The One Where We Play God
GENETIC MODIFICATION
Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
- Ian Malcolm (The Jurassic Park)
Genetic modification can aid us in the cure of diseases such as cancer, remove genetic diseases, save us from global warming, help us colonize another planet and reverse the process of extinction. A tool with such immense power would surely alter the course of humanity. So if its benefits and utility are being debated upon, the adverse effects must surely be equally powerful. Here is a brief insight into the banes of this tool which are making scientists wonder if humanity is prepared for such a breakthrough.
The major point preventing genetic modification from becoming nom connu is a moral issue. Certain types of genetic modification could be inherited by future generations. Thus this imposition and alteration of the genome of several generations is, as touted by various religious and human rights organizations, morally illegal for it forces the choice upon several unborn individuals without their consent. This is akin to performing tests and experiments on a lab rat and is, in the opinion of the opponents, fundamentally against the human rights charter as adopted by the United Nations. However this point is entirely rebutted if we are considering only non-inheritable genetic modifications. However the statements against those are equally strong too.
Genetic modification when first introduced in the commercial market for the first time would obviously only be affordable for the elite rich part of the human populace. Thus the economically weaker session of society would not be able to avail themselves of this innovation and would thus not only be unable to undergo gene therapy to rid themselves of genetic diseases but also be unable to enhance their abilities. This would create a huge difference in ability and characteristics between different sections of society. Thus ultimately while the elite class of society evolves into a better or more enhanced species, the rest would, in comparison, become genetically inferior and this would eventually hinder their survival.
The very use of genetic modification to enhance the human genome would also reduce genetic diversity among those who undergo such processes as everyone would opt for the most superior sequence of genes. This would shrink the gene pool and eventually if a new strain of virus emerges, the very survival of the human race could be threatened.
Genetic modification when first introduced in the commercial market for the first time would obviously only be affordable for the elite rich part of the human populace. Thus the economically weaker session of society would not be able to avail themselves of this innovation and would thus not only be unable to undergo gene therapy to rid themselves of genetic diseases but also be unable to enhance their abilities. This would create a huge difference in ability and characteristics between different sections of society. Thus ultimately while the elite class of society evolves into a better or more enhanced species, the rest would, in comparison, become genetically inferior and this would eventually hinder their survival.
The very use of genetic modification to enhance the human genome would also reduce genetic diversity among those who undergo such processes as everyone would opt for the most superior sequence of genes. This would shrink the gene pool and eventually if a new strain of virus emerges, the very survival of the human race could be threatened.
Moreover so far, scientists have not been able to test the process on a sufficiently large pool of human test subjects so far owing to the volatility of the procedure.This is another barrier that needs to be overcome for genetic modification to become viable on a large enough scale.
Thus while genetic modification does promise to save humanity, it is not until all of its adverse effects can be negated or at least countered effectively that it be developed to an extent where it becomes as commonplace as surgery.
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