The first time that I was exposed to genetic engineering was when I was a rising junior in college and attended a summer Biomedical Sciences program hosted by the University of Maryland. We learned about many aspects of genetics in the Biomedical research field and that immediately piqued my interest. I was further exposed to genetics, the act of gene splicing, and altering genomes in a lab when we first hand inserted a plasmid from an organism into a bacteria causing the activity and resistance of the bacteria to alter completely. With just a small segment of DNA inserted into the bacteria, it was able to resist the antibiotics that would usually wipe them out! The same could potentially happen if scientists alter the genome of a generation
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The subject of genetic engineering used to be “in the future” but the time has now come upon us in which it is actually reality. Scientists at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou have confirmed that they have engineered the first embryos to delete the mutation that causes the thalassemia blood disorder which is usually fatal (Knapton, par 5). Dr. Marcy Darnovsky of the Center for Genetics and Society strongly disapproved of the research by saying “No researcher should have the moral warrant to flout the globally widespread policy agreement against modifying the human germline” (Zhai et. Al. par 3). Scientists in the UK have also been developing CRSPR technology which is currently banned in the US and but actually used by scientists in the UK, and literally gives them the ability to “copy, cut and paste” DNA of one genome to another (Hartenian Doench, 1-3). The full effect of this can be predicted, but there is still a degree of uncertainty as to whether or not the benefits are worth the risk and gamble. The technology will still change society because it will cause it to have higher expectations and this could potentially be very harmful, especially during the transition in which some people have …show more content…
Unfortunately, once something is used in a different country, many countries follow in those footsteps because they want to be just as good as them, if not better. The first baby in the world with DNA from three parents was born just 5 months ago in Mexico using a team of US based doctors, which coveys just how current this issue is and how fast the technology is being utilized. Just two years ago, Moyer wrote an article exploring the possibility and now it has been done (Moyer 50-52). The doctors had to perform the procedure in Mexico solely because it was illegal to do so in the US, which indicates that the US may be close to allowing genetic engineering in its country(). Bioethicists and social scientists need to look further at how these actions will affect society and society needs to be educated about this matter so that we can come to a consensus as to whether or not we want to utilize this biotechnology. The field is currently quite ambiguous, even though the scientific community has made great advancements from where we were. We should be 100% certain about any technology that we use when it comes to possibly changing the human race because once we started to implement this
The subject of genetic engineering used to be “in the future” but the time has now come upon us in which it is actually reality. Scientists at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou have confirmed that they have engineered the first embryos to delete the mutation that causes the thalassemia blood disorder which is usually fatal (Knapton, par 5). Dr. Marcy Darnovsky of the Center for Genetics and Society strongly disapproved of the research by saying “No researcher should have the moral warrant to flout the globally widespread policy agreement against modifying the human germline” (Zhai et. Al. par 3). Scientists in the UK have also been developing CRSPR technology which is currently banned in the US and but actually used by scientists in the UK, and literally gives them the ability to “copy, cut and paste” DNA of one genome to another (Hartenian Doench, 1-3). The full effect of this can be predicted, but there is still a degree of uncertainty as to whether or not the benefits are worth the risk and gamble. The technology will still change society because it will cause it to have higher expectations and this could potentially be very harmful, especially during the transition in which some people have …show more content…
Unfortunately, once something is used in a different country, many countries follow in those footsteps because they want to be just as good as them, if not better. The first baby in the world with DNA from three parents was born just 5 months ago in Mexico using a team of US based doctors, which coveys just how current this issue is and how fast the technology is being utilized. Just two years ago, Moyer wrote an article exploring the possibility and now it has been done (Moyer 50-52). The doctors had to perform the procedure in Mexico solely because it was illegal to do so in the US, which indicates that the US may be close to allowing genetic engineering in its country(). Bioethicists and social scientists need to look further at how these actions will affect society and society needs to be educated about this matter so that we can come to a consensus as to whether or not we want to utilize this biotechnology. The field is currently quite ambiguous, even though the scientific community has made great advancements from where we were. We should be 100% certain about any technology that we use when it comes to possibly changing the human race because once we started to implement this