Gene Manipulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Gene Manipulation - Essay Example James Watson discovered the double helix structure of DNA. Due to which currently we have knowledge of our genes and thus makes it easier to manipulate them. Scientists already have made wonderful discoveries regarding how genes are related to diseases. Discovering the genes for cystic fibrosis as well as Huntington's disease are without a doubt important achievements, even though new treatments for both the disorders have not been discovered as yet. The discovery of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes of breast cancer were extraordinary accomplishments, even though they are responsible for less than 10 %of all kinds of breast cancer. Scientists will discover significant genetic associations with diseases in the next few years, some of which may eventuate in preventions or treatments that may reduce human suffering. whilst the identifying of for behavior genes are not quite understandable, there is little suspicion that scientific reports regarding new genetic tendencies or basis of behaviors will be a common occurrence in the up coming years . Furthermore, different kinds of genetic "alternative," from selection of sex to the traits of personalit y to better abilities might become obtainable by means of "gene therapy," which are also known as gene manipulation such as technologies or genetic reproductive or human cloning. This is only the beginning of the age of genetics. Genetic engineering means the human, and hence "artificial" (as in the sense of nature doesn't do this without our help), manipulation of genes. This may involve, as in the case of genetically modified foods, manipulating genes in individual organisms, one at a time. Of course, scientists do not sit there and place new genes by hand into every single potato. There are ways to do this in large batches at a time. But the expectation is that someday not too long from now we will place genes by hand, one at a time, into human fetuses or individual patients to correct deficiencies or replace "bad" genes that cause particular diseases. This sort of individual manipulation is what many people imagine when they hear the term genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is also commonly known as the manipulation of the gene pool, or the entire genes of every the individual in a population. New techniques have recently allowed fertility clinics to determine with a high statistical probability of success whether a fertilized egg is likely to be male or female. If a couple wants only females, perhaps because the parents carry genes that cause disease only in male offspring, then the clinic can pick out the females and implant only those in the mother. This is genetic engineering, the engineering of the genetic outcome of reproduction. Imagine that a clinic allows parents to choose the eggs or sperm that carry the "smartest" or "prettiest" or "strongest" genes and throw away the others. That is also genetic engineering. And it raises additional questions. What we tend to forget is that genetics is not everything. Genetics alone is not destiny, because development and the environment make a great difference in how genes are expressed. Parents of children with Down syndrome (also known as trisomy 21), for example, remind us that children with traits deemed to be a