...April, 2015 Title? Thesis: While somatic cell gene therapy brings many advantages to the treatment of diseases and the quality of life, using germ-line gene therapy with the opportunities to genetically improve, alter, or fabricate human beings is unethical and should not be researched. Imagine this: You just got back from your germ-line procedure to alter your genes for brown hair and green eyes because you didn't want to pass them on to your children. Everyone is saying that having brown hair and green eyes is unattractive now and they're unwanted traits for future generations. Three months later the “fad” changes and people begin to think that having green eyes won't be so bad after all and that they're actually unique. Now you're left with passing on the Version 1.0 gene pool to your children while everyone else who waited could have children with green eyes. This is the future of germ-line gene therapy. Do we really want to live in a world where this is allowed? The thought of people changing their genes just to fit in and be desirable is unimaginable. While somatic cell gene therapy brings many advantages in the treatment of diseases and the quality of life, using germ-line gene therapy with the opportunities to genetically improve, alter, or fabricate human beings is unethical and should not be researched. Gene therapy is an exciting and new experimental medical procedure that replaces or deletes specific genes in our bodies to either treat or prevent disease....
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...Ethical Health Care Issues In 1953, two scientists James Watson and Francis Click published the description of the double helix structure of the DNA. Little did they know that voyage from the double helix to The Human Genome Project (HGP) would become a reality. Fifty years later in 2003, National Institute Health accomplished mapping of 32,000 genes of the human genome. Gene mapping was a significant research that enabled researchers to focus on gene specific diseases and birth defects. More than 1000 research projects started inward voyage discovery of human kind rather outward exploration of the planets. Clinical research involving human beings have greater potential for risk of misusing the technology. Potential for misusing the genetic research and fear of unknown long term effects on the successive generations have sparked bioethics debates. Like abortion, gene mapping is a very controversial subject and both sides have strong views. For example, should a woman abort the pregnancy based on the abnormal genetic screening results? Genetic technology provides an enormous power within our grips and with this enormous power comes following the ethical standards. Ethical standards should be followed involving human subjects. Genetic screening standards should align with four ethical principles of: • Respect for the human autonomy, dignity, and obtaining informed consent • Genetic screening should cause the minimal amount of harm to the subject • Provides maximum benefit to...
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...(CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer), and about 40,000 women will die from breast cancer. Breast Cancer is the second leading cause of death, but is responsible of only has 3%, or 1 out of 36 of death in women. Studies done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that breast cancer is not only the most common cause of death in Hispanic women, but also the second leading cause of death in African American, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Americans. Although all we hear are the negative information and deaths from breast cancer, the survival rate in the United States of women who have survived breast cancer is 2.8 million. ETIOLOGY Hormones replacement therapy (HRT), age, family history of breast cancer, not having children, or having children after the age of thirty are some examples of the increase of risk for developing, or causing breast cancer. For example, having a mother, sister, daughter, or one first-degree relative with breast cancer can double a woman’s risk. Furthermore, the risk...
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...produced drugs, plants, livestock, and laboratory animals. Many processes around genetic engineering are still in the experimental stages, but some processes that deal with bacteria, natural produced drugs and plants have gained approval from agencies such as the Federal Department of Agriculture. The most controversial matters about genetic engineering is its potential us in human beings. This brings rise to many ethical and moral issues about genetic engineering, which we will discuss. In general there are three techniques used in the manipulation of human genes, they are cloning, somatic cell manipulation, and human germline manipulation. In general, cloning consists of creating exact copies of an individual’s DNA and creating a new organism containing the same DNA. This new organism will have the identical characteristics of the copied individual. Somatic cell manipulation (gene therapy) is simply introducing new genes into somatic cells, which contain a disease or aliment in order to heal or cure the infected cells. In general, germline manipulation is altering genes in the...
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...the today’s society that there are legal, social, and ethical problems that allow it to stay at bay. There is fine line that should be drawn when it comes to genetic testing especially when it comes to healthcare and when it leads to vanity. Genetic testing examines a person's genetic code by using a sample of blood or other body fluids/tissues, for health or medical identification purposes; it’s also a type of medical test that identifies changes in chromosomes, genes, or proteins (Genetic Testing). The Human Genome Project, human cloning and stem cell research are all part of this group. Genetic cloning is the reproduction of a new organism that is, at all stages of development, genetically virtually identical to a currently existing, or previously existing, being (Clone). Stem cell is an unspecialized cell that gives rise to a specific specialized cell, such as a blood cell, and they have the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and to give rise to specialized cells (Stem Cell). The Human Genome Project was an international research effort to determine the sequence of the human genome and identify the genes that it contains. The Human Genome Project formally began in 1990 and was completed in 2003 (Human Genome Project). “The purpose of the Human Genome Project has allowed researchers to begin to understand the blueprint for building a person. As researchers learned more about the functions of genes and proteins, their knowledge has had a major impact in...
