Genome Editing

2/18/2020

People have always wanted to alter their physical or biological appearance. While they have been able to do this on certain ways, such as surgery or smaller changes like make up or working out, they have never been able to change their genetic structure. Genome editing is a relatively new process that has come to be a real possibility but like everything, there are several problems that come with it. The positive side to genome editing is that with enough research and practice, it could be used to cure many of the worlds genetic diseases. The process involves taking out a sample of DNA, changing it for the desired affects, and then inserting it back into the person or animal that is being tested. These types of procedures can be used to cure a variety of illnesses such as cancer or other genetic diseases. Apart from that, gene editing could also be used in the future to modify how a person will grow and look. With enough resources, parents would be able to chose their children’s height, hair color, and other physical features.
The main issue that is brought to attention while taking about gene editing is the morality of the situation. Some question if it is right to change what god or biology say a person should look like. Others question if it is completely safe, or if it would lead to disastrous problems such as if they messed up and hurt the person, or since no one knows the long term affect of doing this. What are your opinions on gene editing and if it should be looked into more given the benefits and detriments of it? Should it be used to change physical appearance or only for correcting disease?

39 Comments

Erykah Foss

2/20/2020 09:05:46 pm

It has always boggled my mind that humans have come so far with technology and research that we can manipulate our DNA, such as treating diseases. According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, “genome editing tools have the potential to help treat diseases with a genomic basis, like cystic fibrosis and diabetes.” They have even cured a patient named Layla of leukemia, who went through many other failed treatments.

Although this treatment was successful, scientists are still researching to perfect genome editing. Because of this, I do not think we should tamper with our physical appearance using these tools. Once we start curing and preventing diseases, I feel like we will be familiar enough with the technology that people will be comfortable with manipulating the way they look. But the 1997 film 'Gattaca' sums up my view exactly: “there is no gene for the human spirit.”

Faith

2/22/2020 11:25:12 pm

I agree that using this technology to alter ones physical appearance is rather inhuman. If this did become a normality, what do you think our world would be like?

Madicyn

2/23/2020 04:46:50 pm

It is sort of inhuman, it is like humans trying to play God. Which we've discussed in other classes and conversations.

Paige

2/23/2020 09:23:29 am

I find it incomprehensible that we have come so far with technology as to cure illnesses and alter appearance through gene manipulation. However, is it right? If you had to choose between the use of genome editing or getting rid of it entirely, what would you choose?

Tori Weir

2/23/2020 03:39:40 pm

Technology has come so advanced in many areas including this one and will continue to be so. It is scary how genome editing can be done to a child. How far do you think technology will go with genome editing? Or do you think people will try to stop the advancement before it becomes too much?

Brax Kauffman

2/23/2020 04:41:52 pm

So once they perfect the art of changing people appearance then do you think it should be applied to everyday life?

Ezra

2/23/2020 06:44:23 pm

I like that you included the part about Layla, it cements what you are saying.

Faith

2/22/2020 11:33:05 pm

Genome editing is a very interesting and complicated subject. The debate as to whether it should be practiced at all is challenged by today’s society. The fact we can use it to create cures for illnesses is amazing and a huge advancement in the medical field. However, using it to alter ones appearance is an interesting idea, but possibly inhuman. I believe that everyone was created to be exactly how they are, and that doing something to alter their appearance is not a good morality.
This also reminds me of an app that could possibly display an idea of what the world would be like if altering one’s appearance became a normality in society. An app called “Deep Fakes” allowed people to take anyone’s face (mainly celebrities) and put it into another’s body in pictures or videos. I had watched a few videos on this app, and it was nearly impossible to decipher if the person in those videos were real or not.

Faith

2/22/2020 11:35:47 pm

The fact you could not tell if the footage was real or not was scary, and is much like what the world we be like if you could change your appearance to whatever you wanted. It would tarnish an individuals identity and uniqueness in society.

Paige

2/23/2020 09:19:15 am

I like how you noted the cruelty of the practice and how it would be better to let people be who they are. I also believe that everyone was created to be who they are and changing that would have some negative outcomes.

Erykah

2/23/2020 11:40:05 am

It is sad that humans create an environment where we need to look a certain way. It has become dangerous for our mental health, which is why I am glad that there are some teens today who have a more positive outlook. I hope this positivity will continue to spread because it truly makes a difference.

Ezra

2/23/2020 06:38:07 pm

We have very similar views on this subject. I agree that it would be inhuman to alter the features of a human.

Josephine

2/23/2020 07:10:44 pm

I completely agree with this. I believe that genome editing should be used for medical purposes only. Once we start editing the appearance of unborn children there is no telling how far we could take this.

Paige Hilton

2/23/2020 09:16:47 am

As with everything, there are benefits and costs to gene editing; it is beneficial in curing illnesses but the long term effects have not yet been recognized. Gene editing can also change the characteristics of a child to make them "desirable". However, through continual practice of this, children would lose what makes them unique and eventually would all be supposedly superior, making them inevitably inferior.
I do not believe that gene editing should be used in the alteration of genes to improve physical appearance. However, if it is a way to cure terminal illnesses, then it could be a powerful tool in saving countless lives.
Overall, I feel genome editing will continue to advance and will eventually get out of hand. It is best to let people live with the characteristics and genes they have been given.

