Gem Line Modificatiom

Science and ethics often clash. From the days of the Catholic Church's persecution of Galileo to today, there are always battles between ethics and science. One interesting on on-going is that of changing the DNA of a human to improve a medical outcome,  gene editing in humans. The majority of geneticists and stem cell associations in the U.S. are now calling for a moratorium on changing human genes (they call it "germ line modification) because they feel that use of current technologies would be dangerous and ethically unacceptable.

Anyway, a group of leading biologists is calling for a worldwide moratorium on the use of a new genome-editing technique to alter human DNA in a way that can be inherited. They fear the new technique for altering DNA coding is so effective and easy to use that some physicians may push ahead with it before its safety can be proven. They also want the public to understand the ethical issues. Gem line modification could be used to cure genetic diseases, but also to enhance qualities such as beauty or intelligence. The non disease aspect, as in making me look like a Brad Pitt with Einstein intelligence.

Do humans want to engineer their children? Eventually, with DNA manipulation a person could exert control over their unborn children's' human heredity with this technique. That's the reason the scientists want to go slowly with the research. There is a danger to the very nature of humanity when changing sperm, eggs or embryos that will last through the life of the individual and be passed on to future generations. Until now, these worries have been theoretical. But a technique invented in 2012 makes it possible to change the DNA precisely and with much greater ease. That process has already been used to edit the DNA of mice, rats and monkeys. Most geneticists say that it will work the same way in people.

Those in favor of moving forward with the process say that it can be used to repair or enhance any human gene.  Diseases will be conquered more easily and more often, some terminal diseases would no longer kill.  Any use of this process is closely regulated in the United States and Europe. U.S. scientists, for instance, would have to present a plan to treat genetic diseases in the human germ line to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But what about countries that have less regulation in science?

Finally. some scientists say that replacing a defective gene with a normal one might bring about problems besides the changed genes. They worry , for example, about people changing a gene without the knowledge of what those changes could mean the other genes in the body or to future humans born with the altered DNA. Are humans smart enough to play God with the genetic pool?

It's a mess...... man altering nature. Can we try to regulate such things rather than shut a new technology down at its beginning? You tell me.