Free Essays on Genetic Engineering

GENENTIC ENGINEERING Genetic Engineering: A leap in to the future or a leap towards destruction? Introduction Science is a creature that continues to evolve at a much higher rate than the beings that gave it birth. The transformation time from tree-shrew, to ape, to human far exceeds the time from an analytical engine, to a calculator, to a computer. However, science, in the past, has always remained distant. It has allowed for advances in production, transportation, and even entertainment, but never in history has science be able to so deeply affect our lives as genetic engineering will undoubtedly do. With the birth of this new technology, scientific extremists and anti-technologists have risen in arms to block its budding future. Spreading fear by misinterpretation of facts, they promote their hidden agendas in the halls of the United States congress. They fear that it is unsafe; however, genetic engineering is a safe and powerful tool that will yield unprecedented results, specifically in the field of medicine. It will usher in a world where gene defects, bacterial disease, and even aging are a thing of the past. By understanding genetic engineering and its history, discovering its possibilities, and answering the moral and safety questions it brings forth, the blanket of fear covering this remarkable technical miracle can be lifted. The first step to understanding genetic engineering and embracing its possibilities for society is to obtain a rough knowledge base of its history and method. The basis for altering the evolutionary process is dependant on the understanding of how individuals pass on characteristics to their offspring. Genetics achieved its first foothold on the secrets of nature's evolutionary process when an Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel developed the first "laws of heredity." Using these laws, scientists studied the characteristics of organisms for most of the next one hundred years following Mendel's discove... Free Essays on Genetic Engineering Free Essays on Genetic Engineering Genetic Engineering: You choose Frankenstein or Einstein What is it that makes you unique? Is it your charming smile? Perhaps it’s the dazzle in your eyes. Maybe it’s your unique personality that makes you a cut above the rest. Some would proclaim that it is our genetic composition that makes us different from everyone else. Over the past decade we have seen remarkable advancements in the field of genetic engineering. These developments have the potential to change our life, as we know it, forever. Will mankind continue to thrive in a society where genes can be patented? Only time will tell. What can be determined is that these innovations in genetic engineering come with certain advantages and disadvantages to both man and animal, and the implications are many. The advantages of genetic engineering to mankind are countless. Genetic Engineering can be beneficial in the treatment of many diseases and injuries (George Will). The National Institute on Health has been working aggressively on a project called the Human Genome Project. This project was instituted to map the genes of humans. They hope to use this technology to prevent diseases that are genetically transmitted. This study has already enabled scientists to discover the genes responsible for transmitting diseases such as: Tay-Sachs, Sickle Cell Anemia, and Huntington’s Chorea. These diseases are all genetically linked and cause numerous physical and mental impairments and lead to premature death. The discovering of these genes allows for these diseases to be detected early, treated more effectively, and permits parents to determine if they carry the gene responsible for passing these fatal diseases to their offspring. The Human Cloning Foundation has been performing studies for the past decade on the benefits of cloning cells for treating injuries. They predict that in the next decade we will be able to clone our cells and use them to rev... Free Essays on Genetic Engineering GENENTIC ENGINEERING Genetic Engineering: A leap in to the future or a leap towards destruction? Introduction Science is a creature that continues to evolve at a much higher rate than the beings that gave it birth. The transformation time from tree-shrew, to ape, to human far exceeds the time from an analytical engine, to a calculator, to a computer. However, science, in the past, has always remained distant. It has allowed for advances in production, transportation, and even entertainment, but never in history has science be able to so deeply affect our lives as genetic engineering will undoubtedly do. With the birth of this new technology, scientific extremists and anti-technologists have risen in arms to block its budding future. Spreading fear by misinterpretation of facts, they promote their hidden agendas in the halls of the United States congress. They fear that it is unsafe; however, genetic engineering is a safe and powerful tool that will yield unprecedented results, specifically in the field of medicine. It will usher in a world where gene defects, bacterial disease, and even aging are a thing of the past. By understanding genetic engineering and its history, discovering its possibilities, and answering the moral and safety questions it brings forth, the blanket of fear covering this remarkable technical miracle can be lifted. The first step to understanding genetic engineering and embracing its possibilities for society is to obtain a rough knowledge base of its history and method. The basis for altering the evolutionary process is dependant on the understanding of how individuals pass on characteristics to their offspring. Genetics achieved its first foothold on the secrets of nature's evolutionary process when an Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel developed the first "laws of heredity." Using these laws, scientists studied the characteristics of organisms for most of the next one hundred years following Mendel's discove... Free Essays on Genetic Engineering Genetic Engineering: A leap in to the future or a leap towards destruction? Introduction Science is a creature that continues to evolve at a much higher rate than the beings that gave it birth. The transformation time from tree-shrew, to ape, to human far exceeds the time from an analytical engine, to a calculator, to a computer. However, science, in the past, has always remained distant. It has allowed for advances in production, transportation, and even entertainment, but never in history has science be able to so deeply affect our lives as genetic engineering will undoubtedly do. With the birth of this new technology, scientific extremists and anti-technologists have risen in arms to block its budding future. Spreading fear by misinterpretation of facts, they promote their hidden agendas in the halls of the United States congress. They fear that it is unsafe; however, genetic engineering is a safe and powerful tool that will yield unprecedented results, specifically in the field o f medicine. It will usher in a world where gene defects, bacterial disease, and even aging are a thing of the past. By understanding genetic engineering and its history, discovering its possibilities, and answering the moral and safety questions it brings forth, the blanket of fear covering this remarkable technical miracle can be lifted. The first step to understanding genetic engineering and embracing its possibilities for society is to obtain a rough knowledge base of its history and method. The basis for altering the evolutionary process is dependant on the understanding of how individuals pass on characteristics to their offspring. Genetics achieved its first foothold on the secrets of nature's evolutionary process when an Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel developed the first "laws of heredity." Using these laws, scientists studied the characteristics of organisms for most of the next one hundred years following Mendel's discovery. These early studies c... Free Essays on Genetic Engineering Genetic Engineering is a major issue in today’s society. Because of it, things like the Human Genome Project have become a reality. Genetic Engineering is can be defined as the manipulation or alteration of the genetic structure of a single cell or organism. This means that scientists can target a particular gene and make it whatever they want. This technique is becoming so advance that soon people will be able to make their children exactly how they would like them to be. The science behind genetic engineering is simple to explain yet complicated to perform. Simply state, scientists may alter any gene they would like to make it better then it was before. Genetic Enginering holds many promises for the future. It brings with it possibilities of longer, healthier lives, and possibly near-immortality. It has the possibilities of ending world hunger by making cheaper, more nutritious, and faster growing foods. It could also have the ability to bring back species from nea r extinction and even reintroduce recently extinct species back to our world by using old DNA. With genetic engineering, we would have the ability to clone a loved one or a favorite pet. It would also give us the ability to grow replacement organs, limbs, skin, or virtually any other body part, making transplant rejection a thing of the past. Not only has genetic engineering affected the people of the world, it has also affected the agriculture. Genetic engineering is being used to create the perfect vegetable or the perfect fruit. A lot of the food people eat today has been genetically engineered and most without them knowing it. However genetically engineered food isn’t exactly perfect. Genetically engineered food could reduce genetic diversity causing the food to be more prone to diseases. Not only does it reduce genetic diversity but it is also an expensive process. Even though this could be a potential end of hunger, there has not been adequate t...