Erykah

2/23/2020 11:33:39 am

I think people with cleft lips or or palates can benefit from genome editing. Although the definite cause of these features are unknown, "researchers believe that most cases of cleft lip and cleft palate are caused by an interaction of genetic and environmental factors" (Mayo Clinic). With genome editing, I believe we will eventually be able to prevent these from occurring in babies.

Faith

2/23/2020 02:03:22 pm

I most definitely believe that genome editing could get out of hand by being taken to extreme extents.

Tori Weir

2/23/2020 03:34:19 pm

As you said about changing the characteristics of a child to make them better. It reminds me of plastic surgery and the idea of being prettier. Why do you think parents want their child to go through genome editing?

Andy Gebhardt

2/23/2020 04:29:24 pm

You have a good point about letting people live as they are. Everyone is different and should be able to love that they are different. There has to be a line in gene editing though that allows people to ensure a babies safety in the form of genetic diseases or abnormalities.

Kately Cockrell

2/23/2020 06:27:57 pm

I see gene editing as dehumanizing, it essentially makes humans as nothing more than a program to be tampered with. People were not meant to sculpt humans in their own image.

Madicyn

2/23/2020 04:44:35 pm

I agree that people should just let whatever genes come out, come out. It's cool advancements and all, but seems unnecessary in a way.

Brax Kauffman

2/23/2020 04:47:51 pm

If you could chose to either have everything to do with genome editing or nothing. Which would you chose and which do you think would be more ethical?

Alyssa Farnworth

2/23/2020 05:23:32 pm

I agree that we should allow people to live with the characteristics they have been given. Does this include disease genes in your opinion or just physical characteristics? Because I also agree it is a powerful tool in saving lives as you said.

Tori Weir

2/23/2020 03:29:04 pm

Genome editing is essentially making specific changes to the DNA of a cell or organism. The technology today has advanced to be able to do this. The main use of genome editing is curing diseases such as leukemia and AIDS. I do believe it genome editing is focused more on researching cures for cancer and incurable diseases. Genome editing can save serval people who are suffering from a disease or cancer, but I believe there has to be more research to see if there are other options to choose from because it is so expensive to do.
At the same time, there are people out there who want to change how their children look and act. Not many people can afford genome editing and even if they can, I believe changing genes to make a child’s physical appearance better is wrong. It is dangerous to do so because there are no known negative long term effects of this. It also brings in the idea of changing somebody else’s body without their knowledge or consent.

Andy Gebhardt

2/23/2020 04:25:57 pm

I agree that there needs to be research on what gene editing can do. It could be dangerous to people and could affect a person later in life. Do you think gene editing could weaponize or affect how war is done? Could someone realistically make a superhuman?

Kately Cockrell

2/23/2020 06:26:15 pm

It has dangerous potential that I hope is never explored. If it is, I would hope it is only used to benefit the diseased and ill.

Andy Gebhardt

2/23/2020 04:23:29 pm

Gene editing is a new field of technology that will have an effect on the future of the world. It has the potential to be extremely beneficial yet also be very bad. While it is hard to say exactly how humanity will be affected, there will be a rising conflict as more research is developed.
The main issue with gene editing is the possibility of changing what a person or animal will be like before it begins to grow. This could cause many problems like lack of diversity and every person thinking and acting the same way. However, this technology could help cure hereditary diseases and give immunities to other that are dangerous.
Overall, gene editing is going to affect the work in the future. There will have to be rules laid down just like some new technology that is out now. The self driving car is an example because it has to make “moral” decisions based on safety. The problem with many of these technologies and why they will not go away is because people want to make money and are willing to break rules to do it. This will eventually cause a host of problems that will have to be solved in the future.

Josephine

2/23/2020 07:27:08 pm

I agree generic iteration would take away from the uniqueness of the human race. That is not morally right and the only reason why we should explore this is to find cures for diseases.

Madicyn

2/23/2020 04:42:08 pm

Gene editing is a really interesting concept.I think it is a given that more research and solid outcomes should be created before this is a usual thing for the next generations to do. It's impressive the progress they have made with gene editing, and the understanding of the possibilities is really cool to me.

On the other hand though, gene editing is kind of intimidating. I feel like if people had the opportunity to make the "perfect child", they definitely would. Then, as more people do it, the more "perfect" humans we have. It reminds me of the Utopian stories, and eventually it would turn around and bite us for developing this. I also believe that individualism and uniqueness would dwindle from existence. Which, personally, I don't think would be a positive thing.

It'll be interesting to see what humanity does with this technology. How do you think this will effect society? Will only the rich have the finances to do this? How will scientists continue to research and experiment this?

