The Dangers of Genetic Engineering
The twenty-first century has brought about significant changes in human life, primarily as a result of advances in genetic engineering. Today's changes are the result of computer revolutions, which have enabled scientists to make significant advances in gene research. Fundamentally, the changes in how information is examined as a result of computer improvements are akin to the revolutions that will occur as a result of genetic innovation in modern times. Genetic engineering will enable us to generate, change, and manipulate organisms to attain productive goals. This research paper will focus on the dangers than can result with the massive adoption of the genetic engineering in the human society.
Ethical Concerns
Complexity in the genetics of human beings is very crucial and intentions of genetic engineers to manipulate their structure might be problematic interfering with order of life in the natural occurrences of events. Ethics is an important concept in this case to guide the far the scientists can go in interfering with the genes to achieve productive purposes. The ethical concern stems from the realization that this interference leads to some of the many genetic disorders that affected the human populations around the world.
Ethical Concerns in Medicine and Science
There are ethical concerns with the application of genetic engineering knowledge in medicine and other areas of science.
Resistance and Interference with Normal Living
Enhancements of organisms as a result of genetic modification have elicited a lot resistance by the society because it would lead to the interference on the normal living. The dangers that are introduced to organisms as a result of the innovations of genetic engineering have painted this science to be inherently undesirable and morally not justifiable. This view emanates from faith group who view these inventions because God's creation are viewed to be sacred and any alteration by the intention of human beings is degrading the creation's purpose by the deity. The inherent dignity that is accorded to organisms in their natural forms is violated by the actions of the genetic engineers by introduction of scientific innovations such as cloning, and genetic modification.
Unpredictable Long-Term Impacts
Most genomes have been analyzed as being complex and there is no definite follow-up to identify the long-term impacts of altering a particular gene. The interaction of an organism that has been genetically modified with other organisms in a particular ecosystem may not be defined properly hence the danger of interfering with the environment. The inability of some of the genetic engineers in predicting the development of an organism after enhancement is dangerous because of the unexpected effects it may have on a particular biodiversity. Furthermore, there is complexity in analyzing the successive relationships between different generations of a particular genome hence this portends a danger in genetic engineering.
Risk Assessments and Unpredictable Future
Germline alterations to organism must be done with a lot reservations and proper investigations before an organism is introduced to the wild. Modern computer technology has been helpful in assisting the scientists to predict the possible risks of releasing enhanced organisms to the environment. The relationship that exists between phenotypes and genes are deeply complex and the current knowledge is not enough to enhance extensive productive alterations to the organisms. Lack of modern means to conduct proper risk assessments to the organism portends an unpredictable future on genetic improvement because the long-term factors have not been considered by the scientists (D'Halluin et al, 2013).
Inequality and Social Stratification
Advancement of technology has planetary and humanity environment impacts with a possible influence on the distribution of justice in the society. This is especially, the case with the creation of species of human beings who have superior genes and others that have a genome that is weaker. Genetic engineering in this case will directly contribute in the widening the divisions in the society, thus, questioning the sanctioning of some of the genetic engineering researches. The issue of the stratification emerges as a result of the affordability of the innovations from the advancement of genetic engineering such as the cosmetic enhancement of individuals, and poor people in this case cannot afford such medical procedures.
Potential for Biological Weapons
The attempt by the scientists to create synthetic life laboratory has been a dream that has been pursued for a very long time. This attempted ha great successes about the 30 years ago by the genetic engineers. The main aim of these scientists is to transfer genes among different organisms for them to be better or to perform differently. This fact sounds unreal, but in modern times there are food supplies in the world that are genetically modified and bacteria used in the field of medicine that have been created in the laboratories. The realization that genomes which are excellently functioning can be made from synthetic chemicals have acted as the base for major innovations in this field. This invention would allow the scientists to develop their own artificial genomes without necessarily having to modify the natural ones an issue which is contestable by the secular and religious societies around the world (Patra et al, 2015).
Risks and Unpredictability of Genetic Engineering
The discoveries have emboldened the resolve of the genetic engineers with regard to wide applications on using the new knowledge of artificial genomes. Enough evidence available purports that genetic engineering is dangerous and unpredictable and the broadening of scientific applications increases the level of risk it has to human beings and the environment. The organisms produced through genetic modification have economic and lethal consequences in the human society. Deadly pathogens can be created by using the biotechnology knowledge by terrorists as a biological weapon that can cause great damage to the human race. Scientists have given convincing evidence to the effect that terrorist have the ability to recreate deadly pathogens by applying techniques of genetic engineering.
Environmental Risks
Technology and information about these innovations is available and can be accessed by those with the capacity to make applications on organisms which may lead to devastating consequences. This puts the human race at great risk because there is no control on the people that access the information of genetic engineering and the secretive operations of the terror can unravel biological weapons made from these scientific inventions. The engineers can also create pathogens that have high resistance to modern antibiotics. The mere fact that some of the genetically engineered organisms can overpower the modern antidotes developed through medicine is a recipe for disaster incase terrorists develop biotechnology capacity.
