Genetic Engineering and Cloning Intro
Genetic Engineering and Cloning Intro
Underlying philosophical Questions:
What is it to be human?
Nature vs. Nurture – instinct vs. environment
Is it moral to tamper with our genetic makeup?
Facts, dates and how it works:
1962 James Watson and Francis Crick win Nobel prize for discovery of the molecular structure of DNA
1978 – First test tube baby, Louise Brown. As of 2003 there are over a million test tube (ivf) babies
1980’s – genetically altered food comes onto the market.
1997 – Birth of Dolly the sheep - the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, rather than embryonic
2003 – Complete human genome sequence released to the public
“Each human cell, with the exception of germ or reproductive cells, contains forty-sex chromosomes; each chromosome contains thousands of pairs of four different nucleotides or bases. Altogether, each human cell contains about 3 billion base-pairs of nucleotides, which can be roughly divided into about a hundred thousand sequences known as genes. There are also intervening sequences which, as yet, have an unknown purpose.”(133)
The difference between embryo and nuclei transfer cloning:
Embryo- “the blastocyst, or preembryo, consists of two to eight cells. At this stage in development, cells are not yet specialized into different organ systems. Each cell is still capable of reproducing an entire organism…” (137)
Nuclei – uses adult cells rather than stem cells and “involves taking the nucleus from the cell of an adult and transferring it into a mature egg from which the nucleus has been removed…Because the new nucleus has the full complement of forty-six chromosomes, the renucleated egg and the individual who contracted the new nucleus will be virtually genetically identical…” (137)
There is a glut of new information which needs to be studied and understood. In our lifetime the knowledge of the functions of these genes and of the overall makeup of DNA will be a constant area for discovery.
Positives:
Designer babies:
“Parents may soon be able to have their fetuses tested for genes that incline the child to obesity, shortness, nearsightedness, depression, alcoholism, Alzheimer’s disease, sexual preference, and even ‘risk taking behavior.’” (133) This is similar to the scene we saw in Gattica where the parents were talking with their local ‘geneticist’ about what desirable traits they wanted their child to have. Ability to manipulate the genetic makeup of a baby would allow people to select the characteristics that their child would have. So far we have only a few of the genes identified, over time and with more discovery we will have even greater control over the ‘nature’ of a person.
“Dr. Gregory Stock writes that ‘In the not too distant future, it will be looked at as kind of foolhardy to have a child by normal conception.’”(134)
Complete list of positives on pg. 135
Negatives:
“Ninety percent of Americans are morally opposed to cloning that results in the birth of a human being, and 61 percent are opposed to cloning human embryos for use in medical research. Sixty-six percent of Americans are also opposed to the cloning of animals. About half of Americans support medical research using stem cells obtained from human embryos.”(138)
Eugenics – the study of human improvement using genetic means.
Became a negative term after sterilization projects aimed at preventing the reproduction of people who were deemed unfit. State run Nazi programs certainly didn’t help either and are the origins of many doubts about humanity’s ability to handle such a power without abusing it.
Genetic testing could be used to discriminate against healthy individuals and allow people to discriminate against them. For instance, potential employees may not hire someone who has a genetic predisposition to nervousness or health risks.
Cloning reduces people to their genetic code and makes human into robots with working or non working parts that can be fixed and replaced rather than a human being with dignity and respect.
“Genetic enhancement…has also been condemned as tampering with a child’s elf-identity and right to choose their own future.”(139) If someone is told that they have a genetic disposition to be bad at a specific thing there is little chance that they will even try to pursue that thing. We are defined by our environment and our nurtured developments just as much as we are by our nature. Ex. MJ
“There is also concern that clones, because they are human inventions, may be denied the rights of full personhood. Clones could be mass produced to act as drones for the “real” humans. On the other hand, clones because of their more desirable genomes, might become a new master race, while “natural” humans are relegated to an inferior role.”(139)
It is almost impossible to define ‘perfection’ and humanity is certainly no good at it. Are traits such as shortness and homosexuality really a disease that needs to be taken out of the human identity. “If it becomes widespread, cloning of genetically engineered humans would allow one generation to make its descendants as it pleases. All subsequent generations, now cleanses of unacceptable gene3s, would remain subject to that power.”(141)
Underlying philosophical Questions:
What is it to be human?
