Science has made many advances in human evolution. We went from every time we get pregnant you have to have the baby to you can get an abortion. With Genetic Engineering woman to might not genetically be able to have a baby can now have one. Also scientists have learned how to alter food. Science evolves our world and helps make it better but with all these advances for good come many bad things
Genetic Engineering isn’t just for people trying to have babies. Sciences alter the DNA in foods like tomatoes to help them stay red longer and to be plumper and sweeter. You don’t often hear about people being mad about the delicious tomatoes at the supermarket. They also took the “anti freezing” gene from flounder and implanted it into the tomatoes to make their season longer. For woman who dream about having children when they get older and then when that dream is crushed because for some reason you can’t have children you might end up feeling inadequate. Now with Genetic Engineering you can have a fertilized egg planted into your womb and you can experience the ups and downs of having a human person grow inside you. I think there is a fine line between genetic engineering for good and for bad.
When I hear Genetic Engineering I think of babies and I think of Hitler. I know that it a harsh combination but aren’t you doing the same thing Hitler was, your not killing per say but you are engineering the perfect child. Many parents say I will love my child no matter what they look like. But the fact of the matter is if a parent could protect their child from a disease or retardation they probably would. Most people view the perfect child different; some love sports while others are artists, some want blonds and some want brunettes, I feel that people should love their child for who they are and become rather than change them in the womb and not give them the chance to essentially be themselves.
Most people do not think of the long term consequences’ and just jump into things. You might find out or even years from now that you could end up with some weird growth from eating the food that was Genetically Engineered or even the children born from Genetic Engineering could get some disease worse than cancer. Like I said earlier about the woman you can’t have children I think they are using this advance in science for good, but people who can have children without altering themselves are using it and that should be where we draw the line. People who can have children should not change who that child should be, if they have a disease or any kind of retardation they are supposed to have it and you shouldn’t kill that baby because of that.
The world is evolving fast and I think if we keep going to far with Genetic Engineering than we may end up one day in the future with a world like The Brave New World. It is scary to think about not having a mother or father, or having to sleep around to be normal, but I also think a place with no disease it bad. People need to die in order for people to live. If no one died than the world as we know it would dissolve rather quickly and we would have no need for Genetic Engineering. There are good parts to Genetic Engineering and for that I think that we need it for society today but I also think that we need to pace ourselves on how much and for what we use genetic engineering for.
Genetic Engineering isn’t just for people trying to have babies. Sciences alter the DNA in foods like tomatoes to help them stay red longer and to be plumper and sweeter. You don’t often hear about people being mad about the delicious tomatoes at the supermarket. They also took the “anti freezing” gene from flounder and implanted it into the tomatoes to make their season longer. For woman who dream about having children when they get older and then when that dream is crushed because for some reason you can’t have children you might end up feeling inadequate. Now with Genetic Engineering you can have a fertilized egg planted into your womb and you can experience the ups and downs of having a human person grow inside you. I think there is a fine line between genetic engineering for good and for bad.
When I hear Genetic Engineering I think of babies and I think of Hitler. I know that it a harsh combination but aren’t you doing the same thing Hitler was, your not killing per say but you are engineering the perfect child. Many parents say I will love my child no matter what they look like. But the fact of the matter is if a parent could protect their child from a disease or retardation they probably would. Most people view the perfect child different; some love sports while others are artists, some want blonds and some want brunettes, I feel that people should love their child for who they are and become rather than change them in the womb and not give them the chance to essentially be themselves.
Most people do not think of the long term consequences’ and just jump into things. You might find out or even years from now that you could end up with some weird growth from eating the food that was Genetically Engineered or even the children born from Genetic Engineering could get some disease worse than cancer. Like I said earlier about the woman you can’t have children I think they are using this advance in science for good, but people who can have children without altering themselves are using it and that should be where we draw the line. People who can have children should not change who that child should be, if they have a disease or any kind of retardation they are supposed to have it and you shouldn’t kill that baby because of that.
The world is evolving fast and I think if we keep going to far with Genetic Engineering than we may end up one day in the future with a world like The Brave New World. It is scary to think about not having a mother or father, or having to sleep around to be normal, but I also think a place with no disease it bad. People need to die in order for people to live. If no one died than the world as we know it would dissolve rather quickly and we would have no need for Genetic Engineering. There are good parts to Genetic Engineering and for that I think that we need it for society today but I also think that we need to pace ourselves on how much and for what we use genetic engineering for.
13 comments:
I never knew about the "anti-freezing" gene in flounder being in tomatoes. See you taught me something. Where did you find this information?
How do you define genetic engineering? As I read the class blogs, I wonder if people have different definitions of the term. It would be interesting to have everyone post in his/her own words the definition of genetic engineering.
When a sperm and egg are combined to place in a woman's womb, is anything done to alter the genetics of the sperm and egg? If not, can we call this genetic engineering? "Test tube" babies or "in-vitro" babies are not genetically changed, are they?
