This area of research is exciting and horrifying at the same time. The ability to prevent illness and disease before inception has wonderful implications for society. At the same time, there is a fine line between altering genetics to increase the quality of life to a normal standard and altering genetics to superhuman standards for mere personal reasons. Despite the possibility for good, I tend to discourage any such tampering with human evolution. There are conditions that may be seen as disadvantages in current conditions, but could have grand advantages in another. We cannot predict how our population will evolve, and therefore shouldn’t do anything more to alter its natural course. Similarly, favorable traits that a person inherits from the genetic lottery would be meaningless in the synthetically created persons of genetically modified zygotes. I fully believe in the power of science and technology to greatly enhance quality of life; however I don’t think it has the power to play God as it threatens to do in genetic engineering. The consequences of such endeavors are far graver than the benefits. That being said, I have no problem with Gene therapy, as it acts on existing persons with often detrimental conditions. I think it is noble to help someone lead a longer and more fulfilling life, but dishonorable to try and chose that life for them by altering or selecting for particular traits before birth.
I believe that the genetic technology we have today is amazing. It can do a lot of good. People who wish to have children but cannot do so on their own can now fulfill their wishes. Parents can also work with doctors on freeing their future children from certain diseases. However, I do see this genetic technology as a slippery slope. The potential possibilities are unreal. What if parents wanted to decide the sex of their child, their hair color, eye color, or how tall they will be. What would be the limit to such parents' wishes? Rea made a good point by saying traits that a person inherits would be meaningless. If every parent could decide they wanted their child to have blonde hair and blue eyes, then the meaning of beauty would change and every other trait would be looked down upon. Also, if we were to rid of all genetic deformities, then we would not be able to do any research to cure these diseases when they would arise. There is also always going to be viruses, bacteria, and diseases, so if we try to stop all current diseases, I believe that new ones will arise. In the past, a mother was lucky to survive child birth. Nowadays, a mother can give birth and be back to all normal activies within a few weeks. I believe the medical technology can do a lot of good but I think we need to set limits on the capabilities.
Although I sometimes get overwhelmed with the amount of technology we have today, I do think there is a lot of good that can come from it. But I would have to agree with Rea and Lauren. I think there is something "magical" about having children, and part of being a parent is loving your child unconditionally. The thought of designing your child takes away from the significance of parenthood. With that being said, I think the study of preventing serious disease is amazing. If I had a child and they were ill, I would do everything in my power to protect them. Research has enabled us to overcome potential tradgeties, I just don't know of the long-term consequences of this. The museum trips showed me how little I know about science and how far it has come. I respect the hard work of the people in the passed. It inspires me to be more aware of my body and how it works. I am excited to see what the future holds for medical technology, but at the same time, it overwhelms me. When I was young, I used to think that the future would be filled with robots. In reality, if we continue to let technology rule our lives, I fear that we could end up disconnected with one another in a world that uses machines for everything.
Gene therapy and enhancement are both real possibilities in the not-so-distant future. The museums demonstrated that technology and medicine are subject to extremely rapid change and advancement. Therapy is a worthwhile, honorable field to pursue, just as a cure to any disabling disease is. That is to a say, a cure for a person who already exists and is diagnosed with a genetic illness--somatic gene therapy. When somatic therapy is available, many will rejoice at a cure and not just symptom management. Enhancement, however, is, to me, a horrifying possibility of such good technology. Enhancement would stem from germline gene therapy, or therapy on an embryo cultured from in vitro fertilization to fix a problematic gene before the embryo is implanted into the mother. The therapy sounds like a great idea at first—the power to eliminate genetic illness from the gene pool so no one will ever have to deal with its disabling effects. However, if we must culture all embryos in a test tube for it to work, there is an issue of availability of such treatment. Also, it raises the question of if you are having IVF done (a separate issue) why not just implant selectively for a disease-free genetic makeup instead of culturing thousands of cells and hoping a gene is taken up in a stable configuration in a few of them. Selective implantation limits the possibility for enhancement because you still only have certain genes to work with. Germline therapy provides the technology for almost any type of enhancement, which significantly concerns me.
