Genetic engineering

Former Member

Who believes genetic engineering is a useful tool and can help cure serious diseases, and who believes it is immoral and wrong?
Opinions please...

Former Member

I fully support genetic engineering, stem cell research and pretty much every other sort of scientific research.

Former Member

Is this a political question then or an ethical one?

Genetic engineering and scientific progress in general are good, the only bad side is when access to the technologies is restricted to the rich and powerful, or suchlike, or where the technologies are used to evil ends.

It's certainly a useful tool that could help to rid the world of bad genetic mutations.

Former Member

This is a political question but ethics do come into it. I am in full support of genetic engineering and i am considering a career in Biology in the future. One thing that mainly stands in the way is religion, once again...

Former Member

I am in support of genetical research for medical reasons and so *thumbs up*
But ethically I would probably be against manipulation with personality traits.

Former Member

Why do you insist that the human genetic code is 'sacred' or 'taboo?' It is a chemical process, and nothing more, for that matter, we, are chemical processes, and nothing more.
If you deny yourself a useful tool simply because it reminds you uncomfortably of your mortality, you have uselessly and pointlessly crippled yourself.

Former Member

There are many applications to genetic engineering, some more controversial than others. To me, GM foods is the issue that worries me the most. I think that the original potential advantages of producing engineered food has been cancelled out by the risks to other species, lack of proper research and above all policies of companies like Monsanto and the inclusion of terminator genes that force farmers to buy seeds every year as crops will not reproduce.

Former Member

Originally posted by Silverberg

If you deny yourself a useful tool simply because it reminds you uncomfortably of your mortality, you have uselessly and pointlessly crippled yourself.

Now see, if my genes could get manipulated in such a way that I would have more advanced math skills, better writer, know more languages, look different etc. then I would be delighted to get it fixed.
But thinking... Is it right to let parents decide every detail of their child? Will this result in the child having no free will, and being totally "programmed"?

Former Member

I don't believe humans can be 'programmed' as such, robots, yes.
But genetic engineering may be able to make people, say, more patient, but people can still have free will if they are genetically engineered. It doesn't take away your humanity, parents could make their child more intelligent, and I believe that is O.K, if your life can be made easier it should.

Former Member

Originally posted by Silverberg
I believe that is O.K, if your life can be made easier it should.

Changing the skin colour of black babies to white would make life easier on them.

Former Member

Originally posted by Jacqueline the Ripper


Now see, if my genes could get manipulated in such a way that I would have more advanced math skills, better writer, know more languages, look different etc. then I would be delighted to get it fixed.

See this is where it can get tricky. It could be that only the rich could afford to have their children improved in this way, in which case you would further widen the rich/poor gap in society, eventually to a level where the two were almost separate species, as one would have been genetically perfected.

Former Member

Originally posted by Mist

See this is where it can get tricky. It could be that only the rich could afford to have their children improved in this way, in which case you would further widen the rich/poor gap in society, eventually to a level where the two were almost separate species, as one would have been genetically perfected.

I agree with that. Also we don't know what the long term consequences of genetic engineering are. We should learn to walk before we run. And with all the good things that come with genetic engineering such as curing the bubble boy (I think that was what he was known as), there are also bad things, and if they are in the wrong hands can escalate out of control. Not everyone would want to put this power we have to good use.

For every good intending scientist/researcher/doc, there is a crackpot out there, and not every country in the world has legistlation which can protect us from them. (I.e the doctor who has claimed to impregnante a woman with the first cloned human)

I suppose what I am trying to say is that every action has a reaction, and we still do not know entirely what can happen.

Former Member

If you deny yourself a useful tool simply because it reminds you uncomfortably of your mortality, you have uselessly and pointlessly crippled yourself.

Just because we can does it mean that we should ?;)

Former Member

Genetic enginerring has its benefits, without doubt, but I will always be wary of something which gives a profitmaking organisation so much control over food production and the human gene pool.

Little consideration has been given to the effect which follow, once these crops are released their pollen can be transferred across vast distances and the effect atht can have on the food chain is something which shouldn't be taken so lightly.

