Therapeutic cloning
Therapeutic cloning is known and embryo cloning. This technique of reproducing human embryos for human research, the main aim of this technique is to harvest stem cell that can be used to treat disease and study of human development. Stem cell research are vital to biomedical researchers because that can be used generate any type of human specialized cell. Stem cells are extracted from egg cell after it has divided after 5 days. The egg at this stage is destroyed during the process which raised various moral and ethical issues. Most biomedical researchers hope that one day stem cells can be used to treat illness such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.
Choose 2 different examples of gene technology. It must be within the topic of crop production or medicine production. You then need to describe the 2 applications in some details. (P18.4)
Electrophoreses
Gel electrophoreses is a technique used to separate DNA from the cell by using electric current applied to a gel matrix and an enzyme.
How it works
A dye is added to the sample to help develop result and a sugar solution is added to the sample so that when placed into gel it sinks to the bottom. After adding the dye, gel is added to sample and an electric current is passed through it. By passing electric current through the gel carries the DNA sections. This makes the DNA travel towards the negative electrode. As the DNA is moving towards negative electrode, it start to separate out. Heavier sections will move slower and lighter section of the DNA will move further through the cell. After the experiment has run for about 24 hours, gel is removed and x-rayed. This is done to reveal result. The gel should have strands of DNA enclosed into it.
PCR (POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION)
PCR is a new method used to extract DNA from samples. This is done by multiplying the amount of DNA so a much more accurate analysis can be done. Polymerase chain reaction is basically DNA replication. It is done by mixing DNA with four nucleotides A T C and G and the enzyme DNA polymerase, in a test tube, then is replicated several times.
How it works
DNA is taken from an animal or plant. It is mixed with an enzyme which cuts the DNA and primers. Sample is placed in a machine which goes through a cooling and heating process. This enables DNA to be cut and heated and cooled and replicated DNA 100 times in small amount of time.
Explain any issues with each of the techniques, eg ethical, social and commercial. (M18.4 and P5.3b)
Gene therapy (Brief introduction)
Gene therapy is the alteration of genes and proteins which are unable to carry out normal function, this results into genetic disorders. This technique (gene therapy) is for correction defective gene responsible for genetic disorders,
Issues with the techniques
- Who are we to decide what is normal and what disorder is? Many groups have agued who has right to alter genes that malfunction (unable to carry out normal function). Ultimately, are scientist playing god? Is it their right to play with our genes for the hope of correcting them to normality?
- Are disorder or disabilities diseases? Do we need find a cure? Since medical advancements various people have coped with disorders, managed to live with this. Why should we treat this disorder as some sort of disease that you can not live without? People with inherited disorders should be helped, treated and not view them as disease.
- Is somatic gene therapy more or less ethical than the screening of sperm and egg cell to prevent genetic disorders being passed to future generations?
GM organisms/foods
Brief introduction
Gm is a set of techniques used to modify the genetic makeup of organisms such as animals and plants. It is mostly used to modify crops to yield more harvest and plants are altered to grow on fields were there is water shortage, hence, little water needed to grow plant.
Issues of technique
- Violation of natural organism
- Tampering with nature by and mixing among species
- Absolute horror and objection to the consuming of genetically modified food for eating
- Stress of animals and it’s welfare
Cloning
Brief introduction
The technique of cloning has brought many controversies though the media of the possibility of human cloning. This was aroused during the creation of Dolly the sheep in 1997 which caused world interest and the scientific and ethical implications.
Issues of technique
- This technique could lead to human cloning
- Why do some scientist continue to clone animals and in some cases embryos that are inserted in female humans when there is 90 % of failure and expensive procedure
- Cloning of animals like Dolly the sheep is un ethical and immoral
- Cloning of animals cause severe disorder and disease, stress the animal which is a living breathing organism
Finally you have to evaluate each of the uses or gene technology ie the advantages and disadvantages (drawbacks or benefits). Plus give your opinions of the methods, do you think that they are a good idea or you disagree with the techniques. (D5.3 AND D18.4)
Gene therapy advantages and disadvantages
Drawbacks that have kept gene therapy from being effective treatment
- Problems with integration DNA with genome and division of cells have prevented long-lived and stability of treatment
- The body’s immune response against foreign object. The possibility of immune system being trigged is a potential risk against the effectiveness of this treatment, moreover, immune system enhanced response to foreign object that it has seen before makes it difficult to repeat treatments
- Most common diseases are high blood pressure, heart attacks or Alzheimer’s are caused by combined effects of various genes. Multi disorders such as these would be difficult to treat effectively using gene therapy
Possible and recent benefits
- Results of gene therapy for inherited blindness shows improvements to sight, gene therapy trial on inherited blindness showed that treatment was safe and can improve sight
- Research was conducted that showed that a combination of two tumour suppressing genes severely reduces the number and size of human lung cancer tumours on mice during trials conducted in university of Texas
- Gene therapy has been effectively used to treat two adult patients suffering for myeloid disorders. This study shows that gene therapy is capable of curing diseases of myeloid system
- A study has shown that gene therapy cured deafness in pigs. This study may pave a way in curing deafness in humans
Opinions on the method of Gene therapy
Gene therapy is correction of defective gene responsible for genetic disorders. Gene therapy has been proved to help people with inherited blindness, it been proved to help reduce human lung cancer in rat and study was done to show that it helped improve deafness in pig. However, there are some drawbacks with this method such as; people ageing that it playing God, problems with long-levity of the treatment, risk of immune system being trigged which can stop the treatment been successful and difficulty of gene therapy being used to help common disorders due to the disorder being caused by various genes. If the gene therapy is perfected, it could help treat genetic disorders and defective genes and could help change many people life’s by curing there defective genes and disorders.