Alyssa Farnworth

2/23/2020 05:28:12 pm

Personally, I know I would not change the physical appearance of my child so in my head I thought there would be a lot of people like me who wouldn’t either. Your opinion on this matter however was completely different and it opened my eyes a little bit. People already allow their children to alter themselves with plastic surgery and other things. I realize now that the numbers would probably be higher than I originally thought. Why do you think people would feel the need to change their child?

Sabrina

2/23/2020 06:46:22 pm

Having "perfect children" would affect the mindset of other children too. It would create even more unrealistic body images because they would slowly become a reality. The children that were tampered with would also grow up different than everyone else because of something that their parents chose for them.

Alyssa Farnworth

2/23/2020 05:18:31 pm

The advancements medical science has made are truly extraordinary. If something like gene editing can save thousands of lives I feel that is the most ethical decision we could make as a society. Many people feel that this practice should not be allowed because it interferes with gods plan. Why not give people the opportunity to live and spare heartache of those who lose children, family members and friends due to something horrific like cancer?
The argument of not knowing the future long term effects is a sound one but people do a lot of treatments that are still in trial runs in hopes of living.
Personally, I would not choose to alter my child if given the choice, but I also feel that is not a decision I should get to make for other people. If I knew my child was going to have a potentially life threatening disease though my decision would probably be different. I think that a lot more research needs to be done before this becomes common practice so we can eliminate as many risks as possible.

Sabrina

2/23/2020 06:43:23 pm

I agree with your position on letting other people choose. Some people could really benefit from this technology, and while I wouldn't choose to use it either, I wouldn't force my neighbor to do the same.

Kately Cockrell

2/23/2020 06:25:15 pm

Brave New World encompasses this premise quite well. People are bred for a certain purpose, placed into classes that they have no hope of rising from. There is no sense of becoming greater, no higher accomplishments to be had of a lower caste individual. It’s rather dehumanizing to think that our offspring can be tailored to meet certain criteria. Supermodels could potentially be bred. They have no choice in becoming anything else, it’s predestined. I can’t think of anything more disturbing.

Aiden

2/23/2020 06:41:34 pm

I read this book as well and had similar impressions. The book does well of dissuading society from altering genes.

Ezra

2/23/2020 06:35:34 pm

I think that genome editing should be looked into more, and that it could lead to big advancements in preventing medical anomaly's. I think that the ability to alter genomes would be a great thing to have because we could prevent genetic diseases that sometimes cause deviation in family's, or cause the people affected to die young. It could overall prevent deviation, and even death. People can go too far though, and by this I mean changing the traits that make people who they are. Changing the hight, hair color, facial features, and eye color is just to much, and it's not right to do. It's two very different topics. It is good to change things that would be detrimental to survival, but I don't think it is necessary to change things just to change it.

Aiden

2/23/2020 06:43:13 pm

I also think that more research should go into it before humans are even thought about being edited.

Aiden

2/23/2020 06:39:11 pm

Gene editing shouldn’t be used to change humans at all. I can see the merit in doing it with animals to increase product and quality but editing a humans genes to make them superior to others is unfair. The idea that a child can instantly attain a superior body to another because a family has money to edit the child’s genes before birth is angering. That should be not allowed.

As far as edited a child’s genes to prevent disability or mutations is a harder topic for me. I believe that if it is going to threaten the child’s life then I believe the necessary genes should be altered to give the child better quality of life. As far as other genetic issues that don’t affect health should not be altered. Things happen for a reason and that reason shouldn’t be tampered with.

Sabrina

2/23/2020 06:42:00 pm

I think that this technology is amazing and can do much good, but in moderation. There are many illnesses and defects that can be prevented or lessened. While I know that it could be a huge blessing to may families, the cost is a very large question for me. It may be cheaper to just wait until after birth to find help.
I don't think this technology should be used for physical appearance like height, hair color, eye color, and so on. Not only do I believe that everyone looks the way they do for a reason, but I think the ability for rich families to change their appearances will affect other other children' expectations and views of themselves. Maybe children that were tampered with didn't want to be. I'm imagining circumstances where a child was made to be more athletic and didn't grow up with that desire. Parents who change their kids' appearance will have expectations of what their kids will do with it. It's better just to leave it alone.
I also think that gene editing for health purposes should be on a very tight leash. I don't know the exact circumstances where it would be necessary, but sometimes using treatments after birth work just as well and could be less expensive. The long term affects of this have not been tested so we need to be cautious of what we choose to explore.

Josephine

2/23/2020 06:59:06 pm

Genome editing should be practiced but limited. If gene editing has the potential to cure genetic disease I believe that it is right, however, genome editing for cosmetic purposes should be left to nature to decide and not be put into usage. Altering the genetic appearance of unborn children is something that we should stay out of for moral reasons. The medical aspect of genetic editing is incredible if there is a way for the genetic disease to be eradicated through genome editing we should take full advantage of this. This would save children from a lifetime of pain and suffering.

Author

Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

Author

Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

Genome Editing

Leave a Reply.

Author

Author

Archives

Categories