Lethal chemicals can also be produced in case the technology is applied in the manufacturing sector and dangerous chemical compounds are left in the environmental leading to devastating effects on human health. Chemical companies around the world prefer genetically modified tolls in manufacturing because they are effective on cost and readily accessible than using the hectic manufacturing methods used traditionally. The illegal behavior by chemical companies of using genetic engineering to manufacture food products and medicines endangers the lives of human populations and other animals from outbreaks because of the lethal compounds. The ability to create substances that are anti-materials by the engineers can be applied to destroy structures thus having a very negative impact on the economy. Damages such as biodegradation and bio-deterioration as a result of foul play by rogue biotechnologists may have grave impact on economic growth of a country. A lot of money is used by the governments around the world today in destroying microbes emanating from chemical industries which destroy roads, runaways and sewage systems. Essentially, rogue genetic engineers can unleash damage on government structures by creating microbes that will hasten the wear and tear of structures leading to great losses to the government, impacting on the economy.
Crop Production and Contamination
The other part of the danger that is associated with genetic engineering is on crop production. Scientists have confirmed that genetic resistance that is engineered in the labs may not be effective in curbing the natural parasites in the long run. The parasites have an ability to evolve under natural conditions because they are naturally engineered to bypass the resistance in the environment .The parasites will undergo revolution as they undergo the successive generations and in the end overcome the resistance that is genetic. Factually, the benefits that are realized from genetic modified crops are for a short time and disastrous in the long-run. Furthermore the farmers will introduce chemical sin to the environment that will have lasting health impacts on the organisms.
Consumer Choice and Health Risks
The consumer choice is endangered because of the proliferation of the genetically engineered foods in the market. Contamination and cross-pollination are major factors that have led consumers buying food products that they have no knowledge on how they have been produced or rather manufactured. Health risks are also concerns to many people due to the unpredictability of the genomes which can mutate in human body leading to the susceptibility of cancer cases around the world. The changes that can happen to a crop because of genetic modification include the change in their nutritional value, and the quality of that particular organism. More significantly genetic modification to plants so that they become resistant to the pests and insects interferes with general webs that are in a particular ecology. The common knowledge on biology is that an effect in a web of food chain impacts a number of the organisms in the particular ecology.
Economic and Social Implications
Genetic engineering when applied in the agricultural sector is viewed as a corporate business with the end motive of making profits. The technology employed by the farmers is an innovation of genetic scientists whose sole interest is to increase productivity without being mindful of the consequences on human health and the order of things in nature. The control of the genetically modified organisms outside of the laboratory is impossible and hence the level of contaminations to the natural organisms may not be tracked properly for reference and to institute buffers.
Economically genetic engineering has introduced breeds of animals and crops that are expensive and there is considerable gain in terms of tangible benefits to the quality of life and environmental sanctity. Resistance to the pesticides has contributed to constant complains by the farmers forcing them to apply more of the products which affects the fertility of land because of loss nutrients and minerals. The genetically modified products have aroused fears over the possible monopolization of control by corporations that have the technology by applying for the patent rights. Furthermore there are social and ethical issues that make genetic engineering undesirable in the society mainly because it contradicts moral principles that guide the societal behavior in a given community. The fact that when a gene is altered there is no reverse to the process is a very disturbing matter that must be understood with religious underpinnings, on whether we should challenge God's creation. There is also enough proof that pregnant women who consume genetically modified foods may harm the unborn fetus because the genes may interfere with the normal growth of the embryo.
Potential Consequences and Unknown Effects
Some of the major achievement in genetic engineering has been on cloning but this feat in science has been banned in modern times due to the direct impacts that would portend for the normal societal life (Avise, 2004). The highest percentage of the harms that would emanate from the genetic engineering is undocumented and this fact is daunting because there is no trace in the food chains and food webs on the long-term consequences of allowing this technology to take foothold in our industries. The scary results of allowing these technologies is the poisonous artificial substances that may be absorbed into the wild leading to abnormal gene mutations that can lead to deformations and organisms that have abnormal body formations.
Environmental Contamination
Another factor that is a major driving wedge in this analysis is the realization that genetic engineering helps in the concentration of metals that have a negative consequence if they leak to the environment in the industries. Water and soil contaminated with these metals is dangerous and may have long-term health impacts on human body and other organisms in the food chain. The possibility of the genetic engineering industry replacing the traditional farming will lead to negative consequences on the economy as these technologies will destroy economies that are bedrocks to farming.
Conclusion
Conclusively, genetic engineering has been a very crucial innovation of modern times mainly due to the knowledge scientist have obtained on understanding the genome and how it can be manipulated for better results. However, these positive outcomes from this technology have been tainted by some of the confirmed negative impacts if the technology is used uncontrollably and for needlessly less important applications. Governments should enhance regulations on this biotechnology to ensure that the application will not lead to suffering in the future because of untested application of genetic knowledge.
Works Cited
Avise, John C. The hope, hype, and reality of genetic engineering: Remarkable stories from agriculture, industry, medicine, and the environment. Oxford University Press, 2004.
Patra, Satyajit, and Araromi Adewale Andrew. "Effects of Genetic Engineering-The Ethical and Social Implications." Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Research (2015).
D'Halluin, Kathleen, and Rene Ruiter. "Directed genome engineering for genome optimization." International Journal of Developmental Biology 57.6-7-8 (2013): 621-627.
