JiaYue

ENGL106i

TheBenefitsandRisksofGeneModification

Adecadeago,societiesstartedtoconcernaboutthemiserablelifeofchildrenwhohave
inheritedcongenitaldiseases;forinstance,thesechildrenmayhaveabnormaldevelopmentof
bodyparts,lowintelligence,andmostofthemcannotsurvivetoexperiencetheirBarMitzvah,
whichistheJewishadultceremony.Whilethechildrenarelivingtheirmiserablelife,their
parentsaresufferingfromemotionalpain.Theprediagnosistechnologyhasbeenworkingfor
manyyears,butduetosomereligionsbeliefs,lotsofparentsarenotabletochangetheirbabys
fate.However,recently,thereisapieceofnewsthatcaughtmyeyestheUKhasbecomethe
firstcountrytolicensegeneticmodificationofhumanembryos.Asabiologystudent,Iknewthis
technologyforawhile,buttherearestillmanybarriersinfrontofscientists.Althoughthereare
enormousamountofbenefitsthatthistechnologycanbring,therearestillmanyargumentsexist.

Weallknowthatthetranscriptionandtranslationprocessinthecentraldogmaarethe
basicstepsforanormalhumanbeingtoproduceproteininordertosupporttheirlifeandpasson
theirgeneticinformationtothenextgeneration.Itisalsoknownthatthecauseforcanceris
abnormality in the transcription and translation process, specifically it resulted in infinite
replicationofthecell.Therefore,theriskofgenemodificationtechnologyisthatitmayincrease

thechanceofmutationandthuspossiblyincreasetheriskofgettingcancer.Duringtheprocess
ofartificiallyrepairingbrokenDNA,itmayaltertheoriginalsequenceofDNAandchangingthe
proteinproduct.Whatsmore,humanDNAhastheabilitytorepairdamagepartsbyitself,butif
gene modification is applied, it will cause DNA to lose this ability. As a result, gene
modificationmayleadtomutation,whichwillcausecancer.(Ellen,Cornelia&John,2002,pp
15131530)

However,thecontributionofgenemodificationisprettyobvious.Thistechnologycan
avoidaninfanttosufferafteritisborn.Thegestationperiodisthebestperiodforaninbornlife
totakethistreatment,becausetheinfantisyettobeseparatefromtheirmothersnutrients.Also,
ingestationperiod,thechanceofhavingmutationisthehighest.Someofthemutationsmaynot
causeanyconsequence,whileotherscanbefatal.TheauthorofGeneTherapyprovides an
exampleofaninfantlackingtheureacycleenzyme,whichleadstometabolicdisorderthat
causesdamagetothebrainandkilltheinfant.Ifgenemodificationisapproved,thenthistragedy
wouldnothavehappen.(Waddington,Kennea,Buckley,Gregory,Themis &Coutelle,2004,pp
9295)

Basically,therearetwotypesofgenetherapy;oneisgermlinegenetherapyandthe
otheroneissomaticgenetherapy.Germlinegenetherapyisnowunderasanctionbecauseituse
reproductivecellstotreat,whichwillcausethegeneticcodetochangepermanentlyandwill
inherittothenextgeneration.Butobviously,thebenefitsofthisnewtechnologyaredistinct.

First,itcanchangethesituationthatdoctorscanonlydiagnosecongenitaldiseasesbutwontbe
abletodoanythingtotreatorhealthediseases.Throughthiswayitcanpreventortreatgenetic
diseasesandevenhealgeneticdisorders.Secondly,byusinggenemodification,lotsofparents
wontneedtofacethedecisionswhethertheywillkeepthebabytosufferorabortion,sothiscan
respect the parental autonomy. However, there are risks and sanctions of this technology.
Primarily,thecostofgenetherapyisreallyexpensiveaccordingtothedatafromtheScience,
onlyabout2percentoftheinbornincludingdifferentanimalsarediagnosewithgeneticdiseases,
sopeoplestarttohesitatewhethertoapprovethistechnologybecauseofthelowefficiency.
Furthermore,thegermlinegenetherapyisnottheonlyoptiontotreatgeneticdiseases;byusing
preimplantation and prenatal genetic diagnosis, doctors can accurately know the specific
disorder.Afterdiagnosis,thetechniqueofembryofreezingworkswellinpreservinganimaland
humanembryo.Inaddition,theauthoralsostatesthattheunpredictablegeneticsideeffectwill
beinvolvedinthistechnology,whichrisksthehumansafety.Finally,ifgenemodificationhas
beenapproved,thenextstepwillbegeneticenhancement;forexample,somepeoplearenot
satisfiedwiththeireyescolororhairscolor,throughthistechnology,theyarecanthesetraits.
The author pointed out that The human gene pool is a joint possession belonging to all
members of the human species. No one has the right and power to change it without the
permissionfromallindividualsinhumanspecies.(Wivel&Walters,2000,pp195203)

Althoughtherearemanyrisksanddisadvantagesingenemodification,Istillinsistand
supportthistechnologytobeacceptedbytheworld.Everyonehastherighttobeequalandto
pursueequal.Inthepast,wedonothavetheabilitytodecidewhetherwehavedisordersornot,

neitherareweparents.Now,thereisachancetochangeallthesefacts,whichwilldefinitelybe
thebesttherapyintwentyfirstcentury.
References:
Ellen,GoodeL.,UlricHM.Cornelia,andPotterD.John."PolymorphismsinDNARepairGenes
andAssociationswithCancerRisk."CancerEpidemiology,Biomarkers&Prevention.Vol.11.
2002.1513530.Print.
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org
Kennea,NL,SMKBuckley,LGGregroy,L.Themis,andC.Coutelle."FetalandNeonatalGene
Therapy: Benefits and Pitfalls."Gene Therapy. By SN Waddington. Vol. 11. San Diego:
Greenhaven,2004.9297.Print.
www.nature.com/gt
Siegrist, Michael. "The Influence of Trust and Perceptions of Risks and Benefits on the
AcceptanceofGeneTechnology."RiskAnalysis.2nded.Vol.20.2000.195203.Print.Ser.
2000.