Genetic code

Doctors of today have advanced tools and technology to look at an embryo and tell if it is healthy and ready for life. Many mothers experience complication in pregnancy that can lead to a child being born with disabilities. As stated in JUSTIFYING INFANTICIDE AND NON-VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA By Peter Singer, infants can be born with “irreversible intellectual disabilities, will never be rational, self-conscious beings.” With the knowledge of the child’s health before birth it gives a morally…

The purpose of this lab experiment is to extract chromatin from an animal liver and strawberries. Unlike humans whom are diploid organisms with two sets of each chromosome, one from the mother and the other from the father, strawberries like most fruits are polyploidy, consisting of more than two copies of the same gene. Strawberries are octoploid that have eight copies of each gene, making it an ideal fruit for DNA extraction. Frozen strawberries are ideal because the ice in the intracellular…

Patenting has been improved for decades and there now exist many patents pertaining to technology and science. The issue of whether patenting inventions in these areas brings more benefits or drawbacks for society is a debated problem. Some people believe that patent system is beneficial for economic development and protection of inventions. However, others opine that some patents deter the research process and not actually profit the whole society. In this essay, both sides of views will be…

Evolution refers to change that occurs in a population over time. These changes are produced at the genetic level as organisms’ genes mutate in different ways during reproduction. Evolution is a change in the gene pool of a population over time. Populations simply adapt to their surroundings. Lots of things change over time. People, animals, the changes of the leaves, the rivers having new species, the changes in the weather patterns. All through the Earth we all are changing. We are born and…

There are many ethical genetic issues that are controversial and will remain that way forever. Some include disagreements on how humans use animals in biological studies. Xenotransplantation, for example, furthers the use of animals for human benefit. Xenotransplantation, first discovered in the 1900’s, is a method of transplanting live animals cells, tissues, or organs from one species to another. It is becoming more common for animals such as pigs, goats, and monkeys to to be used as organ…

Generalized argyria results from chronically swallowing/inhaling compounds that contain silver. One major issue with the blue skin disorder is that it can be embedded into the genes and passed on to future generations. There have been few cases of genetic transmission of argyria, but one of the more notable cases is that of a family in Kentucky that occurred in the…

In 2004, the National Health and Medical Research Council (‘NHMRC’) banned sex selection on moral and social grounds, except in the case of a serious genetic condition. However, recent debates in Australia have led the NHMRC to consider the prospect of lifting the life ban. It is inherent in such a culturally diverse society that the public cannot reach one consensus. While some believe that sex selection is unethical for ‘moral’ purposes, others believe that it is an ethical means of hindering…

In recent discussions of ethical ways to use genetic screening, a controversial issue has been whether genetic screening of embryos is ethical, and if it isn’t then how can it be ethical. On the other hand, some argue that there isn’t a way to make genetic screenings ethical. From this perspective, many people believe that it’s something that is ethical and can really help families with a genetic disease. On the other hand, however, other argue that you are still killing an embryo which is wrong…

Human beings are influenced by both their genetics and the environment they are raised in. There is a great deal of evidence for both nature and nurture, so why can’t we realize that both can have an impact? Throughout history, the homo species has had to fight for survival. We as humans, for the most part, do not need to fight for food and shelter, yet some of our animal instincts remain. It is not so crazy to say that humans are effected by nature and the environment they grew up in. As we…

Modern day Frankenstein In Marry Wollstonecraft Shelly’s book Frankenstein, she created a person by an untraditional process. Ultimately she was trying to play God. I can see this happening in today’s society in several ways. The first way I see it is when couples are able to seek out help from fertility specialist, to ensure pregnancy and even sometimes the gender of the baby. This is sometimes done to prevent the spread of diseases like muscular dystrophy, where only male offspring will be…