Genetic Engineering: a Blessing or a Curse?
Introduction
Science is a creature that continues to evolve at a much higher rate than the beings that gave it birth. The transformation time from plant, to ape, to human far exceeds the time from a calculator to a computer. However science in the past has always remained distant. It has allowed for advances in production, transportation, and even entertainment, but never in history has science be able to so deeply affect our lives as genetic engineering will undoubtedly do. With the new technology there will be, of course, people against it. People who are afraid that genetic engineering and cloning are nothing more than "toys of the devil". They fear that it is unsafe. However, I believe genetic engineering is a safe and powerful tool that will yield extraordinary results, specifically in the field of medicine. It will usher in a world where gene defects, bacterial disease, and even aging are a thing of the past. By understanding genetic engineering and it's history, discovering it's possibilities, and answering the moral and safety questions it brings forth, the blanket of fear covering this remarkable technical miracle can be lifted.
The first step to understanding genetic engineering and embraccing its possibilities for society is to obtain a rough knowledge base of its history and method. To start off with, you must somehow find an understanding of how individuals pass on characteristics to their offspring. For instance, in regards to eye colour, a child could receive one set of genes from his or her father that were encoded one blue, and the other brown. The same child could also receive two brown genes from his or her mother. The conclusion for this inheritance would be the child has a three in four chance of having brown eyes, and a one in three chance of having blue eyes.
Genes are transmitted through chromosomes, which reside in the nucleus of every living organism's cells. Each chromosome is made up of fine strands of deoxyribonucleic acids, or
Science is a creature that continues to evolve at a much higher rate than the beings that gave it birth. The transformation time from plant, to ape, to human far exceeds the time from a calculator to a computer. However science in the past has always remained distant. It has allowed for advances in production, transportation, and even entertainment, but never in history has science be able to so deeply affect our lives as genetic engineering will undoubtedly do. With the new technology there will be, of course, people against it. People who are afraid that genetic engineering and cloning are nothing more than "toys of the devil". They fear that it is unsafe. However, I believe genetic engineering is a safe and powerful tool that will yield extraordinary results, specifically in the field of medicine. It will usher in a world where gene defects, bacterial disease, and even aging are a thing of the past. By understanding genetic engineering and it's history, discovering it's possibilities, and answering the moral and safety questions it brings forth, the blanket of fear covering this remarkable technical miracle can be lifted.
The first step to understanding genetic engineering and embraccing its possibilities for society is to obtain a rough knowledge base of its history and method. To start off with, you must somehow find an understanding of how individuals pass on characteristics to their offspring. For instance, in regards to eye colour, a child could receive one set of genes from his or her father that were encoded one blue, and the other brown. The same child could also receive two brown genes from his or her mother. The conclusion for this inheritance would be the child has a three in four chance of having brown eyes, and a one in three chance of having blue eyes.
Genes are transmitted through chromosomes, which reside in the nucleus of every living organism's cells. Each chromosome is made up of fine strands of deoxyribonucleic acids, or
Cited: Britanica. The New Encyclopædia Britanica. University of Chicago, Pan American, 1988.