Saturday, April 8, 2017
Should We Create Genetically Modified Humans?
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/opinion/genetically-modified-babies.html?_r=0
The article discusses the science behind mitochondrial manipulation. The author discusses the ethical reasons of creating genetically altered babies. There are many pros to changing the genetic code of ill babies such as, the end of hereditary disorders. The article also mentions the cons of shaping the genetic code such as, how will the genetic changes effect later generations. Do you agree with altering the genes of humans? How far should we go to changing the Human DNA?
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This is a very interesting subject which has a lot of controversy surrounding it. There could be many arguments made on why this would be ideal for future generations; however, where does this end? Some of the main concerns are that people will also want to manipulate their genome to create a more enhanced offspring that is superior in many different ways than we are today.
ReplyDeleteAnother article regarding this same issue, addresses the unknown side effects that can develop in a genetically modified human that we may not even know until many years later. As with genetically modified crops, there is now scientific research that indicates there are serious consequences to genetically modified engineered organisms that have raised environmental and health concerns.
The fact of the matter is, there are substantial ethical issues behind this science and it should not be left to our government to decide what would be best for us as a society in this matter. In addition, could genetically modified humans in the future do away with genetic diversity? And could this be another form of human eugenics?
I would encourage you to read this article to learn more on the subject of genetic diversity and its importance: http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/22211.aspx
In addition, there is an article from the same website, that refers to the diminishing of the Tasmanian Devil due to lack of genetic diversity: http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/13897.aspx