Gene Therapy and Genetic Engineering in Human Beings
We, as human beings, all start off the same way. A lucky sperm meets an egg and forms the beginning of a whole new life. From that very moment it is predetermined in our DNA that we will have a certain color of hair, be of a certain height, and what color that our eyes will be.
Then, approximately nine months later we are welcomed into the world carrying with us every trait that our DNA tells us to have. People will come in to see the miracle that is a newborn baby and say things like “oh, she looks just like her mother!” or “He definitely has his father’s nose!”
Rarely does someone see a newborn baby and say “What a lucky kid to have such a low risk of heart disease!” That, however, could …show more content…
Although scientists and researchers have studied and experimented with genetic engineering for years it is not exactly the first idea
Thomas 2 that would pop into one’s head when diagnosed with a fatal disease or planning on conceiving a child. Some may even ask “What is genetic engineering?” Genetic engineering is exactly what it sounds like. Humans, animals, and plants are all made up of genetic material which is contained inside that someone or something’s DNA. Every living thing has a different pattern in their or its
DNA. By “engineering” someone or something’s genetic material it is possible to change most any characteristic that the person, animal, or plant may have. Genetic engineering research started in the genetic engineering of plants. Scientists aimed to improve food crops. By skewing the genetic makeup of certain plants, scientists could reduce how much water certain crops needed to live, improve the look and taste of many fruits, vegetables, and grains, and give farmers a wider margin for error by modifying plants to be more self-sufficient. Once scientist were successfully engineering the genetics of plants, it was time to move on to the next big …show more content…
This leads us to the scientific breakthrough that is genetic engineering in actual human beings.
While there could be many perks to successful gene therapy and genetic engineering, there are still so many opinions and even more questions about genetic engineering, almost too many to even move forward in experimental research. Scientists, researchers, and especially people can legitimately ask things like “Exactly how dangerous can gene therapy be?” and “What are the long term effects of genetic engineering?” These are questions that have been put to the test by real living people and scientist have seen a vast variety of results. However, how can we know for sure where there is success and where there is failure whenever every test subject is
Thomas 3 completely different? The answer may only lie in the future and it may be an answer that you or I will never get to see in this lifetime. For now, we can only hope that genetic engineering and gene therapy will one day be the cure to the many incurable diseases and defects that are so common in the world
We, as human beings, all start off the same way. A lucky sperm meets an egg and forms the beginning of a whole new life. From that very moment it is predetermined in our DNA that we will have a certain color of hair, be of a certain height, and what color that our eyes will be.
Then, approximately nine months later we are welcomed into the world carrying with us every trait that our DNA tells us to have. People will come in to see the miracle that is a newborn baby and say things like “oh, she looks just like her mother!” or “He definitely has his father’s nose!”
Rarely does someone see a newborn baby and say “What a lucky kid to have such a low risk of heart disease!” That, however, could …show more content…
Although scientists and researchers have studied and experimented with genetic engineering for years it is not exactly the first idea
Thomas 2 that would pop into one’s head when diagnosed with a fatal disease or planning on conceiving a child. Some may even ask “What is genetic engineering?” Genetic engineering is exactly what it sounds like. Humans, animals, and plants are all made up of genetic material which is contained inside that someone or something’s DNA. Every living thing has a different pattern in their or its
DNA. By “engineering” someone or something’s genetic material it is possible to change most any characteristic that the person, animal, or plant may have. Genetic engineering research started in the genetic engineering of plants. Scientists aimed to improve food crops. By skewing the genetic makeup of certain plants, scientists could reduce how much water certain crops needed to live, improve the look and taste of many fruits, vegetables, and grains, and give farmers a wider margin for error by modifying plants to be more self-sufficient. Once scientist were successfully engineering the genetics of plants, it was time to move on to the next big …show more content…
This leads us to the scientific breakthrough that is genetic engineering in actual human beings.
While there could be many perks to successful gene therapy and genetic engineering, there are still so many opinions and even more questions about genetic engineering, almost too many to even move forward in experimental research. Scientists, researchers, and especially people can legitimately ask things like “Exactly how dangerous can gene therapy be?” and “What are the long term effects of genetic engineering?” These are questions that have been put to the test by real living people and scientist have seen a vast variety of results. However, how can we know for sure where there is success and where there is failure whenever every test subject is
Thomas 3 completely different? The answer may only lie in the future and it may be an answer that you or I will never get to see in this lifetime. For now, we can only hope that genetic engineering and gene therapy will one day be the cure to the many incurable diseases and defects that are so common in the world