Human Genome Project

CRISPR, a revolutionary idea, a project that can help humanity or damage it. The DNA that is known as CRISPR-cas9 has been said to do incredible things, but also horrible things. Another problem is that in this world today who owns the patent, who can truly say that this was their discovery, and what does CRISPR really do? Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, CRISPR for short, are segments of DNA that contain short, repeating sequences. The repetitions are then followed by…

Genetic testing is also known as DNA testing. It utilizes laboratory methods to study genes and chromosomes, in order to detect the presence of genetic diseases or the mutant forms of genes associated with high probabilities of developing genetic disorders, to design appropriate treatment. There are different types of genetic tests: Diagnostic testing, carrier testing, prenatal testing, pharmacogenomics testing, Research genetic testing and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Families who…

screening of genes, has drastically increased in the last few decades. One example of this is editing embryos during development. In recent years, scientists have developed a piece of technology called CRISPR-Cas9. Specifically, it is used in editing human genomes for disorders and diseases, but in the near future, it could be utilized to change characteristics in babies like personality, eye color, and even intelligence. An article called “Engineering the Perfect Baby”, which was written by…

Ethical Issues in Genetic Screening for Breast Cancer: Patenting of BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes Breast cancer affects over 508,000 women worldwide and almost 50-58% of cases result in death. It is the top cancer in women (WHO, 2017, p.2). Scientist Mary-Claire King discovered BRCA1, the gene mutation for causing breast cancer, in 1994. BRCA2 was discovered in 1995 (Park, 2014). Testing options have previously been limited due to gene patenting. A patient carrying BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 can reduce the…

Non-human DNA extracted may contain bacterial, fungal, plant, or animal material in the total DNA recovered from the sample along with the relevant human DNA of interest. DNA Advisory Board (DAB) Standards mentioned that govern forensic DNA testing of forensic casework require human-specific DNA quantitation. This requirement ensures that appropriate levels of human DNA can be included in the subsequent polymerase chain reaction (PCR)…

Are you for or against genetic tests on children? In the articles,”Why we Should Think Twice About Giving Genetic Tests to Our Kids,” and “Genetic Testing for Kids: Is It a Good Idea?” They both give multiple reasons why it is a bad idea to test kids genetics. The first reason is that adults and children may worry. The second reason is that you may find unknown information. The third reason is that if you get diagnosed it may be incurable. One of the main reasons it is a bad idea to…

company that last summer secured more than $100 million in hope to create the first “app store” for genetic information. Helix is a bet to the buyout firm Warburg Pincus, and Illumina, the leading manufacturer of ultrafast DNA sequencing machines. Genomes hold information about…

Deoxyribonucleic Acid is the molecule within human cells that holds all our genetic material (Genetics Home Reference, 2017). DNA can be found in all cells of the body except red blood cells and can be collected from hair follicles, blood, skin, bodily fluids, bone marrow, tissues etc (GHR, 2017). In criminal cases, DNA is used as evidence to prove whether a person was connected with a crime. If a person’s DNA is found at a crime scene, they become a suspect in an investigation. The use of DNA…

Engineering Out of all the discussions we participated in this quarter, the one that interested me the most was the discussion on the dangers and benefits of human cloning and genetic engineering. In the discussion we saw two sides of an issue, Kenneth Kosik argued that there are a lot of risks involved in tinkering with the human genome. If we intend to move forward with it, he felt that we need to proceed slowly and cautiously. Robert Sapolsky, on the other hand, was making the argument that…

Human Genetic Engineering: A Hero Discovery or a Society Divider? In 1997, the film Gattaca was created, which showed the public a futuristic idea of humans being able to edit and modify human genes to create “valid” humans as well as “invalids”. Today, this futuristic idea from 19 years ago has become a not so out of reach reality for society today. Human genetic engineering is the process of either adding improved DNA or deleting sections of a person’s DNA and then adding more efficient DNA in…