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Hayden Giler
Sally Griffin
English 1102
March 16th 2014
Genetic Mutations and Alterations on Humans
Genetic mutations affect a wide variety of people, making it a very controversial
topic. However, most debate over this topic has risen in regard to its mortality and
whether it is ethical to alter genetics. These mutations cause various diseases and
disorders passed on by their kin as a part of their DNA. Many people more on the very
religious side believe that scientists should not be allowed to experiment with genetic
alterations as they would be playing god, while others on the more realistic and
scientific side believe that experimenting with this would help prevent and possibly
erase many different types of heredity diseases. Based on the potential detrimental
effects of the mutations, the ability to alter these genes that carry serious life-altering
diseases and disorders provide greater benefit, outweighing any question of morality.
What is a mutation? Mutations are changes in the genetic sequence, and they
are a main cause of diversity among organisms. These changes occur at many different
levels, and they can have widely differing consequences. In biological systems that are
capable of reproduction, we must first focus on whether they are heritable; specifically,
some mutations affect only the individual that carries them, while others affect all of the
carrier organism's offspring, and further descendants. For mutations to affect an
organism's descendants, they must: 1) occur in cells that produce the next generation,
and 2) affect the hereditary material. (Loewe) This being said there are many different
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types of mutations such as somatic mutation, somatic is Greek for body (Loewe), affects
present organisms body. This is uninteresting from an evolutionary perspective unless
they change the fundamental property of an individual. Point Mutations occur in the
DNA hen a single base pair is changed into another base pair. Base pair is the bonding
between two of these four; guanine, cytosine, adenine, and thymine. Next is
nonsynonymous mutation which is an amino acids sequence is changed. Amino Acids
are the smallest molecules that serve as building blocks for proteins. Synonymous
mutations can be anything from truly silent to extraordinarily important; they do not
change amino acid sequence although they occur only in sequences of amino acid
code, they are also called silent mutations because sometimes they can not have any
affect what so ever. Genetic alterations are, simply put manmade mutations.
Mutations can occur in one swift move or over time depending on their
environment. When Charles Darwin went to the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean
in the year 1835 and he discovered many different animals living on the islands. The
animal that beaked his interest the most though were the finches, when he went to
another one of the islands he discovered that the finches from the first island and the
finches in the second island were different. The populations of the finches he came
upon he realized they had specialized for different food sources. The first finches were
birds with thin sharp beaks that they used for eating insects on their island, the second
finches had beaks that were large and sturdy which they used to eat nuts specific to
their location. These finches ended up being the key to Darwins Theory of Evolution.
(Darwin) With that being said these mutations occurred over a long period of time in
order to make sure this species of finches would not go extinct. IT isnt a far stretch to
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think that humans should be able to genetically mutate to prevent their own extinction.
For example more and more cancers are being discovered each year and genetic
mutation is the way species survive, just like Darwins theory of evolution on survival of
the fittest.
There are two extreme views regarding genetic mutations and alterations. There
has been much debate between religious groups and scientists. On the side of the
religious groups is that they believe that one should not be allowed to play god and
that for every Prometheus, there is a Pandoras Box. (Metaxas) The religious side also
believes that the scientific side is out of line for thinking that they could change the
human body in any way to benefit the human because by thinking that they believe that
there could always be a negative effect or once you get a toe in the door theres no
stopping the whole foot from coming in. In reality though everything has positive and
negative uses it just comes down to whether or not the positives outweigh the negatives
which the scientists believe otherwise from a scientific standpoint they would not
engage it if something worse would happen instead of better. On the scientific side they
look at both of the pros and cons very carefully to determine whether or not even
attempting the genetic alteration is worth the risk or not. For example they mostly deal
with life-threatening and ultimately fatal diseases such as a two year old girl who had a
life-threatening immune disorder and received gene therapy and is doing perfectly well
ten years later. (Bohlin) Often times doctors in the emergency room have to use a
defibrillator to start a stopped heart, is that not playing god? Is society supposed to ban
all doctors appointment because doctors are playing god when did America as a
community of free people say its okay to help a sick person as long as its something
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that has many years of experience behind it. When did America become okay with
having over half a million people a year die of cancer all because they were too
frightened to give another possibility for change and say America is not okay with letting
its people die of cancer or cystic fibrosis or have people not be able to walk again.
The burning question that is constantly being debated is whether cancer is
hereditary? Scientists believe that they have, without a doubt, found the answer to that
question. One type of cancer that is important to know about is colorectal cancer, which
is uncontrolled cell growth in the colon, rectum or appendix. They were able to find this
out through the discovery of germ-line cancer-causing mutations in a subset of
colorectal cancers (Lynch). Delattree confirms Lynchs findings that there are changes
in the DNA content with this cancer, but that it is a specific non-random deletion each
time. Fearnhead states, Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancers are dominantly
inherited conditions with 100% and 80% life-time risk of developing colorectal cancer,
respectively. Anyone who is a decedent of someone with colorectal cancer is at an
80% or greater risk of getting colorectal cancer in their lifetime. That seems more
terrifying then someone altering a gene or two of an embryo so that that baby can be
born without the burdens of potentially on-set of colorectal cancer hanging over their
head. These types of cancers are a result of genetic mutations found in DNA. There are
a few types of genetic mutations that can be found within the DNA of people who have
been diagnosed with cancer. Genetic mutations occur when the sequences and pairs
are rearranged. By genetically altering DNA strands with this mutations, we could
potentially prevent future cancer on-set. By knowing that these cancers are hereditary
with no known cure, it would be more beneficial to conduct genetic alterations on DNA
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with the presence of mutations correlated with cancer, rather than plaguing generations
to come, in hopes of a miracle cure.
Genetic mutations may also cause disabling diseases and disorders, such as
autism. Studies on autism show there is a strong likelihood for the disorder to be
genetically passed on through DNA. Autism is complex developmental disability that
typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a persons ability to
communicate and interact with others (Autism Society). The severity of the disorder
varies. People who suffer from autism may have social challenges, communication
difficulties, repetitive behavior, seizures, or difficulty sleeping. Someone with a severe
case of autism would be entirely unable to use spoken language. They may also suffer
from poor sensory dysfunction, and extreme repetitive behavior. Someone who suffers
from a minimal case of autism may be more similar to that of an average child his or her
age, but with suffer from slight social challenges and speech difficulties. Spontaneous
genetic mutation is the cause of autism. Spontaneous mutations arise from a variety of
sources, including errors in DNA replication, spontaneous lesions, and transposable
genetic elements. (Griffiths) Autism prevents people from being able to perform
everyday tasks, causing frustration to rise amongst them and their peers. Genetically
altering autism to diminish these struggles would be beneficial to those who struggle
with the disorder and their peers who assist them because they would be able to
function with basic social and motor skills, allowing them to live normal lives and seek
jobs. They would have the ability to be independent and reach higher goals.


