What is genetic engineering used for?
Medicine - Genetic engineering is able to treat many illnesses and conditions with the human body which were previously much more harmful. Many medicines and treatments are available only because of this technology. Today, there are drugs and vaccines which have the ability to treat cancer, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and arthritis. Genetic engineering is present in such items like home pregnancy tests too. This industry has the potential to do things many other drugs can't. Other ways genetic engineering helps in healthcare used a bacterium to produce a medically useful chemical. Agriculture - Much of the food we eat are in some way connected to genetic engineering. In fact, about 60 percent of our food has some sort of biotechnology in it. By taking traits from one organism and putting it into a food, the food can be altered in many ways, like having it last longer, taste better, and grow faster and larger. It can also be designed to be more immune to certain diseases. With less farmers and a greater need of food, genetic engineering can be the savior for this very important field. Industry - The ability of bacteria to produce chemicals can be used in other areas as well such as in the cheese industry. Also, genetically related advances and business is booming. Click the link for more information. Terrorism - Former Soviet Union used traits in many organisms to make biological weapons and viruses never before heard of. One scenario is that by using recombinant DNA methods, they might have taken the lethality of Ebola, combined it with the worst part of anthrax, and to top it off, made it extremely contagious by including parts of the smallpox virus. In fact, the USSR was so adept at making biological weapons that they were up to 20 years ahead of the United State's progress at the time.
Should we prohibit genetic engineering of humans?
Should? That's for individual parents to decide.We're fast approaching a time when the technology to genetically rewrite who we are will be available and effectively unstoppable. Not only should it not be stopped, but any attempt to do so by morally obsessive people will end up creating two separate species on this planet. The super-wealthy will readily be aware of how important a lifetime of "biological blessings"—Higher IQHigher innate drive Higher emotional resilienceHigher immunityBetter physical shape / stamina—will grant their offspring with significant advantages. While the movie "Gattaca" was wonderful, we know full well that there is, in fact, a gene for the human spirit. Some of us are naturally born with abilities and drive far exceeding those of others. While genes may (or may not) be 100% the cause of these things (perhaps some form out of the chaos of how life gestates in the womb), the fact is, we know that evolution happens and that being born with amazing parents AND outstanding genetics will effectively reinforce an upper class of people who have access to everything while those without it will forever scramble underneath.It's not about perfection, it's about significantly unfair advantages that a class of citizens will generationally have, and continue to improve upon, until they are no longer human. Then those without access to the same will either forever be left behind or be wiped out at some time in the future. Even if that seems preposterous, the fact stands that species split all the time, it's been happening for billions of years on this planet and any attempt to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that it can't happen again, "Because we're just so super-duper special" is preposterous. The super-rich will simply leave the nations where it's illegal and go to those places (third world countries) where clinics set up shop. They'll have their genes re-engineered before they reproduce. However that ends up being, is beyond my ability to understand right now, but if that technology becomes available (as we are fairly certain it will, provided we continue to advance unabated in the direction we're heading), then in order to prevent one group from having it (by illegalizing it in part of the world), it should simply be provided to all people who want it. Eventually --like vaccines-- people will look at it as common as vaccines or tonsilectomies.
Would you support medical experiments on life prisoners? ?
Only murderers. Obviously there is only so far animal testing can go in there search for new medicine and vaccines. The only way to ensure effectiveness is sometimes to use human research. However, some research is inherently life threatening and volunteers cannot be used. In the search for a vaccine against HIV or a cure for cancer do you think it is morally justifiable to experiment on the most heinous convicted murderers? Surely it is right to expend 100 murderers in order to save millions from HIV or cancer? I personally think the ends would justify the means used to discover this. While I think the death penalty is useless and unjustifable because it only serves the purpose of revenge, I feel in a way these people will be giving back to a society they took so much from. Medical science can be greatly aided by discoveries that are deemed unethical admittly by most, but what of the greater good? The bombing of innocence (or 'collateral damage' as it is called) in Iraq was justified to find nonexistant WMDs and the 'liberate' them. This is something that could potentially save the lives of millions: I feel we must act logically.
Practicality of a REAL Medical Marijuana?