I think it is great that we can tell before a child is born if they are going to have any defects but I don't think parents should be looked down on if they decide to keep a child with the defects. My concern about the technology is that insurance will require parents in the future to terminate pregnancy or lose insurance coverage. Or they may call this condition pre-existing.
Each and every human being shares the same genes—and yet, slight alterations in those genes can contribute to great differences among us, ranging from eye color variance and baldness to increasing the risk of developing breast cancer and diabetes. Knowing one’s genetic disposition to a variety of diseases, including common chronic diseases, can benefit both the individual and society at large. In fact, genetic testing in the laboratory is relatively common today; it can help physicians diagnose genetic disorders even before symptoms appear, confirm a disease after symptoms develop, screen for markers of increased risk of disease, or determine whether someone is a carrier for a recessive disease. The knowledge that can be gained from genetic testing or profiling allows for care that is personalized to an individual, ranging from medication that is tailored to a person’s unique genetic makeup, to the ability to identify an individual’s risk of developing certain diseases over a lifetime. We are getting close and we are getting better. The Museum was so interesting that I wish we could of picked each section apart piece by piece, I feel we just experienced a taste of what is yet to come. I would of never explored this area on my own and find all types of genetic technology to be my grandchildrens future. Whether it will be for medicine growing food or helping our environment I believe it will be helpful.
Genetic technologies are intriguing yet frightening. The advantages in genetic knowledge and technology will increase our ability to prevent or to reduce the occurrence of disease. The genetic advances could eventually enable us to undertake interventions to manipulate the genes underlying normal traits and functions and to enhance these traits and functions in the absence of any disease or disability. But at the same time, genetic enhancement threatens to greatly transform humility, responsibility, and solidarity for the worse. Our trip to the “Who Am I?” exhibit at the Science Museum definitely helped my understanding of the complexity of genetics. It contained many learning visuals that made the understanding easier. One of these visuals was a model of volumes of thick books that contained only the genetic code for the X-chromosome. This was definitely a fun and enlightening exhibit to visit.
This area of research is exciting and horrifying at the same time. The ability to prevent illness and disease before inception has wonderful implications for society. At the same time, there is a fine line between altering genetics to increase the quality of life to a normal standard and altering genetics to superhuman standards for mere personal reasons. Despite the possibility for good, I tend to discourage any such tampering with human evolution. There are conditions that may be seen as disadvantages in current conditions, but could have grand advantages in another. We cannot predict how our population will evolve, and therefore shouldn’t do anything more to alter its natural course. Similarly, favorable traits that a person inherits from the genetic lottery would be meaningless in the synthetically created persons of genetically modified zygotes. I fully believe in the power of science and technology to greatly enhance quality of life; however I don’t think it has the power to play God as it threatens to do in genetic engineering. The consequences of such endeavors are far graver than the benefits.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I have no problem with Gene therapy, as it acts on existing persons with often detrimental conditions. I think it is noble to help someone lead a longer and more fulfilling life, but dishonorable to try and chose that life for them by altering or selecting for particular traits before birth.
I believe that the genetic technology we have today is amazing. It can do a lot of good. People who wish to have children but cannot do so on their own can now fulfill their wishes. Parents can also work with doctors on freeing their future children from certain diseases. However, I do see this genetic technology as a slippery slope. The potential possibilities are unreal. What if parents wanted to decide the sex of their child, their hair color, eye color, or how tall they will be. What would be the limit to such parents' wishes? Rea made a good point by saying traits that a person inherits would be meaningless. If every parent could decide they wanted their child to have blonde hair and blue eyes, then the meaning of beauty would change and every other trait would be looked down upon. Also, if we were to rid of all genetic deformities, then we would not be able to do any research to cure these diseases when they would arise. There is also always going to be viruses, bacteria, and diseases, so if we try to stop all current diseases, I believe that new ones will arise.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, a mother was lucky to survive child birth. Nowadays, a mother can give birth and be back to all normal activies within a few weeks. I believe the medical technology can do a lot of good but I think we need to set limits on the capabilities.
