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Grant Skrove
Period 7, Ms. Guy
March 2nd, 2015
Genetic Engineering
The human body is not perfect. Many people are created with inherited flaws while
others have flaws that develop over a long period. Scientists have discovered that genetic
engineering, which is the direct manipulation of genes, can be a potential solution to the flaws
we have. Although there is harsh criticism from politicians, scientists continue to say that
genetic engineering is one of greatest important factors to help and improve our society. Genetic
engineering will benefit our society by making our lives longer, healthier, and more beneficial.
People will argue that genetic engineering is unethical because it alters what two humans
naturally produce, but there are numerous pros to genetic engineering. One of the most
beneficial effects genetic engineering has on humans is the ability to detect diseases that can
form throughout a humans life. Genetic testing and screening examines the genetic
information contained in a persons cells to determine whether that person has or will develop a
certain disease, is more susceptible to certain environmental risks, or could pass a disease on to
his or her offspring (World 305). The discovery of genetic engineering leads to ways of
diagnosing, treating, and even preventing dangerous conditions. Genes also help us understand
non-genetic diseases such as arthritis and AIDS because our genes can show a persons
susceptibility to these diseases. Parents that are wanting or expecting children and know of
hereditary diseases in their family can consult with a genetic therapist to gather ways to prevent
the hereditary disease to continue. With the help of genetic therapy our scientists can easily

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detect the humans or other resources that have greater chances of getting stuck into hereditary or
deadly diseases (Human Genetics).
Countless diseases have no cure but the benefit of genetic engineering can result in a cure
to several deadly diseases. Genes and DNA are made up of coding proteins that can stop
diseases from forming and/or spreading. Few infectious or uncured diseases can be treated by
the implantation of genes that carry the code for antiviral proteins. Genes can be engineered and
cloned, which is the production of multiple copies of one single gene, to create the new gene that
is needed. The optimistic version of the genetic diversity argument contends that reproductive
technologies could lead to increases in human health and survivability resulting in an
improvement of the wellbeing of populations (Resnik, 457). Genetic engineering can increase
the overall health for a sick human. For example, if a child was in need of an organ transplant
and did not have a donor match, his or her genes have the ability to be cloned to create the new
organ that is needed for a successful transplant. Ideally, genetic engineering can help make
certain diseases an entity of the past, but because these diseases become extinct, new diseases
can form. Although the new disease can attack our immune system, genetic engineering can help
solve the problem for new diseases as well.
With the help of genetic engineering, we are able to cure and find solutions for diseases
that our bodies are infected with, but we are also able to manipulate the desired traits we may
want. The alteration for these desired traits would take place in either the sperm or egg cell, or
perhaps both. This is known as germline gene therapy and would alter the traits that a child is
born with. The changes would be inheritable and passed down through the generations in the
future (Arnold). Extensive gene therapy can be dangerous for our population in many ways
though. It can essentially allow breeding humans to choose which traits they want for their child

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and can eventually; choose the sex of their child as well. The threat of survival then becomes a
concern. When we are choosing desired traits, we are limiting our gene pool as to what physical
traits we want. In effect, this will have the potential to make the gene pool of available
phenotypic (physical) traits limited so far that the human population will not be able to respond
to environmental changes. Our genetic engineering and therapy should not be so open to produce
the perfect human because it will threaten future populations. Instead, our genetic engineering
should be limited to disease and cure progression.
Since scientists have discovered that genetic engineering can be a successful solution to
diseases, we should be able to manipulate the genes to help cure diseases and other hereditary
conditions. Although there is harsh criticism about gene therapy, there can be limits on the
extent of gene therapy that we use. However, because scientists continue to say that genetic
engineering is one of greatest important factors to help and improve the society we live in, we
should keep improving genetic engineering to benefit the health of society.

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Work Cited
Arnold, Paul. "Pros and Cons to Genetic Engineering" Bright Hub. 28 Feb. 2012. Web.
Genetic Testing and Screening. World of Genetics. Eds. K. L. Lerner and Brenda W.
Lerner. 2 vols. New York: Gale Group, 2001. 305-309.
Human Genetic Engineering Pros And Cons. Human Genetics RSS. Web.
Resnik, David B. Genetic Engineering and Social Justice: A Rawlsian Approach. Social
Theory & Practice 23.3 (1997): 427-49.