their society and issues continue to appear, causing damage to their society like it would to this one.

Genetic Manipulation is very controversial because scientists do not know absolutely everything about the human body so far especially if they do slight changes on the smallest level. In addition to that nobody knows id introducing new genes to wipe out illnesses are even more dangerous.

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

Therefore, as a result of extensive regulations put forth and overseen by political authorities, Gene therapy has had a profound political impact. Its political ramifications can be seen to be positive as the legalities surrounding Gene Therapy ensure the protection, safety and security of any individual undergoing the clinical trial.

Genetic engineering has become increasingly normalized in today’s society, and people are exposed to this technology now more than ever before. Most people are aware that food companies practice genetic engineering on their plants in order to design the most profitable crops, but it isn’t generally known that this same technology can be applied to humans. The concept of picking certain traits and characteristics of a human may appear desirable, but many risks and potential side effects may follow considering that it is unknown what genetic engineering could affect in future generations. Francis Fukuyama, an accomplished and distinguished professor of political economy and philosopher, conveys his concern that genetic engineering is developing at a surprisingly rapid rate. Within his book, Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution, he claims that genetic engineering not only will potentially be detrimental for the human race, but due to the change in nature of human beings, such engineering will also result in significantly impacting government and politics. Although genetic engineering can be seen as a huge technological advancement that could potentially help millions, there are drastic negative effects and reasons for disapproving genetic engineering that are too important to be overlooked.

"Human Genetics." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999113/OVIC?u=washington_chs&xid=3817d414. Accessed 21 Mar. 2017.

The definition of eugenics is to breed out undesirable traits. Based off of Austrian scientist Gregor Mendel’s studies, eugenics is accomplished through selective breeding. Dominant traits would replace recessive traits and the law of dominance would be ineffective. Originally, the idea behind eugenics was not completely bad. Over time though, problems surrounding it have been found. Dealing with positive and negative traits, questions have been asked about what constitutes as a negative trait and who decides which traits are

This paper explores scientists ' points of view about genetic engineering. Some of them are sure that it should not be controlled by law; others consider that genetic engineering has crossed the line and as a result should be limited. Nobody doubts that with the help of genetic engineering we can treat some diseases, change the appearance of our offspring and even give infertile women an opportunity to have children. But genetic engineering has also an opposite side. The case is that scientists don 't often think about an individual but only about society. They are willing to hurt animals in order to successfully carry out the experiment and achieve good results. A lot of animals suffer and we can 't be sure that scientists ' activity will stop on it; they can start to carry out terrible experiments on people. Therefore I came to the conclusion that genetic engineering should be controlled by law in order maximize its benefits and minimize its harms.

After genes were discovered, scientists have been trying to disclose the mysteries of them. Since genes are the basic building blocks of organism, they are extremely crucial to the development of biological science. Genetic engineering seems to help the scientists explore the genomes. Genetic engineering is a relatively new technology that is used to manipulate the genome of an organism. It can be utilized to raise plants, cure diseases, create genetically modified babies, and clone living organisms. In other words, scientists can use genomes as Lego blocks to build or change an organism. When an innovative idea is introduced to people, two groups manifest: one that supports the idea and one that opposes it. Recently, as the products of the technology, such as GMO food, get increasingly more involved in human’ lives, people start to debate whether genetically engineering is more beneficial or harmful. On the surface of the issue, genetic engineering seems to only serve benefits. However, while the development of genetic engineering can change our world for the better, it has various negative influences on the human race in many aspects: it is harmful toward the agricultural environment; it acts against nature; and it creates ethical problems. Scientists must consider the disadvantages of the technology carefully, before they over-develop it to an extent that it creates irreversible harms which can impair the entire human race.