What do You Understand by Recombinant DNA Technology?
What do You Understand by Recombinant DNA Technology?
Discuss the Moral, Ethical, Social, Economic and Environmental Issues Associated with this Technology.
Recombinant DNA is a modern technology involving the combination of DNA from one organism with the DNA of another. This often involves inserting human DNA into the DNA of another organism. When these genetically engineered organisms are cultured, they produce a human protein. Recombinant DNA gives scientists far greater control over genetic manipulation For example, recombinant DNA techniques have now been used to create bacterial strains that produce human insulin in large amounts, and this insulin has been used clinically with no reported adverse effects. Other successes of this technique are human interferon (a protein important to the body's defence system) and human growth hormones. Recombinant DNA has been a leap which is contributing towards genetically engineered micro organisms, modified plants and animals, cloning, human gene therapy (correcting a genetic disorder) and mapping human chromosomes. Scientists can essentially extract, edit and replace the very building blocks of life on earth with our modern technology. The benefits of recombinant DNA are very prominent however there is a huge moral and ethical debate which has been occurring for decades concerning the morality of this advancement. In this essay I will present and discuss the positive and negative arguments regarding the technology and try to give a clear understanding of the issues at hand.
Firstly, I will tell you of all the extraordinary applications recombinant DNA technology has to offer. Humans who have disorders are often in need of proteins, for example Diabetics require insulin injections to help control their glucose level. Insulin is not easy to create, and here recombinant DNA can be very beneficial. Human genes can be inserted into bacteria, which are then grown in fermenters; these treated bacteria then produce a human protein. Large amounts of insulin and human growth hormones can be produces cheaply on this way. This can help improve the lifestyles of many sufferers, cheaply and effectively.
Plants also can be treated in a similar way. Desirable genes can be transferred from an organism to a crop plant. These can bring about useful changes in the crops, for example potato plants that are resistant to attack by a virus and maize (corn) plants that are resistant to drought have been produced in this way. This has a huge effect on agriculture and has allowed us to grow crops in conditions not usually suitable.
Many other proteins useful for humans can also be produced by genetically modifying animals. Human proteins, such as haemoglobin and blood-clotting factors, are already being produced in the milk of transgenic cows, goats and sheep. Recombinant DNA has been used applied to human gene therapy. This involves inserting a 'normal' gene into an organism's body to correct a genetic disorder. Take SCID, Severe combined immune deficiency leaves some people with almost no functioning immune system. Human gene therapy can be used to cure symptoms of SCID by inserting copies of a gene coding for the enzyme adenosine deaminase ...
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Many other proteins useful for humans can also be produced by genetically modifying animals. Human proteins, such as haemoglobin and blood-clotting factors, are already being produced in the milk of transgenic cows, goats and sheep. Recombinant DNA has been used applied to human gene therapy. This involves inserting a 'normal' gene into an organism's body to correct a genetic disorder. Take SCID, Severe combined immune deficiency leaves some people with almost no functioning immune system. Human gene therapy can be used to cure symptoms of SCID by inserting copies of a gene coding for the enzyme adenosine deaminase (ADA) into the blood cells of sufferers. The whole advent of changing our genes has proved a to be marvel in modern medicine. Gene therapy is getting bigger and bigger. As more and more research goes into recombinant DNA, the more successful treatments we can make. The 'Human Genome Project' includes scientists in over 1000 laboratories around the world contributing towards mapping every human chromosome, identifying the precise location of every gene. With this tool, developing new gene therapy treatments will become a far easier task. be:
The next section of this essay is going to look into the large variety of issues surrounding recombinant DNA technology
Firstly I will consider the moral and ethical issues. It is hard to find any moral objection to the use of this technology in the treatment of diseases and improving food production. However, developing new therapeutic techniques may involve testing on animals. A laboratory animal's genes may be altered so that it suffers from a human genetic disease, and then they could be used to try out a new gene therapy which could be beneficial to humansi. Another ethical problem is the possibility of introducing favourable characteristics into human zygotes and thus creating "designer babies". However, at present it is against the law to use genetic engineering in human gametes or embryos, so that recombinant DNA cannot be passed down through the generationsii.
Recombinant DNA, despite all its wonders has many negative arguments. Over the past few years there have been a number of demonstrations about the growth of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). There have also been many newspaper articles debating the use of GMOs. Many emotional concerns come into thought with the idea that we are essentially being 'cannibals' when we eat an animal which has human DNA inserted into it. Although these are merely the general public's thoughts, they can put people off the whole idea of GMOs. A great degree of rational concerns about recombinant DNA also exist. Firstly when scientists insert human genes into bacteria or viruses there is a high risk of these transgenic organisms mutating and actually forming new pathogens. The scare is that we would not be able to treat or handle these new pathogens, resulting in new illness. What we are essentially treating to make substances (e.g. insulin) or our less fortunate could end up being the cause of many more illnesses. There is a huge debate as to whether we are being safe in experimenting with these organisms.
