...[pic] Moral and Ethical Issues in Gene Therapy • Dr • [pic] Introduction Genetic research has advanced in a dramatic fashion in the last decade or so, to the point where it has now become possible to attempt therapeutic genetic modification, in a few cases of human genes, where a defects exists which manifests itself in certain serious diseases. This possibility, known as gene therapy, is only in its infancy. At present, no one knows how effective it will prove to be, even in the few conditions on which it is being tried - whether it will only be of relatively limited application, or whether it will open up many wider possibilities. It suffers both over-optimistic claims from some quarters and exaggerated dangers from others, over which the church needs to be discerning. It is, of course, not possible to assert exactly where the possibilities opened up by today's technology will lead in terms of future developments, but various ethical and moral issues are implicit in the technology which it is important to draw to the Church's attention, so that it is forearmed in an area where developments have been taking place at a bewildering pace. An editorial in the "New Scientist" in April 1994 drew attention to the need to weigh up what may still be future issues today, before the technological "horse" bolts from the stable and it is too late to lock the door. Potential Ethical Issues Perhaps the most basic underlying questions centre on a Christian understanding...
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...Gene Therapy SCI115 Introduction to Biology Professor Cassie Prisco November 28, 2014 Gene therapy is a rapidly growing field of medicine in which genes are introduced into the body to treat diseases. It is the name applied to the treatment of inherited diseases by corrective genetic engineering of the dysfunctional genes. It is part of a broader field called genetic medicine, which involves the screening, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of hereditary conditions in humans. The results of genetic screening can pinpoint a potential problem to which gene therapy can sometimes offer a solution. Genes represent the genetic material that organisms pass on from generation to generation. Therefore, genes are responsible for controlling hereditary traits and provide the basic biological code or blueprint for living organisms. Genes produce protein such as hair and skin as well as proteins that are important for the proper functioning of organs. Mutated or defective genes often cause disease. The purpose of gene therapy is to replace a defective gene with a normal copy of the same gene in attempt to restore function. Initially conceived as an approach for treating inherited diseases, like cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease, the scope of potential gene therapies has grown to include treatments for cancers, arthritis, and infectious diseases. Although gene therapy testing in humans has rapidly advanced, in general, the field of gene therapy has proven to be problematic...
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...The second kind of gene therapy is somatic therapy. At the beginning of this therapy it was designed to treat inherited diseases which include, cystic fibrosis, which is a hereditary diseases which can lead to respiratory infections. but now they believe which gene therapy they can find treatments for cancer, arthritis and infectious diseases. out of the two therapies somatic therapy has been focused on. not only for its safer and more educated reasoning but also of the ethical aspect of it, as if only effects the one person and cant be genetically passed down through generations. although this therapy has been around for a very long time researchers say that there is still a lot of work to be done. there are many positive sides to the treatment,...
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...Assignment 2: Gene Therapy Science 115 – Introduction to Biology March 1, 2014 Gene therapy is the transplantation of normal genes into cells in place of missing or defective ones in order to correct genetic disorders (Genetics home reference, n.d). This is a promising treatment for diseases such as inherited disorders, some types of cancer, and certain viral infections. The way this treatment works is by introducing genetic material into cells to compensate for genes that are abnormal or are not making beneficial proteins. Mutated genes can cause a protein to be faulty or missing, so a new copy of the gene is introduced to proper function of the protein. This is still a very risky technique and is under study to make sure it will be safe and effective. Currently, it is only being used to treat diseases such as severe combined immunodeficiency—also referred to as SCID or boy-in-the-bubble syndrome—where patients are unable to fight infection and die in childhood (Scientific American, n.d). A further break down of the processes of gene therapy will help to understand exactly how to treatment works. A gene cannot be inserted directly into the cell or it will not function. A carrier called a vector has been genetically engineered to deliver the gene to the cell. This vector can be used in two ways: in-the-body gene therapy and out-of-the-body gene therapy. In-the-body therapy can be injected or given intravenously (through an IV) directly into a specific tissue...
