Attempts at gene therapy, although not terribly successful, have been around for some time. What CRISPR/Cas9 appears to offer, however, is an efficient and precise method for alter
Breakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we may soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. The predicament
Imagine a future in which any person, man or woman, could engineer a child as a genetic replica of himself or herself. Or a future in which a child could be the biological fusion o
Evelyn Fox Keller dubbed the 1900s the “century of the gene”, and for good reason (Fox Keller 2002). During a 100-year span that opened with excitement about the research Mendel co
In the broadest sense of the term, “biotechnology” refers to any technological process that essentially involves the use of biological systems. In a narrower sense, the term refers
The identification of human genes poses problems about the use of resources, and about ownership and use of genetic information, and could lead to overemphasis of the importance of
The scope of human genome editing is steadily expanding at a fast pace. It promises to change our way of looking at the future with respect to science and the development of new th
Scientific, medical, or psychological experiments on human individuals or groups can contribute to healing the sick and the advancement of public health. 2293 Basic scientific res
Genetic engineering is a series of techniques for isolating and manipulating genes so as to modify the genetic makeup of an organism. This might involve the removal of a gene, its reconfiguration in relation to other existing ones, or the addition of new genes derived from other individuals of the same or different species. The resulting change in genotype results in the organism being modified in its development and aspects of its form and functions – its phenotype. One reason to do this is to correct for the absence of malformation of usual genes, another is to add or create new gene types so as to transform the phenotypical features, e.g., and as has been done, adding genes derived from luminescent jellyfish to the DNA of mice with the effect that they ‘glow’ in the dark. That was to test possibilities, but the main aim of such research is to provide therapies and cures for human genetic defects and to enhance human capacities. CRISPR is a series of sequences of DNA derived from infection by micro-organisms which help to immunise organisms from subsequent DNA invasions. A technology developed for using this to create and immunise certain cultures, specifically yoghurt, and crops, but in 2019 it was applied to the treatment of a woman with a genetic defect and it has since been used on other human subjects. Its ease, economy and effectiveness of application suggests that its use will increase to heal and to enhance. Ethically, there are two sets of issues with genetic engineering relating to its consequences and to its very nature. Regarding the first, some argue for it on the grounds of its benefits in correcting and improving the human condition. Others argue against it because of unforeseen consequences and risks of misuse. The intrinsic objection is that it treats human nature not as something given by God or nature, or as something to be respected for what it is in itself, but as a state or condition that can interfered with and manipulated to suit various desires and preferences and that this instrumentalises it, also creating different classes of humans: natural and improved.