Biotechnology manipulates one gene at a time, which controls the precision to agriculture. It also enables the researchers to create organisms that have genes they would not normally have. The controversy is similar to that of GM products. .
Some people feel that the reason to boycott GM foods is practical- for example the possibility of someone having an allergic reaction because it produces pa protein normally found in another plant someone might actually be allergic to. Another concern would be the effects on ecosystems. A genetically altered corn, bt, has been found growing in places it was not planted. Some genetic modifications can make salmon twice its normal size. This animal can have strange effects on ecosystems.
Infectious diseases are far more difficult to predict than genetic diseases. The reason this causes controversy is because some people want to know if they have certain genetic diseases, but bioethicits feel predicting untreatable inherited illnesses is unethical. Also, certain populations of people have a higher probability of developing certain genetic disease. Some people feel that testing only these people for certain genetic disease is discriminatory, while others feel it is smart because it just recognizes a biological fact. These both tie into presystomatic testing. It shows the disease before the symptoms appear, which some people feel is like playing god, but other feel it can contribute to the decision of having children, which I feel is very important. .
Gene therapy replaces a malfunctioning gene in the affected parts of the body to correct the gene. This is controversial because some people feel it is again, like playing god, to correct the problems. Others feel it will make people live longer, determine if people want to have children, adopt, or whatnot, or to even help prepare for the possibility of having a disabled child.
"O brave new world, that has such people in it - " William Shakespeare, The Tempest, quoted by Aldous Huxley " With technology exponentially growing, and the insatiable hunger for discovery and knowledge, the actual nature of human beings is changing. Stories of stem-cell res...