It is sometimes argued that genetic modifications have been going on for years, with the spicing of crops (such a apples) i order to develop new ranges, but I would argue that it is still kept within a "family". Genetic engineering these days often uses completely separate species inorder to achieve certain aims, that again is something I struggle to find support for.

I certainly don't subscribe to the view that it isn't okay to genetically modify food, yet it is okay to modify humans.

Former Member

I think genetic engineering is the next stage in human evolution. Our bodies and minds have reached a point where they will not evolve any further without a helping hand.
I´m all for the manipulation of people to make them smarter and stronger.
What could possibly be wrong with a race of people that is smart, adaptable, strong, and capable of withstanding the worst the world can throw at us.
A world where the mose serious of diseases have become extinct because our bodies can defend themselves.
Changes to our skin making it heal faster, stronger bones e.t.c.

Humanity has to evolve, it can´t evolve without help.

Former Member

What about population control? As long as we havn't developed a common way for people to live in space, or on other planet's we can't afford too much manipulation, in the sense of totally controlling death and wiping out diseases. As at the moment these are factors, which make it possible for newcomers to experience life.

Former Member

I don't believe genetic engineering is 'unethical' per se. If it can truly eliminate conditions such as cancer, etc. and enhance the health of human beings then in my mind it is a positive thing.

Former Member

Originally posted by Whowhere
What could possibly be wrong with a race of people that is smart, adaptable, strong, and capable of withstanding the worst the world can throw at us.

Nothing is wrong with that in itself, but the points about the availability of such improvements would be my concern, along with the issues of population overcrowding, as space exploration is not keeping up with medical science. Diseases at the moment are a population curb, one of the few remaining ones left to the human race. Without them we could possibly fill the planet up, if we don't exhaust it or kill it with polution first. Hmm.

Former Member

There´ll still be wars, and there´ll still be famine and drought.
And what makes you think eugenics will be available in third world countries anyway....?

Former Member

Originally posted by Whowhere
There´ll still be wars, and there´ll still be famine and drought.
And what makes you think eugenics will be available in third world countries anyway....?

Well that's okay then, the West is sorted, huh?

Former Member

Originally posted by Whowhere
There´ll still be wars, and there´ll still be famine and drought.
And what makes you think eugenics will be available in third world countries anyway....?

Which would itself be part of the problem, you would be creating a two tier world.

Former Member

I don't think major genetic engineering should be available until the 3rd world is much more developed, but engineering like choosing the sex of a child or its eye colour should be O.K.
That shouldn't cause any problems, but if there are hugely intelligent people in the developed world and not as many in the 3rd, there may be wars.

Former Member

Just in case anyone is interested, here is an interview with the couple, who want to clone a baby. . I just hope they are the minority.....

Former Member

The trick is knowing where to draw the line isn't? There are couples out there who, say, want to have a boy but so far have had 2 or 3 girls. I'd rather they were able to ensure they'll have a boy next, rather than keep trying. I know of at least two families that have 4/5 daughters (but didn't have that big a house or income to bring them up comfortably) and all because the husband was hell bent on having a boy. So being able to choose the sex would help certain people. A potential problem I see with that, though, is that in places like China where males are so much more wanted than females everyone would choose to have a boy if they had the chance.

I'm all for cloning steam cells and embryos if it helps fight cancer and other diseases. That should be a priority and I'm very surprised that the church and other god-bothering organisations, which are always going on about the sanctity of life, might have a problem with this.

With regard to cloning whole humans, I'm just not comfortable with the couple that go_away was talking about. I'm sorry if this sounds bad, but there is more to life than breeding. Mankind's survival is ensured and people shouldn't make having children their only goal in life, or try to go to such extraordinary lengths to procreate. If they want it so desperately and they have tried IVF, well they should adopt. There are enough orphans and suffering children who could do with caring foster parents.
You can also see people taking 'insurance' for their children. Take some DNA from your child, and if by some tragic event the child dies then you can have a new, identical clone available in 9 months.