Although I sometimes get overwhelmed with the amount of technology we have today, I do think there is a lot of good that can come from it. But I would have to agree with Rea and Lauren. I think there is something "magical" about having children, and part of being a parent is loving your child unconditionally. The thought of designing your child takes away from the significance of parenthood. With that being said, I think the study of preventing serious disease is amazing. If I had a child and they were ill, I would do everything in my power to protect them. Research has enabled us to overcome potential tradgeties, I just don't know of the long-term consequences of this. The museum trips showed me how little I know about science and how far it has come. I respect the hard work of the people in the passed. It inspires me to be more aware of my body and how it works. I am excited to see what the future holds for medical technology, but at the same time, it overwhelms me. When I was young, I used to think that the future would be filled with robots. In reality, if we continue to let technology rule our lives, I fear that we could end up disconnected with one another in a world that uses machines for everything.
ReplyDeleteGene therapy and enhancement are both real possibilities in the not-so-distant future. The museums demonstrated that technology and medicine are subject to extremely rapid change and advancement. Therapy is a worthwhile, honorable field to pursue, just as a cure to any disabling disease is. That is to a say, a cure for a person who already exists and is diagnosed with a genetic illness--somatic gene therapy. When somatic therapy is available, many will rejoice at a cure and not just symptom management.
ReplyDeleteEnhancement, however, is, to me, a horrifying possibility of such good technology. Enhancement would stem from germline gene therapy, or therapy on an embryo cultured from in vitro fertilization to fix a problematic gene before the embryo is implanted into the mother. The therapy sounds like a great idea at first—the power to eliminate genetic illness from the gene pool so no one will ever have to deal with its disabling effects. However, if we must culture all embryos in a test tube for it to work, there is an issue of availability of such treatment. Also, it raises the question of if you are having IVF done (a separate issue) why not just implant selectively for a disease-free genetic makeup instead of culturing thousands of cells and hoping a gene is taken up in a stable configuration in a few of them. Selective implantation limits the possibility for enhancement because you still only have certain genes to work with. Germline therapy provides the technology for almost any type of enhancement, which significantly concerns me.
I think it is great that we can tell before a child is born if they are going to have any defects but I don't think parents should be looked down on if they decide to keep a child with the defects. My concern about the technology is that insurance will require parents in the future to terminate pregnancy or lose insurance coverage. Or they may call this condition pre-existing.
ReplyDeleteEach and every human being shares the same genes—and yet, slight alterations in those genes can contribute to great differences among us, ranging from eye color variance and baldness to increasing the risk of developing breast cancer and diabetes. Knowing one’s genetic disposition to a variety of diseases, including common chronic diseases, can benefit both the individual and society at large. In fact, genetic testing in the laboratory is relatively common today; it can help physicians diagnose genetic disorders even before symptoms appear, confirm a disease after symptoms develop, screen for markers of increased risk of disease, or determine whether someone is a carrier for a recessive disease. The knowledge that can be gained from genetic testing or profiling allows for care that is personalized to an individual, ranging from medication that is tailored to a person’s unique genetic makeup, to the ability to identify an individual’s risk of developing certain diseases over a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteWe are getting close and we are getting better. The Museum was so interesting that I wish we could of picked each section apart piece by piece, I feel we just experienced a taste of what is yet to come. I would of never explored this area on my own and find all types of genetic technology to be my grandchildrens future. Whether it will be for medicine growing food or helping our environment I believe it will be helpful.
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ReplyDeleteGenetic technologies are intriguing yet frightening. The advantages in genetic knowledge and technology will increase our ability to prevent or to reduce the occurrence of disease. The genetic advances could eventually enable us to undertake interventions to manipulate the genes underlying normal traits and functions and to enhance these traits and functions in the absence of any disease or disability. But at the same time, genetic enhancement threatens to greatly transform humility, responsibility, and solidarity for the worse.
ReplyDeleteOur trip to the “Who Am I?” exhibit at the Science Museum definitely helped my understanding of the complexity of genetics. It contained many learning visuals that made the understanding easier. One of these visuals was a model of volumes of thick books that contained only the genetic code for the X-chromosome. This was definitely a fun and enlightening exhibit to visit.
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