First off, let me say, I in no way support the concept of "Recreational" use of Drugs. Notwithstanding though, the NATURAL occurring plant (not this altered crap you find on the Streets), like Poppies, have the potential to be used to make very effective medication. So one of my goals in Medical Lab Technologies is a REAL Medical Marijuana. As in Marijuana with amplified Analgesic, antibacterial, and other positive effects, while Eliminating more negative effects such as lowered cognition, addiction and the "High" (mostly through breeding out the THC and increasing the CBD, replacing the addictive "High" with a sedative effect). Preferably in a Capsule or Injection form, as smoking it destroys many of it's benefits. I've done a lot of research into the matter, and frankly, it seems that it's quite possible, but there is not a lot of people working towards it. Why? what is the true Practicality of REAL Medical Marijuana; not this Junk plant that you see on the Streets, and not this synthetic stuff that people are trying to pass off as medical, when it's almost as bad at the other stuff? All In all, what I am saying is, I want to turn it into something that can actually help people. It has the right potential, but why has no one tried to do anything with it? Why has there never been (in my knowledge) any real attempt to make Cannabis the next Poppy?
Anti-disgenics, is it unethical? should we practice it to eliminate genetic diseases from the human gene pool?
Not until we know more, A LOT more, about how they work. For example, we have discovered that sickle cell anemia, a genetic disease, might be beneficial. When you get two copies of the gene, you develop sickle cell, which causes the blood cells to carry less oxygen and it weakens the individual a great deal. However, it seems that when you only get one copy of the gene, you not only do not develop sickle cell anemia, but you have an INCREASED resistance to catching malaria. So, if we wiped out that gene entirely, we would wipe out the weakness of sickle cell in some small number of people, but we'd also wipe out the benefit of increased resistance to malaria in a much, much larger group of people. I say we study these genetic diseases, but until we know a lot more we should be so brazen as to assume we should just move forward "eliminating" the genes because we may be weakening ourselves by moving forward to rapidly, also eliminating benefits that affect much larger groups of people.
What is the role of the bacteria in genetic engineering (recombinant DNA technology)?
Actually, we humans have been using bacteria from ancient time.we have used bacteria (despite not knowing that they existed!) in producing yoghurt, cheese and other fermented foods. We have also ‘used’ the large population of bacteria in our digestive system to help us break down food and make vitamins. Today, we put bacteria to use in many more ways. Bacteria break down our waste, clean up oil spills, produce fuel, make medically important proteins and much more.Regarding the Role of bacteria in genetic engineering & recombinant technology, Bacteria – particularly the bacterium Escherichia coli – have been central to this revolution. It was E. coli that was the first host for foreign DNA, and plasmid DNA from E. coli has been a crucial tool for working with pieces of DNA from all species. As part of the DNA revolution, technologies have been developed for introducing DNA (such as a gene) from one species into another. Bacteria are particularly good at accepting foreign DNA, and introducing genes into bacterial cells is now routine. This procedure is a first step to making bacteria that can do new and useful things.Bacteria that contain introduced DNA are classified as new, genetically modified organisms. For this reason, the conditions of their use are strictly controlled. The vast majority of all genetically modified bacteria never leave the laboratory, where they are used as tools for manipulating DNA and making proteins.
Are cat-girls possible? Can you bioengineer girls with cat ears and a tail? What would happen to them?
Short term: No, Long-term: Yes.Currently, we do not have the technology but we are making huge process in understanding how DNA works and bio-engineering. I estimate in about 20 years the technology will boarder in possible and I foresee a scenario like this.Countries like Japan and Germany investigate the possibility of cloning mass numbers of clones to fulfill the need for working-age people in their population. Whether it succeeds or not depends on how much work computers have changed the nature of work but this may be where the first wave of investment comes from.With gene editing now possible, some parents may ask their baby planner to give their child a tail or cat ears, with much discussion about whether or not it should be allowed without the consent of the childSome people begin to want to have a catgirl as a pet or dependent partner which comes into its own issue.You can give them a monkey brain so they are as dependent as dogs on human, which avoids a lot of issues about keeping an intelligent animal as a pet but defeats a lot of the purpose of a catgirl as you simply just have a dog in a human’s body.On the other hand, if they have a normal human brain, they reflect the kind of catgirls we see in media but they are clearly intelligent so are they to be treated as a pet or a person? Are they allowed to seek employment and granted human rights?It’s a thorny issue and the result probably hinges on a lot of factors we can’t account for right now.(Given how much a failure the war on drugs was the money would be better spent on something as stupid as this)The church gets enough, support cat girls.Keep this in mind.