In “Building Baby from the Genes Up” Ronald M. Green discusses the ethics of modern genetics. The author states in the article that it is nearly certain that gene technology will be present in the future of humanity. Green begins the article by recounting the story of a couple that wanted to eliminate the high occurrence of breast cancer from their family. To do this, they decided that they would use genetic diagnosis to select only embryos without the gene that may predispose someone to breast cancer.…
In the last century, we have held science and technology accountable for creating new drugs to help treat terminal and harmful diseases that we contract throughout our lives such as HIV. Pharmaceutical companies obtain patents to protect their work from being stolen from them, and produced at a cheaper cost by generic manufactures. This creates the ethical issue of making the drug untouchable to those with HIV that are not wealthy enough to afford the medication they need to survive. Why do pharmaceutical companies not want to share their patented information? What is a patent pool and how is it saving lives? An ethical dilemma can…
In today’s society where scientific research is ever present. do individual companies and other groups have a right to lay claim to individual genes in the human body, or is the practice of patenting genes a bad idea? In his work entitled “Patenting Life,” famed author Michael Crichton uses several illustrations of why he believes the practice of issuing patents on human genes is not only a bad idea, but goes against common sense. Saying “you cannot patent snow, eagles, or gravity, and you shouldn’t be able to patent genes, either” (Crichton 442). Crichton compares “owning” a patent on a gene to some of the most majestic things one can observe in nature. The powerful visuals offered in that statement calls to the reader a clear and firm comprehension of how passionately Crichton feels about the topic of gene patents. His comparison to genes and other things in nature captures the reader’s attention firmly as he begins to build his case against patenting genes.…
Crichton clearly shows his stance on the topic simply talking about two congressmen who want to end the practice “Xavier Becerra, a Democrat of California, and Dave Weldon, a Republican of Florida, sponsored the Genomic Research and Accessibility Act, to ban the practice pd patenting genes found in nature.” (442). It is safe to assume if were up to Crichton himself he would end the practice altogether. As mentioned before Calfee does not see it that way at all, in fact against all opposition he states “On the whole, though, gene patents are turning out to work more or less the way patents are supposed to work and have been working for a couple of centuries and more. The research process, and ultimately patients, are the beneficiaries.”…
This article explains what gene patenting is, Myriad Genetics and its role in gene patents, and how gene patents affect patients everywhere. It also states how when a gene is patented, it limits genetic research on the particular gene. The main argument in the article is research pertaining to two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, genes strongly associated to breast and ovarian cancer risk. By patenting these two genes, Myriad has almost complete control over all the research and testing done with BRCA1 and BRCA2. Myriad charges around $3,000 to use their test, which is the only test a patient can take to test for mutations in these genes. Since this is the only test available, it is not possible to get a second opinion, which could potentially lead to misdiagnosis and possibly death. Myriad Genetics is even able to overprice their tests since there is no competition. It seems clear that gene patenting does not have a positive effect on the population.…
On one hand, it seeks to root out the cause of diseases which have no cure, rather than only treating its symptoms. However, treatments vary from disease to disease. In the case of cystic fibrosis, the effects of treatment do not last very long, and in SCID-X1, the treatment has led to risks of leukaemia. There is an ethical concern that it could modify human capabilities, thus altering the standards of normal human life. Gene therapy is also a very expensive form of treatment and hence should be regulated effectively. Gene therapy has a remarkable therapeutic potential (14) and this should be exploited. Through effective research and regulation, gene therapy has the potential to cure genetic diseases, eliminate any possible side effects and usher in a new standard of…
How much of genetic information can the parents or relatives access raises a concern that it might result in an excessive use of reprogenetics. Furthermore, if scientists allow DNA screening for parents to avoid passing genetic diseases to their children, that might lead to more designer babies. Human genetic engineering is new and current field that has its pros and cons. Therefore, we should be more concerned about setting up the limits of how much access the public and scientists can have on genetic information, and taking in consideration the ethical issues behind…
7. Who Owns the Genome? • Discuss arguments for and against patenting the genomic code. • The effects of patenting on drug companies 8.…