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...in developing effective treatments is an indicator of the efficacy of gene therapy. Haemophilia treatment is effective in curbing the severe bleeding phenotype. Mucus in the lungs resulting from cystic fibrosis has been maintained at the same level instead of further degenerating. The treatment shows a well-tolerated response, but does however need to stimulate a better recovery. Down syndrome has not been treated using gene therapy, but indications of development have been shown with chromosome suppressing technology. Cancer is a likely target for the effective use of gene therapy as an alternative treatment. With acknowledged successes, further investigation can occur...
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...influences (Mark Young) (Not Complete) 5. Economic questions and considerations (Jawad Rana)………………………………….…… 21 6. The technology in its cultural context, media influence (Charles Taiwo) (Not Complete) 7. Implications for the environment (Charles Taiwo) (Not Complete) 8. Moral and ethical implications (Layli Stroia) ……………………………………………………..… 30 Outline A brief description of the technology and an explanation of the associated science Definition: What is Genetic Engineering? Genetic engineering (GE) is the process of manipulation of an organism genome to create a new DNA. The new DNA might be implanted in a totally different DNA species. It is widely used to create hybrids (some species are not able to naturally breed), correct genetic flows in any type of being. It is applied in fields such as agriculture, industrial, medicine and pharmaceutical. (Aldridge, 1996). As Primrose explained, gene manipulation involves the creation and cloning of artificially created DNA (recombinant DNA) that provides with DNA sequences not found in nature. This created DNA is introduced in a host living cell. “…genetic engineering is a 'cut, paste, and copy' operation. The gene...
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...Walter Glannon: Genes, Embryos, and Future People Bioethics, 02699702, Jul98, Vol. 12, Issue 3 ABSTRACT: Testing embryonic cells for genetic abnormalities gives us the capacity to predict whether and to what extent people will exist with disease and disability. Moreover, the freezing of embryos for long periods of time enables us to alter the length of a normal human lifespan. After highlighting the shortcomings of somatic-cell gene therapy and germ-line genetic alteration, I argue that the testing and selective termination of genetically defective embryos is the only medically and morally defensible way to prevent the existence of people with severe disability, pain and suffering that make their lives not worth living for them on the whole. In addition, I consider the possible harmful effects on children born from frozen embryos after the deaths of their biological parents, or when their parents are at an advanced age. I also explore whether embryos have moral status and whether the prospects for disease-preventing genetic alteration can justify long-term cryopreservation of embryos. INTRODUCTION Recent advances in reproductive biotechnology have given us the ability to intervene in the process of human biological development from embryos to people. One type of intervention is the testing of embryos for genetic defects that cause disease, which enables us to choose between allowing these embryos to result in disabled people or selectively terminating...
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...diseases, thereby defective genes could be replaced and help improve the lives of millions. However, cloning in the human sense has had a difficult start. DNA cloning has permitted the development of modern biology, in particular within the last forty years. In this time frame the world has passed from theories to actually cloning genes. Subsequently, The University of Utah Health Sciences did a study on the history of cloning: Mitalipov and colleagues were the first to use somatic cell nuclear transfer to create a human embryo. …In this experiment, researchers took a skin cell from a patient and fused it with a donated egg cell. Key to the success of the experiment was the modification to the culture liquid in which the procedure was done and to the series of electrical pulses used to stimulate the egg to begin its division. Following the cloning controversy of 2004–2005, in which South Korean scientists falsely claimed to have used somatic cell nuclear transfer to create embryonic stem cell lines, the scientific community demanded much stronger evidence that the procedure had actually been successful. (Learn. Genetics) Subsequently, many states in the US began to prohibit the use of therapeutic and reproductive cloning. Regardless, cloning should be decriminalized, with the stipulation that serious regulations be put into place. People, often too caught in the moral implications of cloning never take the time to learn the scientific process. Moral implications are thoughts...
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...Landon, have used genetic testing techniques to select the sex of their daughter at a fertility clinic in Los Angeles. As researchers learn new ways to manipulate genes, they plan to take things a step further by offering what some are calling "designer babies". The term “designer babies” refers to a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering combined with in vitro fertilization (the joining of a woman's egg and a man's sperm in a laboratory) to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics. Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg, a pioneer in in-vitro fertilization and director of Los Angeles Fertility Institute, said that he “would predict that by next year, we will have determined sex with 100 percent certainty on a baby, and we will have determined eye color with about an 80 percent accuracy rate." The prospect of “designer babies”, like many of the ethical challenges posed by the advancements in genetics, is confronting the world so rapidly that doctors, ethicists, religious leaders and politicians are just starting to grapple with the implications. In recent discussion on the applications of genetic technology, a clear distinction has been drawn between “gene therapy”, the use of human gene transfer for therapeutic purposes, and “genetic enhancement”, the use of human gene manipulation to...
