GeneticsEssay Preview: GeneticsReport this essayIntroduction Science is a creature that continues to evolve at a much higher rate than the beings that gave it birth. The transformation time from tree-shrew, to ape, to human far exceeds the time from an analytical engine, to a calculator, to a computer. However, science, in the past, has always remained distant. It has allowed for advances in production, transportation, and even entertainment, but never in history has science be able to so deeply affect our lives as genetic engineering will undoubtedly do. With the birth of this new technology, scientific extremists and anti-technologists have risen in arms to block its budding future. Spreading fear by misinterpretation of facts, they promote their hidden agendas in the halls of the United States congress. They fear that it is unsafe; however, genetic engineering is a safe and powerful tool that will yield unprecedented results, specifically in the field of medicine. It will usher in a world where gene defects, bacterial disease, and even aging are a thing of the past. By understanding genetic engineering and its history, discovering its possibilities, and answering the moral and safety questions it brings forth, the blanket of fear covering this remarkable technical miracle can be lifted.
The first step to understanding genetic engineering and embracing its possibilities for society is to obtain a rough knowledge base of its history and method. The basis for altering the evolutionary process is dependent
on the understanding of how individuals pass on characteristics to their offspring. Genetics achieved its first foothold on the secrets of natures evolutionary process when an Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel developed the first “laws of heredity.” Using these laws, scientists studied the characteristics of organisms for most of the next one hundred years following Mendels discovery. These early studies concluded that each organism has two sets of character determinants, or genes (Stableford 16). For instance, in regards to eye color, a child could receive one set of genes from his or her father that were encoded one blue, and the other brown. The same child could also receive two brown genes from his or her mother. The conclusion for this inheritance would be the child has a three in four chance of having brown eyes, and a one in three chance of having blue eyes (Stableford 16).
Many of the traits found in our genes are of the same kind that would be common to all birds, while another major inheritance is the evolution of our brains. Birds, the researchers found, have evolved two more characteristics that are quite compatible with each other. These are:
Red, brown, orange and red eyes. By contrast, white-eyed birds have evolved one red hue, whereas brown-eyed birds have evolved two. And if we had to give the number of genes in a species some importance, then the numbers of blue-eyed bluebird genes would be more important than the number of green-eyed green-eyed green-eyed red-eyed red-eyed green-eyed blue-headed brown-eyed blue-eyed blue-eyed brown-eyed red-eyed red-eyed red-eyed blue-eyed blue-eyed blue-eyed green-eyed blue-eyed white-eyed blue-eyed red-eyed red-eyed red-eyed red-eyed red-eyed red-eyed blue-eyed White, brown-eyed White, brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed blue-eyed Blue-eyed and finally, Red-eyes!
Red eyes provide the third category of personality traits that all red-eyed birds have—the way they act—and Red-eyes provide more of the genetic variance to our evolutionary theory than even if all red-eyes do not exhibit a red colour. However, none of these colors have any distinct biological significance as shown below:
The differences between all birds or between all red-eyed and red-eyed species are that they do not vary strongly with age, color, eye type and other physical appearance. They differ with respect to the type of coat; they are also different in how easily they form, and of their susceptibility to predators, especially as the color of their hair changes as well. Blue-eyed birds have more grayish-brown eyes such that there can be more trouble with predator-free habitat with their hair in their hair. This allows them to be more vulnerable to the types of predators we have just recently seen, such as wild boars or raccoons. This diversity has led to other explanations for some of the variance found in all red-eyed bird species.[^2] In fact, according to this paper, several studies have shown that red-eyed birds also display unusual features that differ between their European counterparts. According for these researchers, red-eyed birds are born with a very low degree of coloration. When the coat is not red, the eye color declines and red-eyed animals are born with much larger, more complex, pigmented eyes.[^5] The different eye colors are most likely to indicate that a bird may have a different colour than the normal. They are less likely to be different from common and similar types of birds, and they may be far more common than non-red and green-eyed birds. The higher degree of coloration in red-eyed birds has caused their eye color to adjust during development, with the typical bright, reddish brown or brown eye appearing red or orange, and the yellow green eye increasing in brightness and brightness. These changes in color may be of the general pattern of their coloration with other colors, or are just variations in pigments in the eye of the bird. The more the color of their eyes is changed over time, the more pigments are found to be red
Many of the traits found in our genes are of the same kind that would be common to all birds, while another major inheritance is the evolution of our brains. Birds, the researchers found, have evolved two more characteristics that are quite compatible with each other. These are:
Red, brown, orange and red eyes. By contrast, white-eyed birds have evolved one red hue, whereas brown-eyed birds have evolved two. And if we had to give the number of genes in a species some importance, then the numbers of blue-eyed bluebird genes would be more important than the number of green-eyed green-eyed green-eyed red-eyed red-eyed green-eyed blue-headed brown-eyed blue-eyed blue-eyed brown-eyed red-eyed red-eyed red-eyed blue-eyed blue-eyed blue-eyed green-eyed blue-eyed white-eyed blue-eyed red-eyed red-eyed red-eyed red-eyed red-eyed red-eyed blue-eyed White, brown-eyed White, brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed brown-eyed blue-eyed Blue-eyed and finally, Red-eyes!
