Modification Of Humans
Modification Of Humans
Modification of humans through medical means is a common practice today. Humans’ genotype is altered with the aim of choosing the phenotype of a newly born baby or changing the phenotype that is in existence of an adult or a child. This modification may be aimed at curing diseases that are genetic such as cystic fibrosis and increasing people’s immunity to virus. This modification is also used to change the metabolism, physical appearance and also improve intelligence and memory.Modification of humans through medical means has advantages which include gene therapy. This is the treatment of diseases by replacing or repairing genes that are defective or introducing genes that are therapeutic to fight the disease. For example, gene therapy has been used in the treatment of heart disease and autoimmune diseases. A lot of diseases are caused by such as cystic fibrosis and ALS are caused by genes that are defective. All these diseases can be cured by use of gene therapy. Another advantage is that this modification increases the humans’ span life. The genome of a healthy human being can be changed to slow down the process of aging. For example preventing the shortening of the length of telomere of a chromosome results to a slow process of aging. Also, understanding the genetics may lead to pharmaceutical products that are better which will be able to solve many diseases.
There is another advantage of human modification in that cloning of some animals produces donors who are suitable which implies that due to cloning people who need transplantation of organ, can be cured. For example, a kidney which is provided from a pig that is cloned can be transplanted to human beings. (Elvio, 2011).The modification of humans through medical means has disadvantages which are that viral vector is used in carrying functional gene into the body of human and the consequences of viral genes on the body of human is not known. Other genes may be replaced by the functional genes other than the genes that are mutated. This can lead to other conditions or diseases in human. Another disadvantage of modification of humans is that if the defective gene is changed with the functional gene by all human beings, diversity of genes will be a thing of the past. All human will have a similar genome and this may make the population susceptible to forms of diseases or viruses that are unknown and this may result to the extinction of the population of human from the earth.
(Ember, 2010)This issue of modification of human by use of medical means is ethical. It raises ethical issues when it is used to prevent or treat an illness that threatens life and incurable. If the alteration of genes becomes common in future, definition of such illnesses appropriate for such treatment may be very difficult. For example, predisposition of genes to conditions such as obesity, shortness, intelligence that is below average which is considered normal characteristics that are inheritable may become basis for abortion or gene alteration. Another ethical issue is that those parents with ability to afford such treatments may decide to have the genes of their fetuses that are normal modified to increase beauty, intelligence or other desirable features. It is found by some people unethical to alter the genes to change a handicap that is minor or for the enhancement of the condition of an offspring who is normal. Other people feels that is ethical as parents who are wealthy can do anything to better the life of their children. The debate of the ethical issue about gene alteration becomes more severe when germ line genes are altered i.e. sperm and eggs which are passed to an offspring. It is found unethical by many people to change the germ line genes.
The effect of doing so could have an effect that is adverse to the individual or to the whole humanity. Those who support this alteration argue that human beings are able to control their own evolution. Supporters say that the alteration of germ line genes could eradicate diseases that are deadly completely and make improvements in human being’s mental and physical health. Another ethical issue in modification of humans by medical means centers on cloning which is the creation of a new person with exactly the same genes as another existing person. For example, those who oppose cloning say that cloning would bring confusion about relationships of family and parents with off springs who are cloned would regard them as products instead human beings who are independent. Those who support cloning say that it is ethical because it would help couples that are infertile have children. The consequences of inhibiting the natural course of human development are advantageous and at the same has some disadvantages. It is advantageous that it results to the curing of so many diseases but and solves a lot of medical problems but all these advantages are outweighed by disadvantages in that controversial and ethical issues arises since this alteration can cause a lot of harm than good to human beings. (Elvio, 2011).
References
Elvio, A. (2011): Anthropology: McGraw-Hill
Ember, C, R & Ember M, R. (2010): Anthropology: Prentice Hall
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