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...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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...Assignment 2: Gene Therapy Brandi Williams Professor Mintesinot Jiru Introduction to Biology SCI 115 August 31, 2014 Gene Therapy Technology What is gene therapy? According to the "Genetics Home Reference", gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease. Gene therapy has many factors that allows them to work or sometimes not. Below I will explain gene therapy's importance and how it works. Gene therapy is a treatment that involves altering the genes inside your body's cells to stop disease. (MayoClinic Staff) Also, gene therapy replaces a faulty gene or adds a new gene in an attempt to cure disease or improve the the body's ability to fight disease. Disease can be caused by the genes not working properly, but there's a wide range of disease including, cancer, cysyic fibrosis, heart disease, diabetes, hemophilia and AIDS, that gene therapy holds promise for treating. Also, researchers are still standing how and when to use gene therapy. (MayoClinic Staff) Social and ethical implications of gene therapy is complex and still has underlying concerns that need to be evaluated before being out on the market. Only through clinical trials gene therapy had been tested and successful, but because scientists and doctors not knowing the effectiveness of gene therapy; there are still precautions. For this reason, even though it may have been successful and beneficial for others, some mau not be as fortunate and that will cause another set of problems...
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...Gene therapy is the transplantation of normal, healthy genes into cells in place of missing or defective ones in order to repair or replace the diseased causing cell, genes. How it works is correct the genetic disorders, like sickle cell, brain cancer and other cancerous cell and viral infections. Biotechnologist have found that there is still no quick rout to achieving this. Gene therapy is still at its experimental stages of treatment, but some of their findings have been promising. The gene therapy starts with a virus. The Genetic engineers then extract the genetic coding from the virus, replacing it with a therapeutic gene that is designed to produce proteins that help fight certain illness. Proteins are then added to the virus. The protein is placed on top of the virus. It then attaches itself to the cell that is causing the disease or virus. This the new genetic code. The new gene with the virus is then injected into a patient or patients. It will then to try get through the body’s immune systems. Sometimes the immune system will attack and destroy the virus before it able to reach the diseased or cancerous cells. The virus only attaches to cells that are compatible to its receptors. When the diseased causing cell starts to respond to the proteins the virus attaches itself to the surface and the cell receptors draws the virus inside this called endocytosis. The virus which contains a genetic coding for enzymes is called integrase. Next the enzyme...
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...Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe gene-based therapy and how it transforms the way doctors treat and prevent disease, revolutionize the way we view illness and health and may eventually alter the way we perceive the normative human state. Gene transfer technology will inevitably spread to the world of athletics, bringing with it myriad medical, social, ethical, and philosophical challenges. This article explores some of these issues, with particular attention paid to concepts of harm and privacy. Problem: The problem with gene therapy is that using certain genes like would greatly benefit individuals with anemia and kidney failure or aggressive treatments of cancer but some of these genes are commonly abused in sports. The...
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...Gene Therapy Introduction to Biology 115 Gene Therapy Many medical conditions, disorders, and diseases for centuries went without cures and caused discomfort and even death. Doctors and scientists have worked together regarding many cases in hopes of finding cures for patients and changing the future of modern medicine. The use of gene therapy in the last four decades has been instrumental in many ways. Gene therapy is responsible for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, aids, hemophilia, heart disease, and cystic fibrosis to name a few. Biological Basis In 1865, Gregory Mendel was a fore runner with gene studies which identified the genetic traits that would later lead to revolutionary biological science. Mendel was responsible for providing research for his experiments with plants. The experiments successfully led him to the conclusion that the offspring from mutations could be classified as generational. This theory was correct and laid the foundation for many other scientific studies to eventually lead to significant advancements in genetic study. In the 1960’s scientists exposed the genetic codes which led to decades of discovery to include genetic maps, DNA and RNA sequences, and multiple data strands. Gene therapy was introduced in 1990 with a clinical trial study on a 4 year old little girl suffering from adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA); which is a severe combined immune deficiency brought on by a mutation of enzymes within a cell. (Gene Med, 2015)...
