Question

describe some potential negative impacts of genetic engineering. Why is there so much controversy surrounding this field? What are some ethical issues associated with the production of genetically engineered organisms? Please provide a scientific rationale for your response.

Answer 1

Genetic Engineering is a set of tools used to alter the genetic material of an organism to modify its characteristics for the benefit of human race. If the tool is used for good purpose then it is good. But if it is misused then it may cause some chaos which will affect the human. But there are some negative potential impacts that cannot be handled. Since every organism evolve through natural selection the insects can also gain resistance to Genetically engineered plants. There may be unexpected negative side effects along with the beneficial effect. There can be a loss in genetic diversity and it might lead to increased genetic defects if the experiment goes wrong. To overcome all these negativity experiments have to be conducted for long time to see the effect of change in genetic code.

The major controversy will be of two major things. The genetically modified organisms can integrate with the wild type and produce new form which can permanently damage the environment. And one more issue in the perspective of religion especially when it comes to human. Even though the genetic engineering can help in treating diseases it may sometime lead to selective breeding which wiil be an offense against nature.

In the process of developing genetically modified animals many animals have to be sacrificed at each stage. Hence certain rules have been framed to reduce the use of animals in research. For developing genetically modified microorganism the major ethical issue is mainly related to the impact they have on the Earth's biosphere. Since microorganisms can be found everywhere it may cause drastic change to the environment and also to all the living organisms.

Though genetic engineering has both pros and cons it is the technology that is needed in the future for the survival of human race in terms of food and health