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When looking at the potential detrimental effects of the mutations, the ability to
alter these genes that carry serious life-altering diseases and disorders provide greater
benefit, outweighing any question of morality in this paper it is very clear to see that with
the hereditary connection with these deadly and life changing diseases. Even with the
question of morality it is very obvious to see that with the increasing number of cases of
cancer and other diseases like this that genetic alterations are the only way to control
and reverse the growth of diseases. Many studies have linked some cancers with
diseases that are passed down through generations and the only way to stop these
traits from passing down would be to not allow those with it to have kids which is much
more unethical then just altering the genes before they get passed on and take affect. IT
is the duty of the American people to get behind this and be the cornerstone to making
this excessable. Genetic Mutations are the future.











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Citations
Mutations
Loewe, L.. N.p.. Web. 29 Mar 2014.
<http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-mutation-1127>.
Intext: (Loewe)


Autism
"About Autism." Autism Society . Convio , n.d. Web. 30 Mar 2014.
Griffiths, AFJ. "Spontaneous Mutations." NCBI. Freeman and Company, n.d.
Web. 30 Mar 2014.
Intext: (Griffiths)
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=66E40CCFE9081
E1F3A2673234D06B2FB.journals?fromPage=online&aid=5025556

http://jb.asm.org/content/149/1/114.short
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http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/08/19/5-major-mental-illnesses-traced-to-
same-genetic-variations/58642.html
http://www.truthinscience.org.uk/tis2/index.php/evidence-for-evolution-
mainmenu-65/53-darwins-finches.html (DARWINS BOOK)

Metaxas, Eric. "Humans shouldnt play God." Lifesitenews.com. Life Site News,
07 Mar 2014. Web. 30 Mar 2014.
Intext: (Metaxas)
Bohlin, Dr. Ray. "Human Genetic Engineering." Leaderu. Probe Ministries
International, n.d. Web. 30 Mar 2014.
Intext: (Bohlin)
Cancer
Fearnhead, Nicola. "Genetics of colorectal cancer: hereditary aspects and
overview of colorectal tumorigenesis." British Medical Bulletin. Oxford Journals,
n.d. Web. 30 Mar 2014.
Intext: (Fearnhead)
Lynch, HT. "Seminars in Oncology ." Europe PubMed Central. Europe PubMed
Central, n.d. Web. 30 Mar 2014.
Intext: (Lynch)
Delattre, O. "The Lancet." ScienceDirect. Elsevier B.V., 12 Aug 1989. Web. 30
Mar 2014.
Intext: (Delattre)
http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v10/n8/abs/nm1087.html
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