Science Homework Help

My post:

Humans are advancing their knowledge and efforts to manipulate genes in the process of finding a cure for some illnesses. For humans to cure some diseases like Parkinson’s, and HIV it means massive success as they free from such deadly diseases without a cure. Genes that cause differences to the human race and are not deadly should not be eradicated. However, they should be modified to increase the chances produce favorable mutations. One factor that is considered when altering genes is their impact on human health. Therefore, the genes that are harmful to human health should be altered. For instance, malignant cells should be altered since they are lethal to humans.

Not all the unsavory genes need to be altered as they may present ethical issues. Only a particular category of unsavory genes can be edited. This could lead to designing ideal humans, thus raising moral questions (City of Hope. (2020). Moreover, designing an ideal person means that scientists cannot afford to make errors as they can present deadly impacts. It may be challenging to determine which genes are ideal and kept and those that can be modified. Only genes that interfere with individual health and life independence should be modified. In the US, there is an established law that governs gene editing, and FDA regulates it.

Reference

City of Hope. (2020). Modified CRISPR gene editing tool could improve therapies for HIV, sickle cell disease. Retrieved 19 June 2021, from https://phys.org/news/2019-11-crispr_gene-tool-therapies-hiv.html

Provide replies to the following two discussion boards:

Discussion 1 (Madeline Brown):

Gene editing advancements have a lot of potential to be something really good for the human race, but also have a lot of potential to be something that we take too far. In terms of eliminating life ending mutations, or genetics that drastically decrease someone’s quality of life, I think that gene editing would be remarkable. Every day people lose their lives or loved ones to some of these extremely nasty genetic disorders/diseases, such as the ones that cause cancer and HIV. However, there are some genetic disorders that more so just hinder a person than harm them. With some of these, people even become proud of who they are and their disorder. I think it’s important for us to have these differences, especially when it isn’t harmful to life, but instead just changes the way we live it. These types of disorders can be a necessary grounding within our society. But of course, the biggest question of all is who gets to determine which disorders are okay and which ones are not. Personally, at this point, I feel like society is starting to try and ‘play God’ (or whatever your belief is, if any). It can become tricky. I think a good way to approach it would be to develop the technology to fix as many genetic disorders as we can and then approach it on a person-by-person basis. This way, we can allow someone, or more likely their parents, to make this decision, rather than it being a universal decision that could end up being catastrophic for our society. Currently, in the US, gene medication is being regulated but is more accepted than it is in other countries. An example of this regulation is GMOs for plants, which are regulated by the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Discussion #2 (Devonte Harrow):

Gene editing is the future. Millions of people around the world are affected by diseases such as HIV, Cancer, and heart diseases. Like many, these diseases can be passed down from your parents and future generations after us. Scientists can utilize gene editing to help eliminate some of these issues. Technology such as CRISPR/Cas9 can be very beneficial to the human race and even animals that may be going extinct. With this technology, scientists are able to disrupt the original sequence of our DNA, delete unwanted fragments, and correct or insert new templates with the help of this machinery. According to the national geographic, “the same technology used to edit human genes can be used on animals. This could mean protecting a species like the Tasmanian devil. Gene editing could even be used to bring back extinct species, or at least parts of them, for example by mixing genes from extinct species back into existing ones.” The issue with this is that the correct genes will need to be edited, so it’s important that we continue studying and improving this technology.

Gene editing advancement can save millions of lives around the world, but I believe that it should be up to the patient to decide if he/she would like to have this procedure. One dilemma that I can see happening in the future is scientists editing a person’s genes, and that procedure having a negative effect on their children. Not all genetic disorders should be eradicated because I do believe people can live a long, successful, and healthy life with them. An example of this can be Asperger’s, although it’s not inherited, certain genetic factors in a person’s family can increase the chances of them getting it. Elon Musk grew up with this disorder and he’s one of the most successful people in the world.

Devonte

References:

CRISPR/Cas9. CRISPR. (n.d.). http://www.crisprtx.com/gene-editing/crispr-cas9.

Weintraub, K. (2021, May 3). 5 Reasons Gene Editing Is Both Terrific and Terrifying. Science. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/151203-gene-editing-terrific-terrifying-science.