Gene patents have been a controversial issue ever since the United States Patent Office began to grant patents for human genes. Those who protest gene patents argue that they will impede research and negatively affect the medical field. Supporters of the patents suggest that they will help propel the field to new heights by harboring innovation through the pricing power that comes with patenting. Michael Crichton in an article titled “Patenting Life” and John E. Calfee in his article “Decoding the Use of Gene Patents” discuss the implications that gene patents pose to the economy, research, and the medical field. Crichton believes that gene patents will cause prices for gene testing to increase dramatically, hinder research on important aspects…
In order to create a hypothetical utopian society, Aldous Huxley projects the future progression of technology and bases the direction of his novel Brave New World on those predictions. He shows how social standards and beliefs can be changed, and how a few upgrades over a few decades can cause society to be nearly unrecognizable, vastly dissimilar, and frankly quite strange from an outside perspective. Huxley predicts that technological advances can lead to views on birth, sex, and relationships that vary considerably from modern society. One concept Huxley hypothesizes is the idea of what we call “test tube babies.” This refers to the Community’s method of developing custom humans in labs.…
Ruth Chadwick, the author of “Drug Discovery Today: Therapeutic Strategies”, revealed her concerns for the personalized medicine movement, “The move towards personalized medicine may disadvantage some patients in some social contexts, by shifting the allocation of resources in the health care system. Risks also surround the increasing accumulation of health data that goes hand in hand with personalized medicine” (Chadwick 171). Chadwick refers to the collection of personal DNA test information, “accumulation of healthcare data” as a risk; however, with the increased informational knowledge brought in by personalized medicine testing, cancer or other incurable diseases could benefit from an increased database of information. The risks mentioned by Chadwick may elude to an ethical argument for the increased concerns as personalized medicine comes to mainstream healthcare. Ideally, the increase in genetic testing among individuals through the implementation of personalized medicine would bring in massive amounts of information regarding the precursors for diseases and cancer allowing medical attention to become more accurate.…
Sir Francis Bacon once said: “Knowledge is power.” In our present day society, we are fortunate to have developed resources that greatly improve the quality of our lives. For example, technology has advanced to the point where we are able to perform genetic assays. These tests detect changes in chromosomes, genes, and proteins to help identify the likelihood of a child being born with different genetic conditions. Personally, I believe this test proves to be highly beneficial because it educates couples who plan to have a family on whether or not there are genetic risks that could ultimately have a negative effect on their future children. For example, here in Eastern Quebec a disease that is quite prevalent is Tay-Sachs disease. This…
In the past decade, increasing amounts of dollars have been spent on drug development yet the amount of new drugs entering the market per year remains the same. Furthermore with 200 billion dollars of patents expiring in the past four years (Witty, 2010), innovative pharmaceutical companies will need to look at new approaches to discover drugs. With the human genome being sequenced in 2003, a new field of science was created and an optimistic future for drug discovery.…
The fact is a Utah biotechnology company called Myriad Genetics patented its discovery which is two genes isolated from the human body. But some opponents which including a group of researchers, medical groups and patients sued this patent as invalid.…
When using genetic technology in personalized medicine is that some patients may receive incorrect information about their disease risk. This will bring up liability issue for them providing and prescribing the wrong preventive drug that may cause the individual to have severe to fatal side effects. The information can be falsely given but the patient has the burden of proof when it comes to filling a claim for negligence. This genetic testing that would lead to personalized medicine also causes the potential risk of stress on a patient when you put the thought into their heads that they may contract a certain disease that may be life threatening. There are many other drawbacks. The question of how accurate the tests are comes into play, being that there is no accuracy measurement in place for most. When given the results “Say you are tested for the potential for lung cancer, and learn that you might develop it someday. You decide not to smoke and you don’t develop it. But you can’t now know whether the test was right or wrong to begin with because you took steps not to develop it.”(Torrey, 2010) You also need someone who is trained in translating the results for you. Also your privacy is really not yours because you’re DNA can also be like your social and be kept, sold, and they even may us it however they see fit for their personal gain. The HIPPA laws don’t cover genetic testing so you’re not protected at all. The main drawback right now is that they aren’t effective enough in the early stages of the development. In the future with more test and better laws in place Genetic testing will make the personalized healthcare business…