Comparing Genetic Technology in Agriculture and Human Health

In both genetic technology in agriculture and genetic technology in human health, new advancements in technology make crops yield more, pest resistant, and produce enough food for the rapidly growing global population. On the other hand new advancements in technology may allow humans to make designer babies though inheritable gene modification and find cures for genetic diseases with gene therapy.

The technology for genetically modifying agriculture can add lots of nutrients to the plant or make it less vulnerable to pests. This is important for humans heavily relying on one crop. For example golden rice is rice with extra vitamin A because people relying on rice were vitamin A deprived. This is only one of the many helpful things GMO's have done for mankind.

What GMO's did for agriculture could be similar for what it could do to humans. Designer babies could be the best version of the human being and let us advance further in evolving. Also, gene therapy could be used to find cures to diseases previously that did not have a cure. Furthermore, certain diseases can be completely eradicated if taken out of the human genome through gene therapy.

Should the Government Allow Gene Therapy Research?

     Should the government allow gene therapy research? We believe that the government should allow research into gene therapy. Gene therapy is either taking out a mutated gene, replacing it, or adding a completely new gene to fight a disease. Gene therapy is looked as a possible way to cure diseases in the future that currently do not have a cure. If we as a country look into gene therapy, we may be able to find a cure to many devastating diseases. Also, gene therapy may be able to take out a mutated gene that is causing the disease and eradicate it. When this happen, all descendants from that person won't get that gene because it is not in the person's genome anymore, causing the disease to stop spreading through the bloodline.

     People say that the downside of gene therapy is that the experimental technique may cause higher death rates and is very expensive. Because it is an experimental technique, it is not fully developed. Therefore prices and death rates may be high, but as time goes on, both of these will start to decrease.

The Process of Gene Manipulation

The process of gene manipulation begins with gene splicing.

To splice genes there first needs to be a desired gene sequence. Many of these strands must be placed in a solution while the are still part of the rest of the strand. Then a restriction enzyme must be put in the solution to cut out the DNA sequence of the trait and sticky ends will form on both sides of the strand. Then you must get a solution of recombinant DNA and put the same restriction enzyme in the solution. This will create a gap in the recombinant DNA for the strand of the desired trait and will have the same sticky ends. Then put the desired strand in the solution and hope at least one strand finds its way into a recombinant DNA.

Gel electrophoresis is a process that separates fragments of DNA by length. First you have to place fragments of DNA into small wells in a block of gel. To get those fragments you must put the strand of DNA you started and many copies of it and get a lot of color died nucleotides and after each died nucleotide is in place the strand will no longer copy. This will cause the different lengths of the DNA strands. Once they are in the wells run he electric current through the gel surrounded by a running buffer. The electric current runs from one end to the other and since DNA is negatively charged it will pull towards the positive side. The gel is filled with small pores for the DNA to slide through, the shortest strands going the farthest, the longer strands not traveling towards the positive end as far.

Transgenic organisms are better known as GMO's, or genetically modified organisms. These couldn't be possible without splicing genes. Once the recombinant DNA is put into a cell in an organismic will come into effect. Like designer babies GMO's are also very controversial because they are not natural. In plants they spread across many farms without anyones knowledge or permission. This is a problem because it will wipe out all the natural plants and the owners loose their rights to their own crops. Animals can acquire strange but helpful traits, like goats producing spider silk or the not quite as helpful glowfish, a goldfish that glows in the dark.

The Human Genome Project

    The human genome project is a project to map all of the genes in the human genome. There are 20,500 genes in the human genome. It took a while to map the whole genome, but it was worth it for the effect it has had on genetics as a whole.

      This project has a massive impact on gene therapy. Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to possibly treat or prevent diseases. In the near future, gene therapy may replace drugs and gene therapy may be able to treat some disorders. The human genome project has helped gene therapy by giving it a basis of many genetic disorders or diseases. Also, we now know that what genes are responsible for certain disorders. If gene therapy becomes more effective and safe, it could be used to treat many diseases and make the human population healthier.

Should the Government Allow Inheritable Gene Modification?

       

        There is a large debate on whether the government should allow inheritable gene modification and we don't think it should be allowed for everyone or just only a certain amount of people. If most babies were a designer baby then those who were not would be at a large disadvantage. If only a small percentage of people were designer babies they could easily become important people in society such as politicians, scientists, and doctors which could benefit the U.S. as a nation. An issue that would rise from this is who would get the ability to have a designer baby. This is something the government would have to figure out. There would most likely be arguments over who would get to have these babies which could hold that idea back, but overall designer babies could be very useful in the future of society.

The Pros and Cons of Designer Babies

   

      There are many pros and cons of designer babies or inheritable gene modification and there is also ethical dilemmas. Some benefits are that theses babies have a higher life expectancy, certain genetic diseases can be prevented, humans would have a better understanding of genetics, and children can be guaranteed a healthy lives. On the other hand, some drawbacks are that the embryo can be prematurely destroyed, technology used is still experimental, a gap between designer babies and regular children can be created, and the child has no say in if he wants to be genetically modified.

       One of the ethical issues that comes from these pros and cons is that parents may have a extremely high expectation for their designer children that are unobtainable. Also, these children may have other ideas of what they want to do in life while their parents may have something else planned for them. Ultimately, we believe that designer babies should only be accessible to a small group of people, so their wouldn't be a huge difference between designer babies and non-designer babies.

Designer Babies

 

         What are designer babies? Designer babies are babies that are designed by parents to have the exact traits they want to have. Inheritable gene modification is what makes designer babies possible. If a couple wants a baby who is tall, has blonde hair, and strong, scientists could make that happen. Also, a certain gene can be taken out if it can cause a defect. For example, if an embryo had Kilnefelter syndrome, scientists could remove the y chromosome or the extra x chromosome to make a healthy boy or girl. Designer babies are becoming a part of the future, but they are highly controversial.