Nature vs. Nurture – instinct vs. environment
Is it moral to tamper with our genetic makeup?
Facts, dates and how it works:
1962 James Watson and Francis Crick win Nobel prize for discovery of the molecular structure of DNA
1978 – First test tube baby, Louise Brown. As of 2003 there are over a million test tube (ivf) babies
1980’s – genetically altered food comes onto the market.
1997 – Birth of Dolly the sheep - the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, rather than embryonic
2003 – Complete human genome sequence released to the public
“Each human cell, with the exception of germ or reproductive cells, contains forty-sex chromosomes; each chromosome contains thousands of pairs of four different nucleotides or bases. Altogether, each human cell contains about 3 billion base-pairs of nucleotides, which can be roughly divided into about a hundred thousand sequences known as genes. There are also intervening sequences which, as yet, have an unknown purpose.”(133)
The difference between embryo and nuclei transfer cloning:
Embryo- “the blastocyst, or preembryo, consists of two to eight cells. At this stage in development, cells are not yet specialized into different organ systems. Each cell is still capable of reproducing an entire organism…” (137)
Nuclei – uses adult cells rather than stem cells and “involves taking the nucleus from the cell of an adult and transferring it into a mature egg from which the nucleus has been removed…Because the new nucleus has the full complement of forty-six chromosomes, the renucleated egg and the individual who contracted the new nucleus will be virtually genetically identical…” (137)
There is a glut of new information which needs to be studied and understood. In our lifetime the knowledge of the functions of these genes and of the overall makeup of DNA will be a constant area for discovery.
Positives:
Designer babies:
“Parents may soon be able to have their fetuses tested for genes that incline the child to obesity, shortness, nearsightedness, depression, alcoholism, Alzheimer’s disease, sexual preference, and even ‘risk taking behavior.’” (133) This is similar to the scene we saw in Gattica where the parents were talking with their local ‘geneticist’ about what desirable traits they wanted their child to have. Ability to manipulate the genetic makeup of a baby would allow people to select the characteristics that their child would have. So far we have only a few of the genes identified, over time and with more discovery we will have even greater control over the ‘nature’ of a person.
“Dr. Gregory Stock writes that ‘In the not too distant future, it will be looked at as kind of foolhardy to have a child by normal conception.’”(134)
Complete list of positives on pg. 135
Negatives:
“Ninety percent of Americans are morally opposed to cloning that results in the birth of a human being, and 61 percent are opposed to cloning human embryos for use in medical research. Sixty-six percent of Americans are also opposed to the cloning of animals. About half of Americans support medical research using stem cells obtained from human embryos.”(138)
Eugenics – the study of human improvement using genetic means.
Became a negative term after sterilization projects aimed at preventing the reproduction of people who were deemed unfit. State run Nazi programs certainly didn’t help either and are the origins of many doubts about humanity’s ability to handle such a power without abusing it.
Genetic testing could be used to discriminate against healthy individuals and allow people to discriminate against them. For instance, potential employees may not hire someone who has a genetic predisposition to nervousness or health risks.
Cloning reduces people to their genetic code and makes human into robots with working or non working parts that can be fixed and replaced rather than a human being with dignity and respect.
“Genetic enhancement…has also been condemned as tampering with a child’s elf-identity and right to choose their own future.”(139) If someone is told that they have a genetic disposition to be bad at a specific thing there is little chance that they will even try to pursue that thing. We are defined by our environment and our nurtured developments just as much as we are by our nature. Ex. MJ
“There is also concern that clones, because they are human inventions, may be denied the rights of full personhood. Clones could be mass produced to act as drones for the “real” humans. On the other hand, clones because of their more desirable genomes, might become a new master race, while “natural” humans are relegated to an inferior role.”(139)
It is almost impossible to define ‘perfection’ and humanity is certainly no good at it. Are traits such as shortness and homosexuality really a disease that needs to be taken out of the human identity. “If it becomes widespread, cloning of genetically engineered humans would allow one generation to make its descendants as it pleases. All subsequent generations, now cleanses of unacceptable gene3s, would remain subject to that power.”(141)
posted by Charles Carlson at
10:07 AM
