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How Does Mary Shelley Characterize Stem Cell Research

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In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, she explores the idea of emulating God, but also the consequences of neglecting the results of discovery. If Mary Shelley was alive right now, she would be against many ideas of emerging technology, especially genetic engineering. Although her position isn't explicitly stated, she urges the reader not to tamper with creating life. A new technology that is emerging in science is stem cell research. I think Mary Shelley would reject this idea to some extent because she writes of how creating life can cause immense chaos, especially if the result is less than desired. In the article “Scientists successfully create human stem cells through cloning.” they discuss how human stem cells are created. …show more content…

“Big Leaps In Gene Editing Raise Ethical Questions About Human Application” NPR health correspondent Rob Stein states “Now, the fear here is that they're using CRISPR to modify these insects with something known as a gene drive. And a gene drive spreads a genetic modification through an entire species really quickly. So something could go wrong” This right here agrees with Shelley. These scientists, unlike Frankenstein, is actually acknowledging that there are repercussions that are bound to follow. “And that could upset the delicate balance of an ecosystem some way that could maybe unleash some new epidemic or cause the ecosystem to collapse and cause famine.”In addition, scientists are also predicting what could go awry, and hopefully planning a way to fix it if it does. This differs from Mary Shelley's novel because Frankenstein never logically thought out the consequences of creating a human sequestered in a laboratory. He didn’t stop to ponder how he would teach or help the human if this experiment didn’t go well. He was obsessed with creating life, but not taking care of that life he

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