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...project is to locate and sequence all genes found in human DNA. The objectives for this ambitious effort are to learn more about heredity of disease and to discover the genes that would aid in gene therapy. Advances in gene therapy strive to treat hereditary diseases and possibly eliminate disease from the genome. In the world of Modern science it has brought so many new discoveries to help tons of people with thousands of different problems. Gene therapy is one of the most current discoveries that we have found. Gene therapy is a great way to help us change out or inactivate a gene in humans and animals. Now depending on the situation, it can be wonderful thing or some potential issue of everyday ethics. So you can get a better understanding of Gene Therapy. The definition of gene therapy is the introduction of genes into existing cells to prevent or cure a wide range of diseases (Jaroff, 1996). Gene therapy has though us there is a different possibility in how we can handle disease and treatment. Somatic gene therapy involves the manipulation of gene expression and in the cells. This will be corrective to help out the patient. Now for Germline gene therapy this involves different type of genetic modification of germ cells, which passes the change on to the next generation. This research helps in today’s world of medicine. It helps the doctors to help to cure the issues the patient is having. The research for Somatic gene therapy is currently being researched more...
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...week, our class had a debate on the ethical/social issue in genetics. My group topic was about whether germ-line therapy should be allowed throughout the nations. After the debate, my opinion on germ-line therapy is that should not be allowed throughout the world. Who would want to have a society that will become unequal? germline therapy has a very high cost and many potential risk over the benefits. Firstly, germline gene therapy in general is not ethically acceptable because it could be allow to “used to select for particular physical characteristics regardless of whether they are important for the health of the individual” (Julia Robinson, 2015, paragraph 2) which could cause many side effect in the future for the child. Not only that, but could result in the “selection of characteristics to “improve” the genetics of a population”(Julia Robinson,2015, paragraph 2)this is very unethically because it would allow people to choose their own characteristics and cause disruption. The use of germline gene therapy widespread could potentially may make “society less accepting of people who...
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...DNA Technology BIO/240 May 6, 2013 DNA Technology INTRO – LEE DNA Technology: Cloning, Gene Therapy, and Stem Cell Research DNA technology encompasses a wide variety of applications and because of the duplicating nature of DNA, it is easy to see how humans could benefit from its manipulation. One such technology is cloning. Cloning technology comes in three forms: recombinant DNA cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. Cloning Recombinant DNA cloning consists of transferring DNA fragments from an organism to a self-replicating element, like a bacterial plasmid. The fragments join with the cloning vector and are reproduced with the host cell. This technology is most commonly known for its use in genetically modified foods. DNA fragments that code for better tasting, higher nutrient qualities are spliced into regular plants to produce super foods (US Dept of Energy Genome Program, 2009). Reproductive cloning takes all the genetic information out of a cell and replaces it with DNA from the desired organism. With luck, this cell will begin to divide until it becomes an embryo and can be implanted into a host mother (US Dept of Energy Genome Program, 2009). Gene Therapy and Stem Cell Research Therapeutic cloning is by far the most controversial. This type of cloning produces human embryos for use in research, and usually for the stem cells that can be harvested from these embryos. Stem cells can be used to clone organs and body parts from the...
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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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...Kimmelman Jonathan, Baylois Francois, Grass Kathleen, (2006) “Stem cell trials: Lessons from gene transfer research”, 23-26. When I first heard of stem cell research I wondered how the government could refuse Stem cell research, something that holds the cure for diseases like Alzheimer’s , Cancer or even HIV/AIDS. I didn’t know the background story and how stem cell research borders on the morality of what is ethical and what isn’t. Is it acceptable to save one life but kill another? The critics and the religious minded who believe life begins at conception see this as murder, while proponents praise it as innovative and groundbreaking, in helping save millions of lives. This Cutting-edge new experiment challenges and goes against numerous religions that oppose killing human life, which makes it so controversial. The issue of stem cell research largely involves the destruction of five to seven year old embryos, and raises the morality of this experiment. It questions our principals and makes us wonder are we really sacrificing a life or saving one? You have to choose between two wrong things. While there is immense excitement among scientists and people of the possibility of the millions of human lives stem cells can save there is also a great safety concern as well. Stem cell research has always been a very relevant topic. Over the last decade politicians, Scientists and theorists have debated on the medical advancement of stem cell research, its regenerative medicine...
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