GM organisms/foods
GM organisms/foods advantages and disadvantages
Benefits
- It enhances quality and taste in crops
- Reduced time for maturation of crops
- It helps increase nutrients, yield, and stress tolerance of crops
- It can help improve resistance to diseases, pests and herbicides
- Produced new plants and growing techniques
- GM can help increase resistance, productivity hardiness and feed efficiency
- Help increase better yields of meat, milk and eggs
- It can help improve animal health and diagnostic methods
- Environmental friendly bio-herbicides and bio-insecticides
- Conserve food, water and energy
- Better natural waste products
- More efficient processing
Drawbacks
- Potential human health risk
- Potential environmental risk unintended transfer of transgenes and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
- Domination of world food products by few companies
- Foreign exploitation of world resources
- Violation of natural organism
- Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
- Extreme objections to consuming animal with modified genes
- Animal welfare
- Not mandatory to label food products in some countries (united states)
- Mixing Gm products with non-Gm products
- Advances may skewed interest of rich countries
Opinions on the method of Genetically Modified organism/foods
Gm organism/food is method used to modify crops, plant animals mainly for agriculture purposes. This method has various benefits to the agriculture world, such as; the reduction of water need by plant which would help feed a lot of people in dryer areas in the world and could help solve food shortages in the world. However, some people argue that GM organism/food poses human health risks, environmental risk, tampering of nature and mixing of gm products with non-GM products.
Genetically modified products have genuine benefits to humanity, it could help solve food shortage problems and help farmers modify their crops so that they can resist pest, diseases and herbicides. Besides, it genuine benefits, thinking of eating genetically modified meat is unbearable because it feels disgusting and fear of potential health risk due to possible mistake done during genetic modification done.
Cloning
Benefits of cloning
- Identification of diseased genes and further cloning of these for future study
- Farmers and rancher can have their strongest crops and animals cloned so that they are less likely to contact disease
- By inserting human DNA in pigs heart could provide stronger hearts for human heart disease
- Cloning could be used to help infertile parents have children
- With cloning technology, plastic surgery in which foreign objects are used, for example; silicon for breast transplant would be soon over. Cloning of bone, tissue, fat, and connective tissue would help reconstruct damaged tissue and bone and this process can be used with cosmetic surgery. It can be used to regenerate lost limbs.
- Using selective cloning defective genes would soon be over
- Cloning of human organs to replace diseased organs
Drawbacks
- Many argue cloning humans is playing God
- Do embryos have the same rights as humans? And cloning of embryos immoral?
- Do we have the right to clone animals, plants and humans?
- Is it ethical right to harvest organs from clones?
- Cloning of children could face repercussion
- Can cloning of children be manipulated to become monsters? And perhaps used to become slaves.
- Should cloning be regulated
- A ban on cloning?
- Many scientists have showed disgust to human cloning but some scientist continues to clone humans and animals due to lack of regulatory law in about 170 countries and also that it benefits overturn ethical and benefits.
Opinions on the method of cloning
The genetic replica of crops, plants and especially animals/humans have caused many controversies due many disgust of this method. Some ague cloning humans and animal is playing God and this method should be stopped. However, some ague that cloning could help infertile men or women fertile, cloning can be used to reconstruct damages tissue or bones can be used to replace defected or diseased organs. In the contrary, I believe that cloning shouldn’t be banned but, should be regulated in way that it does not cross through the major ethical issues like selective cloning, animal cloning which may be consumed by human, however, it should be allowed to help reconstruct broken bones, tissue, or defective tissue and any other problems that truly benefits humans and cause little ethical issues like selective human cloning.
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