Biteye 1

Cheich Biteye
Connie Douglas
26 April 2015
UWRT 1102
Pros & Cons: Human Genetic Engineering
Pros:
Dramatically Reduce Disease
Human Genetic engineering is based completely in the high level technology of today
and if it is to thrive it will live and die by the technology of the future. As scientists continue to
study the human genome they believe that there is great possibility that we could change the
structure of the human genome. Changing the structure of the genome would render all diseases
inert to humans because diseases are built to work over millions of years on our very specific
genomic structure. If you change that it makes them useless. Quite possibly there could one day
be a disease free world.
Longer Life
Without certain diseases to increase death rates and decrease life span, it would be
possible for more individuals to live longer and healthier lives. Also with genetic engineer it is
likely we can reprogram the cells in new embryos to live longer or to damage there DNA code
far less as they split. This DNA code damaging is what makes cell splitting inefficient and
accelerate age. If human genetic engineering fixes this problem life would be extended
dramatically to possibly double what it is now in theory.

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Disease and Milestone Prediction
In our genetic code all the information of our ancestors is held along with our own.
Unlocking those secrets with genetic engineering could break down to even the minutest
physical characteristic details about someone. You could potentially pinpoint the week in which
your hair will begin to grey or when your testosterone levels will fall. This early detection for
diseases and milestones would allow people to prepare for events right from birth. It would be an
invaluable trait. With the gene therapy trials happening this is very likely as well.
Cons:
Ethical Concerns
Many concerns rely simply on the ethics involved such as possibly creating an
abomination and the ethical hardship that would put many in. People opposed to human genetic
engineering are likely harkening back to their religious beliefs as a bastion against altering gods
creations. The belief that god should have ultimate power and we should not be altering nature is
what many think should halt the progression of human genetic engineering. The power to shape
the human race should not be left up to us humans, because there is divine intervention at work.
It is very possible that these strong religious views will halt the progression even for basic
medical work rather than the designer baby future scenario everyone is scared of.
Safety Concerns
There are still a plethora of unknowns that can possibly result from human genetic
engineering one of the major points is the unpredictability of how altered genomic data will
interact with natural data in the gene pool. If there is some sort of dormant destructive effect it
will be irreversible. Thus anything that cant be undone is something to be weary of. Some feel

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that more research needs to be done to further human genetic engineering technology, but others
feel that this type of engineering has no place in society at all.
Financial Cost
The financial burden for this type of cutting edge research is remarkably high. Yearly
billions of dollars are already spent on fields like gene therapy. For a research project as complex
as altering a humans state would be incredibly enormous when you factor in the possibility that
something would go wrong. Many scientists that the money is worth the risk but there will be
incredible startup costs for this type of research.

The very survival of our species.