Genetic Engineering

[Ephinie]

Someone sent me this article:
http://www.genetics-and-society.org/resources/items/200305_orion_mckibben.html

The basic rundown is that the author of this article thinks that genetic engineering is something that will be on the market more quickly than anyone thinks if we do not raise a loud protest against it now. I think the tone of it sounds pretty alarmist, but it does cause one to think. Do you all think this is a problem we will have to deal with in the near future? It seems like with everyone still up in arms about things like abortion and gay marriage, we really don't need yet another issue to fight over...

[Narborg]

well, I havent read the article, but Im anti GE. I think that that there are some many unknows and that it could be very dangous if we do it wrong. And as a christan, I thinnk that it is desrepcetul to God.

[Ephinie]

well, I havent read the article, but Im anti GE. I think that that there are some many unknows and that it could be very dangous if we do it wrong. And as a christan, I thinnk that it is desrepcetul to God.This article is anti-GE as well, though not for any religious reasons. His contention is that if we begin to engineer our children, they will lose what it means to be human. He makes good points, but still... I have to wonder if he isn't jumping the gun, so to speak. By that I mean, is this really a real issue that we are going to have to address in the near future, or is it still just a hypothetical sci-fi problem?

[PrinceOfTheWest]

This problem is far closer than you think. Some of the things that are going on in genetics labs around the world are nothing less than frightening. I haven't followed the link to read the article yet, but I read lots of things that don't make the papers - and considering what I see published, it's chilling to think what might not be being published.

For instance, due to a clever media disinformation campaign, many people have the impression that embryonic stem cell research is illegal in the U.S. due to President Bush. This is not true. Only federal funding of new lines of embryonic stem cell research is not allowed. State and private funding of ESC research is going fine. Note that this is not even GE, this is simply creating people to kill them for their cells.

But once you inure yourself to tearing apart little people for their cellular matter, you start thinking along other lines. Like how about putting together "ideal" genes from a variety of people and trying to make a "superperson"? Or how about splicing in genes from animals to make new types of hybrids? These are questions that are being actively debated in the world of ESC research - which makes you wonder what's actually going on behind the lab doors.

This is upon us, make no mistake. And here's the thing to note: after more than a decade of rosy propoganda and false promises, not a single cure or treatment has risen out of ESC research, while scores of treatments have come from adult stem cells taken from things like nasal tissue and body fat. The reason is that embryonic stem cells are not yet differentiated - i.e. become the type of tissue that they will be, like bone, nerve, or skin. We humans lack the knowledge and skill to get them to differentiate. Yet there is a way to get them to differentiate - simply let them grow. As they grow, the stem cells turn into the desirable tissue, the organs and nerves, that are really useful. Then they can be harvested much more easily.

But what do you call a being who has heart tissue, and liver tissue, and nerve tissue?

[Tarkheena_Finduilas22]

But once you inure yourself to tearing apart little people for their cellular matter, you start thinking along other lines. Like how about putting together "ideal" genes from a variety of people and trying to make a "superperson"? Or how about splicing in genes from animals to make new types of hybrids? These are questions that are being actively debated in the world of ESC research - which makes you wonder what's actually going on behind the lab doors.

That just chills you! How can they think that this would be helpful to today's society? There are people out there dying from cancer and heart problems and instead of wanting to find cures, they want to make people that have genes that aren't their own. It's not God's work anymore! God created us to be US, not some person pieced together by a scientist! We are born with our genes, and that's the way God intended it to be.

[tottyfruitty]

i think it may. like in the way future. scientist have found a way to modify genes allowing parents to chose the characteristics of their babies before they are born. parents will be making their kids perfect and everyone will not want their kids to be the lower class. so yeah i think it maybe but fingers crossed people will see sense and not include themselves in it!

[LifeMaiden]

I just think messing with genetics is completely messing with God. We live in a society that's about 'perfection'...and I've seen these ads for sperm and egg donors where people are LOOKING for a specific criteria...we're not even just talking about looks here...we're talking about 'creating' the 'perfect' child by using the genetics of someone who is brilliant, physically good looking, etc etc etc. And you can bet that there are weirdos out there who would clone themselves in an instant if they could.


Have any of you read BRAVE NEW WORLD or seen the creepy movie GATTACA with Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman?


Geneticists will say that splicing genes helps humanity...we can cure diseases, prolong human life, and do all these good things with it. But what about the ethical and moral epercussions of it? What ever happened to just creating a baby out of love and accepting what would be born, rather than try to 'put together' the perfect baby? That frightens me.