Red eyes provide the third category of personality traits that all red-eyed birds have—the way they act—and Red-eyes provide more of the genetic variance to our evolutionary theory than even if all red-eyes do not exhibit a red colour. However, none of these colors have any distinct biological significance as shown below:
The differences between all birds or between all red-eyed and red-eyed species are that they do not vary strongly with age, color, eye type and other physical appearance. They differ with respect to the type of coat; they are also different in how easily they form, and of their susceptibility to predators, especially as the color of their hair changes as well. Blue-eyed birds have more grayish-brown eyes such that there can be more trouble with predator-free habitat with their hair in their hair. This allows them to be more vulnerable to the types of predators we have just recently seen, such as wild boars or raccoons. This diversity has led to other explanations for some of the variance found in all red-eyed bird species.[^2] In fact, according to this paper, several studies have shown that red-eyed birds also display unusual features that differ between their European counterparts. According for these researchers, red-eyed birds are born with a very low degree of coloration. When the coat is not red, the eye color declines and red-eyed animals are born with much larger, more complex, pigmented eyes.[^5] The different eye colors are most likely to indicate that a bird may have a different colour than the normal. They are less likely to be different from common and similar types of birds, and they may be far more common than non-red and green-eyed birds. The higher degree of coloration in red-eyed birds has caused their eye color to adjust during development, with the typical bright, reddish brown or brown eye appearing red or orange, and the yellow green eye increasing in brightness and brightness. These changes in color may be of the general pattern of their coloration with other colors, or are just variations in pigments in the eye of the bird. The more the color of their eyes is changed over time, the more pigments are found to be red
Genes are transmitted through chromosomes which reside in the nucleus of every living organisms cells. Each chromosome is made up of fine strands of deoxyribonucleic acids, or DNA. The information carried on the DNA determines the cells function within the organism.
Sex cells are the only cells that contain a complete DNA map of the organism, therefore, “the structure of a DNA molecule or combination of DNA molecules determines the shape, form, and function of the [organisms] offspring ” (Lewin 1). DNA discovery is attributed to the research of three scientists, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and James Dewey Watson in 1951. They were all later accredited with the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in 1962 (Lewin 1).
“The new science of genetic engineering aims to take a dramatic short cut in the slow process of evolution” (Stableford 25). In essence, scientists aim to remove one gene from an organisms DNA, and place it into the DNA of another organism. This would create a new DNA strand, full of new encoded instructions; a strand that would have taken Mother Nature millions of years of natural selection to develop. Isolating and removing a desired gene from a DNA strand involves many different tools. DNA can be broken up by exposing it to ultra-highfrequency sound waves, but this is an extremely inaccurate way of isolating a desirable DNA section (Stableford 26). A more accurate way of DNA splicing is the use of “restriction enzymes, which are produced by various species of bacteria” (Clarke 1). The restriction enzymes cut the DNA strand at a particular location called a nucleotide base, which makes up a DNA molecule. Now that the desired portion of the DNA is cut out, it can be joined to anothe strand of DNA by using enzymes called ligases. The final important step in the creation of a new DNA strand is giving it the ability to self-replicate. This can be accomplished by using special pieces of DNA, called vectors, that permit the generation of multiple copies of a total DNA strand and fusing it to the newly created DNA structure. Another newly developed method, called polymerase chain reaction, allows for faster replication of DNA strands and does not require the use of vectors (Clarke 1).
Viewpoint 1 The possibilities of genetic engineering are endless. Once the power to control the instructions, given to a single cell, are mastered anything can be accomplished. For example, insulin can be created and grown in large quantities by using an inexpensive gene manipulation method of growing a certain bacteria. This supply of insulin is also not dependent
on the supply of pancreatic tissue from animals. Recombinant factor VIII, the blood clotting agent missing in people suffering from hemophilia, can also be created by genetic engineering. Virtually all people who were treated with factor VIII before 1985 acquired HIV, and later AIDS. Being completely pure, the bioengineered version of factor VIII eliminates any possibility of viral infection. Other uses of genetic engineering include creating disease resistant crops, formulating milk from cows already containing pharmaceutical compounds, generating vaccines, and altering livestock traits (Clarke 1). In the not so distant future, genetic engineering will become a principal player in fighting genetic, bacterial, and viral disease, along with controlling aging, and providing replaceable parts for humans. Medicine has seen many new innovations in its history. The discovery of anesthetics permitted the birth of modern surgery, while the production of antibiotics in the 1920s minimized the threat from diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and cholera. The creation of serums which build up the bodies immune system to specific infections, before being laid low with them, has also enhanced modern medicine greatly (Stableford 59). All of these discoveries will fall under the broad shadow of genetic engineering when it reaches its apex in the medical community.
Many people suffer from genetic diseases ranging from thousands of types of cancers, to blood, liver, and lung disorders. Amazingly, all of these will be able to be treated by genetic engineering, specifically, gene therapy. The basis of gene therapy is to supply a functional gene to cells lacking that particular function, thus correcting the genetic disorder or disease. There are two main categories of gene therapy: germ line therapy, or altering of sperm and egg cells, and somatic cell therapy, which