Recent advances in technology have allowed researchers to make great progress in genetic engineering. As the researchers learn more about people's genetic makeup and ways to manipulate genes to treat disease, they also raise ethical issues and create challenges related to privacy and discrimination. Who will have access to genetic information, and what will be done with it once people have it?The ramifications of access to such information and its uses are enormous.
Current research into the human gene system is helping us understand why people have predispositions to certain diseases. Knowing our genetic makeup can help us gauge whether or not we may be stricken by a particular illness, such as cancer. Even before birth, we are able to do genetic screenings to determine what a child's genetic disorders will be. Scientists have already isolated and identified the genes responsible for the more than 4,000 genetic diseases that affect human beings. The implications of this knowledge are staggering. However, shivers down the spine might be in order, for this knowledge can be used for evil as well as good. Therefore, genetic engineering much soldier on----all for the good. Will these discoveries indeed lead to progress in improving the human condition? I think every coin has two sides.
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