Another ethical concern is regarding our crops. The benefits are out genetically modified crops are notorious, however if the pollen or seeds from these crops were carried away from the testing plots, there is a high chance of genetically modified populations growing elsewhere. It is a known fact that genetic modification could invoke a resistance to herbicides, meaning these crops could grow out of control, (often described a 'superweeds') and spread indefinably. The thought of this is a growing concern as more and more foods are becoming genetically engineered. Some crop plants that we engineer have been given a gene enabling them to produce pesticides. With the natural selection of nature, this may increase the rate of evolution of pesticide-resistant insects. These insects, once evolved could then harm our environment to a degree where food supplies start to run low, causing havoc. Although this isn't proven, in modern science it is possible, meaning this may a problem soon to be taken into consideration. The food chain is almost essential for our ecosystem to operate correctly, and important to the human race for our food. Populations of transgenic organisms could upset the balance of nature. For example, populations of transgenic salmon have been produced in which the individual fish grow rapidly. These fish would have to compete with other species for food. The size difference could cause the transgenic salmon to dominate over the others and have all the food. This may cause the other species to become extinct and the natural food webs to change. This change could upset a once natural ecosystem.
Secondly, I am going to look at the social issues surrounding the technology
There is a huge religious debate regarding recombinant DNA, with each religion having its own objections to transgenic organisms. Christian beliefs say that God created us, us, the question arises: what right have we to change what he has made, just to suit our needs and test our new found abilities? Many religious followers think we are destroying God's will, by interfering with nature. In the Bible it is said: "God created man". With the recent advent of cloning, it seems we have ignored this and taken our technology forward to point where we forget about religion. Also, many religious groups could not use products from specific organisms, e.g. to Hindus, cows are sacred animals and to Jews and Muslims, pigs are unclean. With this in mind, the use of products from these organisms might be unacceptable to people from these religions.
Finally I am going to consider the economic issues involved in the technology. Genetic manipulation has been presented as a way of feeding the world without damaging the environment. The use of genetic engineering could prove to be extremely economically rewarding. For example, crop plants could be genetically altered to improve; their yield, their keeping properties, their taste etc. This would mean that more would be available, and they would last for longer, so more would be sold. It is also possible that crops could be altered to allow them to grow in a climate in which they would normally perish, or with extremely small amounts of water. This would allow third world countries to reap much better yields of good quality crops, and allow them to vastly improve their economy. It is also hoped that the DNA responsible for the nitrogen fixing properties of bacteria could be introduced into crop plants, enabling them to fix atmospheric nitrogen and hence saving large amounts of money on fertilisersiii. Another economic advantage could be found in altering the genes of oilseed rape. It may be possible to change the nature of the oils produced to make them more suitable for commercial processes. This could be used as a renewable source of oil when petroleum stocks run outiv. Another issue is that GM food may allow famine to be eliminated from the world as poorer countries will be able to produce more food that is suited to harsh climates. However, small farmers in poor countries may not be able to benefit from the research and sale of patented genes. Farmers in the US are already growing rapeseed plants which have been altered to produce tropical oils on which the economies of the Philippines and Indonesia dependv.
The advent of recombinant DNA has brought medicine, agriculture and our understanding of our genes to a new level. As you can see there are many debates as to whether we should continue with our experiments. In my opinion the benefits of this new technology outweigh the moral and ethical concerns. This technology is too promising and too effective to cease working on, because in the end it will do far more good than bad. As the technology progresses, it will become far safer to utilise recombinant DNA and all its advantages. If God has given us the ability to experiment with genes, why not use this ability? As long as we can keep it safe; minimising the risks of upsetting nature and proving to the people that it is a good thing by trying to calm any emotional concerns, this technology should prevail.
In conclusion, I think that there are many different issues surrounding the use of recombinant DNA technology. However, they all seem to come down to one basic fact. This is a very new technology, and we have not yet had time to learn what the repercussions of its wide spread use might be. The world's leading scientists can sit an debate about the theory behind the technology until they are blue in the face, but with out putting it in to practice and seeing what happens we can never really know whether it's safe. The question is however, are we willing to take the huge risks involved in finding out? I think that the answer to this question has to be yes, otherwise we will be completely missing out on the opportunity to make use of something which could be a fantastically beneficial technology. However, I also think that if we are going to put the theory into practice on a large scale, we must ensure that genetically modified organisms pass through a stringent safety procedure. This procedure should involve intensive research into the answers to the following questions; how does the introduced gene affect the genetically engineered organism? Is there any evidence suggesting that the introduced gene affects the toxicity of allergenic properties of the organism? Is there likely to be any unintended effects on other organisms within the environment? Is the genetically engineered organism likely to become a pest or pathogen or to invade natural habitats? Can the introduced gene be transferred to other organisms and if so what would be the likely consequences? I think that if all these safety regulations were strictly implemented then any of the negative issues surrounding the use of recombinant DNA technology will be outweighed by the positives.
i GCSE Biology second edition. Author: D.G. Mackean. P208
ii GCSE Biology second edition. Author: D.G. Mackean. P208
iii Biology principles and processes, Author: Roberts, Reiss and Monger. Publisher: Nelson. P744
iv GCSE Biology second edition. Author: D.G. Mackean. P208
v biologist periodical. June 1999 volume 46. Number 3.