You mention Hitler. What are your thoughts about people, companies, and education institutions who run sperm banks? They offer women the choice of selecting particular sperm to be combined with their eggs. Is this genetic engineering?
John Noyes, founder of the Oneida community, had his own method of influencing the genetic makeup of the child, though I doubt he called it that. You may want to investigate his methods.
Finally, you bring up an important point. You ask if we are failing to see long term risks. I call this looking at the dark side. There often are more than one or two ways to view a situation or activity or belief. If we are going to consider something like genetic engineering in terms of altering embryos, then yes, we must consider as many scenarios as possible, even if they seem farfetched.
Take care to use your words carefully. You do not know much, if anything, about your readers' attitudes, knowledge, or background. You want to be clear and concise to make sure your point is understood. Keep writing!
i agree with a lot of your essay. i think that this could be used for good, but i also think that it is almost guranteed for it to get in the wrong hands and someone will take advantage of it. i think that the gov't needs to take steps to stop this before it gets out of hand. it is true what you said about people need to die. making the perfect babies may sound good, but there is always going to be a flaw.
Your essay makes many valid points. I can agree with you on the Hitler comparison; I see the same thing. I also liked your point with the genetic engineering of foods. Scientist do not known what is going to happen in twenty years from now to us because of eating these types of foods. Maybe nothing, maybe something. And we don't know what or how bad that something would be. The same thing can be applied to genetic engineering. If we kill off one disease which disease comes next? Is it worse than the last? That is the big question. Your essay opened up some many other interesting questions. Overall I enjoyed it.
I really enjoy the comparison to genetically altering tomatos, and even though it is on a totally different level from that you are compairing to it still makes you think. Genetic engineering can possibly make things better but is it ethical?
In response to what theteach said, I know this much. in "in-vitro" the cells are not genetically altered, they pick the healthiest looking cells from the bunch and implant them into the female. I feel that this as well as things like sperm banks are not the same type of detrimental genetic engineering. These are alternatives for men and women who are not able to concieve naturally. It is not something that is done in mass quantity and therefore the results will not harm society as a whole. And I believe a woman's right to choose a sperm doner is a beneficial idea, if the husband is infertile, she may want to pick someone with similar traits, in hopes that there may be some sort of family resemblance. I think that on a small scale, genetic engineering humans is okay to a very small extent such as the examples mentioned above.
In response to fazno... I agree completely, we dont know whats going to happen in the future as a result of the genetically altered foods we eat. But, I feel that this is the same as any new food or product on the market, look at asbestos, only recently did we discover it causes cancer and thousands of people have suffered as a result. I do think that engineering people is much different though. A tomato isnt going to grow up and run our society. Sure it can get a couple people sick, but it wont have the same potential for disaster as a whole race of genetically altered humans could have. However I do think it was a good metaphor to show the potential benefits.
To Jaguar who writes: "It is not something that is done in mass quantity and therefore the results will not harm society as a whole. "
Ah, but there is a concern that sperm banks, and now egg banks, can become a risk. Not on a grand scale at the moment. I read one article where a doctor cautioned people in a small town not to marry others in the town. His concern was that siblings may be marrying. Sorry, I no longer have the article citation to give you.
Currently sperm banks are not regulated and sperm donor identification is not provided. Each buyer of sperm has no idea if she is buying her neighbor's sperm or that of someone from another state.
BTW before the men are shipped to places like Iraq, they often store their sperm at a sperm bank before they leave. This way it will be available if they want to have children when they return and cannot produce sperm. Other people who face sterilization because of drugs they must take, will deposit sperm at a sperm bank.
There is much to be considered.
to the teach: i looked online about genetic engineering and in one of the articles it said that teh anti freezing gene from flounder was in tomatoes, I dont know if any other alterations are done to a sperm and egg once its implanted, i imagine that they could do something, i know that you can test if your child will have any disease or retardation. I would have to look up most of your questions, im sorry i cant answer you about invitro.I think Hitler is extremely different than sperm banks, sperm banks take any males sperm, not just the blond ones with blue eyes. Some woman go there to choose the looks but some go because they just want unconditional love from someone and they can get that with a baby.
to starry night, Its really hard to comment back to this because there are no questions, but i happy that you agree with my essay and i also agree that the gov't should go into backround checks before they give a person the go ahead to genetically engineer their baby.
to fazno, thank you for getting the point about the other future problems that this can cause. I get this view from my mother, She doesnt want me to get certain shots or vaccinations because they are new and dont have set long term complications. I think that over the years to come people might learn that genetic engineering while good for short term could actually cause worse problems for the babies, the moms, and maybe even the babies of people that were genetically engineered
to nj- flies, i dont know that i think towards is it ethical to be genetically engineering food that we eat. People have lived for many years without food thats genetically altered and i think we are fine. There is no way to tell what will happen in the future, we just have to wait and see.
You write: "looked online about genetic engineering and in one of the articles it said that teh anti freezing gene from flounder was in tomatoes,..."
When you use a source, you should include the citation in your blog just as you would in a paper you write. This helps the reader who can go to the source if he/she wants to.
The more specific you are the better.
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