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...and give good yields in poor soils, dry conditions and without the need for expensive pesticides and fertilisers will be essential in preventing food shortages in areas where crop cultivation is difficult. It has been applied for example in the green revolution which Norman Borlaug initiated. This helped prevent famine in at risk countries such as Mexico, India and Parkistan by increasing their wheat production. The potential is also there in Africa for producing 'Roundup Ready' ( Round up is a pesticide) crops so that the gene for herbicide tolerance is already built into the crops. Furthermore, using conventional farming methods would mean destroying wildlife habitat to increase cropland to produce enough food for the growing population. GM crops produce such high yields that it would be unnecessary to cut down vast amounts of forests. Genetic engineering can also be used to fortify crops. For example, in 1992, the company Pioneer introduced a gene for Brazil nuts into soya beans. The intent was to make soya...
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...negative characteristics of genetic research in the 1990’s and beyond. The authors use ethical principles, case studies, and opinion poles from various age groups to assemble public reaction to what is emerging as a very complex issue in our society today. They ponder the questions of intervention vs. non-intervention in specific case studies about paternalism, dwarfism, privacy, and flawed gene heredity relating to retardation. In two of the cases, aborting the unborn fetus is at issue if the genetic test results do not favor the parents wishes for the child. This raises health, ethical, and legal arguments which are traditionally at cross-purposes. The issues even hearken back to Roe v. Wade whereby the reason to abort is indisputable. On the other hand, terminating an otherwise healthy fetus can be viewed as selective childbirth, not unlike “the abortion of female fetuses in China”. Having knowledge of what is to come, even in the future of the child’s life is making the difference. More parents are being told genetically determined information about their unborn and existing children, which prior to the advances in the last five years they had no access to. The case relating to paternity is purely a moral one. It focuses on the question of whether incidental information which is generated by genetic testing, outside of what has been requested, should be divulged or not. This also raises the issue about the nature of the genetic information, and whether it should influence the...
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...Genetic Enhancement on the Human Genome The debate on whether human genetic engineering should be researched and used as the main alternative solution to disease have been going on since the creation of the "human genetic engineering" phenomenon. The ethical question is clear: should money be invested in human genetic engineering and should we research it at all, even if it is formally criticized by all monotheistic religions? The ethical principles in conflict are beneficence (people with fatal diseases could be cured) and non-maleficence (undermines the will of God, according to religious groups and in addition, there is no guarantee of successful results). My stance on this debated topic is that human genetic engineering should not be funded or researched, as there is no 100% guarantee that it will be successful, and in addition, I am a very religious person, and in my opinion, the body that a person has is a gift of God, and it should not be changed in any ways. However, there are still thousands of people with fatal diseases who have no hope for surviving, and human genetic engineering could serve as the only hope for them. There are many sides that can be affected either positively or negatively if human genetic engineering is funded and researched, however, the major stakeholders are primarily the government of US and private companies who fund all the experiments, people with fatal diseases who hope for any type of cure., and the science in general, because if human genetic...
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...D: Casey Krueger, Erin Lee, Ferdinand Malarayap, Marvin Monge, and Ibrahim Mortada August 14, 2011 DeVry University Online Stem cell research and cloning have become a major topic of interest in countries all around the world ever since Dolly the sheep was successfully cloned in 1997. Every single country has their own views about stem cell research and cloning because of their moral and ethical issues. Muslims, for example, are individuals who are firm believers that knowledge is acquired in a form of worship, and any human achievement must be performed in conformity with God’s will. The introduction of new science in Islam is not perceived with open arms and new technology has to prove benefits before it is accepted because of the fear and respect the Muslim culture has for their God. Any new knowledge or discovery must be implemented within the confines of God’s laws and limits to maintain a healthy balance in the creation. Science and religion have to work together in the Muslim culture to determine if new knowledge or research such as stem cell and cloning are linked to the broad ethical base set forth in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Cloning began from the very earliest if civilization. Historians and scientist believe that early farmers took the strongest of their crop, self-pollinated them with same plant, extracted the seeds, and planted them to create a field of genetically identical plants. This type of cloning is more prominent in wheat farming or any farming involving...
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...Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 3 The Impact Medical Technology has on Religion 6 How Religion Will Respond Given Their Principles and Doctrines 7 The anti-aging therapies are raising controversies in science and religion 12 Conclusion 13 References 14 Abstract People figured out early on that living longer would be beneficial if they had the chance to do so. They would be able to spend more time with their friends and family, have more time in life to accomplish things they set out to do, and they could simply enjoy more of what life has to offer. This is a great mindset for anyone to have since life is a beautiful thing and worth living. With all of the advanced medical technology on this specific subject and the new findings that are constantly being done to prolong the human lifespan, we start to enter into the area of what is ethically right and wrong and wonder how much is too much? There are many different forms of medical treatment that can save someone’s life. This will vary from medicine to surgery and many things in between. Not everyone will agree on some of the techniques used, but most people understand why someone would want to save their life. Since people will try to save their own lives if they are dying, many scientists believe that there is no difference in trying to extend a life through medicine, or trying to create a life from another person through a cloning system. This is where the tables turn from helping mankind,...
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