Pros And Cons Of Genetic Mapping

The world we live in is advancing more and more every day. We are beginning to exceed boundaries and reach new limits. Science and Technology has come a long way since Copernicus said that the sun was the center of the universe. Science fiction is slowly coming to life. We are building robots that are extremely similar to humans, modifying genes, and creating clones. Authors wrote about these abstract ideas not too long ago, but at the time they seemed far-fetched. Scientific and technological advancement may be for good or for evil. The good side is the advancements in medicine that could limit the risk of a particular disease or even cure one. The potentially bad side is the steps we may take to get there without knowing the long-term effect. In Michael Bess’s article “Blurring the Boundary Between Person and Product,” he discusses the advancement of genetic

When used in healthcare, genetic testing can show the genetic cause of a disease, confirm a suspected diagnosis of an illness, predict future illnesses, and predict responses to

Anything having to do with genetics should have strict regulations to follow. One should not think they can just start playing around with their own genetic makeup. It is good in a way where one can see any possible genes that can be problematic to the person health wise. This can also give a person an idea of what genes may possibly be passed on to their children. Although there is a positive, there needs to be regulations to keep things under control.

The benefit of genetic science for individuals is that it can determine if the person has a possible genetic disorder and give them

The medical advances being made feasible by genetic testing are very exciting. It is possible for people with predispositions for genetic defects to know in advance if they will have a healthy child or not. If they find out there is a problem they can choose to terminate the pregnancy or they can prepare in advance for their child's special needs. There is even new technology called Ex Utero genetic testing. This test is performed on eggs fertilized through in vitro fertilization before they are even put in the mother's uterus. Understanding genes in the developing human will help doctors understand the nature of genetic diseases and may lead to countless other medical breakthroughs. Though it is probably a long way off doctors may one day be able to manipulate genes. If this is possible some genetic problems may be cured.

In recent discussions of medical advancements, a controversial issue has been genome mapping poses risks to its patients. On the one hand, some argue that it is going to be time consuming and costly. On the other hand, however, others argue that this can be a breakthrough in medicine. In sum, then, the issue is what America’s next step towards medical advancement is going to be. While some believe genome mapping poses many unseen risks, genetic testing can help identify unsurfaced illnesses.

Although the gene chip will enable an individual to know whether he/she has a genetic disease, that person may not want to know the information. Many people are frightened that a positive finding on a genetic test will result in discrimination and ostracism because the society will consider them abnormal (Easthope 2005). The other concern is that with genetic test information one might lose or might be unable to get a job or insurance. There have been concerns that with the knowledge of one’s medical information after a gene test, he/she might suffer a psychological problem especially when the results reveal that one suffers from a terminal disease or has high possibility of suffering from one (Willis 2009).

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

Other problems to be aware of include the fact that “many genes have more than one effect” and traits chosen may be “influenced by multiple genes.” When the genes are modified to fit the specifications of the parents, the scientist could inadvertently mess something up only to pay the consequences later. Additionally, during the processes of modifying the traits the genes are introduced “at random places in the genome”. Concerns should come from the possibility that the genes could “arrive in the target genome in a way that disrupts the function of another gene crucial for survival” (Agar). Future health concerns include the diversity, or lack of diversity, of “the gene pool and human genetics” that could “lead to a major percentage of the human race being wiped out completely by some major disease”

Before discussion of the ethical, legal and social issues can be successful, some background information is needed. For example, why is the goal of mapping the human genome important? Who is going to benefit or at least be affected by this new

First of all, there are a lot of dangers involved when scientists tamper with the genetic make-up of a human. Probably the number one risk that is involved is the outcome of the child. Tim Johnson, a Kansas high school Biology teacher, said, “As science continues to explore the human genome, we will ultimately find creative

Within the last 100 years or so scientists have many valuable discoveries that have benefited mankind. These discoveries include the discovery of genes. Scientists have discovered what makes humans so unique from one another. However, with this newly gained knowledge of the function of genes comes the ability to alter or change them. Just imagine in the not so near future, you and your partner want to start a family together. You travel to your local gene councillor to pick the physical and characteristic traits of your child. That’s right. With the knowledge that has been gained about genes, scientists can “create” the perfect child genetically. The thought is scary. Nature has always taken us down the right path but are we really ready

Unfortunately, genetic testing tends towards being inaccurate with specific empirical data missing, and the common tool for its analysis appears to be nothing more than fictionalized scenarios, accompanied by varying interpretations and applications of test results. (B-232) The more common ancestry tests rely on short stretches of DNA in mitochondria, the cell-powering organelles. These mitochondria are inherited through the mother, or on the Y chromosome which is passed down from father to son. Mitochondria and Y chromosomes developed specific changes to them as people migrated around and across the world, and tied them to different populations, but charting an unbroken line along ‘uniparental markers’ (the paternal or maternal line) is

The fear of genetic discrimination is a phobia gripping many people around the world. People find themselves asking, could my genetic information raise my health bills? Could this cause me to be rejected from a job opportunity? These anxieties are causing people to lash out at genetic research, and ultimately the human genome project. People do not want our understanding of human genomics to advance. This is because the risks of the development of the technology could inflict on them. A major risk is genetic discrimination. I believe that genetic discrimination is wrong and governments should continue to prevent it because it is an invasion of privacy, it violates equity, and it could really hurt people with genetic

The human genome project is something that I have been very interested with ever since first learning of it. I had heard bits and pieces of what it is about, but my interest was greatly stimulated by Dr. Whited in basic genetics 311 last spring. The discussion that we had regarding the project left me with several ideas and questions about not only the process and ethics involved, but the future of the study of genetics as a whole.