Genetic Engineering

[headcase]

This is a subject I've been meaning to kick start for a while. As a first year genetics student, it's also something quite relevant to me. Unfortunately, whenever I've come across students or lecturers who oppose genetic engineering, I've been unable to provide counter-arguements until after the event due to my lack of knowledge on the subject. Hence, when confronted with fallacious references to the crops of "innocent farmers" being confiscated due to "accidental contamination", I could protest my disbelief at it, but had to conceed the point (see Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Canada_Inc._v._Schmeiser)).

Of course, genetic engineering is an extremely broad heading. Too broad for a proper debate. We could argue the benefits or risks of modifying crops, of curing disease, of screening fetuses or of selecting traits - each with their own broad range of sub-categories.

So I'll simply gauge a reaction for now. Is there anyone out there who opposed genetic engineering before I brought it up? Why so? If not, I'll provide my own reasons for supporting it and see where that leads us. If absolutely necessary, I'll oppose it for the sake of arguement. It's a method that often gives you the best understanding of the subject matter :).

(It's probably worth noting that nothing I've studied this year covers the ethics or morality of genetic enginnering, so I don't have a head start in the subject. In fact, I spent most of the year studying chemistry and physics. I don't know why, you'd have to ask the college...).

[Nemesix]

well i am for genetic engineering/cloning. there are many benefits to it, and i see it as the next step in the progression towards the "perfect world" (although we will never reach it). what is the cause of the most deaths in the world? cardiovascular disease. with the ability to genetically engineer organs, people would no longer have to wait for an organ transplant from a donner getting into a car accident. countless peoples lives would be saved, so i cant see how people can be against it. some people may claim its against "god" but if god created this world then i cant see how he would not see humans progressing in science; it is more likely he gave us reason so we CAN progress.

i think we need to harness our knowledge of genetics and perfect it to the point of cloning humans. it would be interesting to see how an einstein does in the 21st century, or even hitler. science is always fun :)

[odin_dax]

I can't believe you're studying to become a doctor...

I don't mind genetic engineering or cloning. I think having healthy babies would be excellent. Hell, mix in other animal attributes. Great hearing, sight, sensitivity to vibrations, breathe underwater, purple skin!
There is no scientific support, that I know of, that says eating genetically modified food, like corn or tomatoes to weed off bugs, is of any danger. I'm quite comfortable eating such.
I can see why people would support cloning for organs and such, but Neme raises an interesting point I want to go on tangent with... Heart disease is the number one killer because people don't take care of themselves, don't exercise or eat right. Should we spend so many resources on such people? I can only see organ replacement a step backwards in everyday health -- smoking and laziness.

[s70n3d]

I am all for genetic engineering, but then again it all depends on how people go about it. Serious thought and concideration needs to be taken into account before we go hacking genes. Very serious reprocussions could come from this, yet very impressive benifits can also... but the most important in both respects will ALLWAYS be gained, and that is knowledge. Honestly through genetic engineering serious organic hardware could be created in the future... or even removing pieces of our "code" that cause certain health effects later on down the road... who knows, we could probably even prevent aging to a certain point that the average lifespan can be increased. Many of these things are both benifits and drawbacks on many subjects, but that wont stop people from doing it... It is a very interesting subject, but more than that it is the study of life itself... and life is beautifull