Future of Genetic Engineering
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The future of genetic engineering is contained in both an awesome yet uneasy picture. There are many moral issues involved with genetic engineering in all areas. Huge numbers of people are both against and supportive of human cloning. Some believe that is unethical and unfair to clone human beings, and yet others desperately want to see it happen. And although many are against it, and even though the United States has banned human cloning, scientists predict that in the future, if not soon, human cloning will occur.
As of current, the main uses for genetic engineering are medicine, industry, and agriculture. But there are many other uses that are in the future for genetic engineering. In agriculture, many more foods are being considered for genetic changes or additions. But the specifics of each food’s case can not be presently determined, since not a single gene of an organism would pass on all traits of the organism. Fish genes can be combined with a type of produce and the produce would not take on any physical or otherwise characters of the fish, except for maybe growth or such. There is slight unrest however, in that many people believe the long time effect of genetically produced foods will have a negative side, and so if that is the case, then genetic engineering in agriculture and foods would probably downslide, if not lose all credit. Genetic engineering in industry also has many future uses. But like any new area, there are positives and negatives. So any advance in maybe bio-war products or such, might evoke opposition from society, even if there are benefits. Genetic engineering in medicine is probably the most exciting area. There are current attempts through studying genetics to determine how certain people would react to certain drugs. These studies could eventually lead to a higher level of genetic engineering in medicine, to prepare drugs especially for a person based on their genetic information. Even though distant now, the far future holds the prospect of reaching the eventual goal of being able to determine what disease a human has before the disease strikes. Then if the disease is a complex one, one that relies on the environment around the person, changes can be made to prevent the disease. Also, there are hopes of being able to find more cures and preventions for diseases.
The future is unknown in specifics, yet the dreams and hope of scientists and common society soar far ahead in time. With dedicated research, inspired scientists, and hard work, what might be set for ahead of us, could be brought to us sooner.
Ranade, Koustubh. Personal interview. 16 Aug. 2004. Dr. Ranade provided us with notable insight on all topics, ranging from the future of genetics to correcting common misconceptions about genetics in medicine.