Children of Men

The society portrayed in the novel Children of Men, is a perfect example in displaying the potential negative outcomes of DNA meddling. The story took place in 2027, in a world that was on the brink of extinction. Reproduction rates had fallen to all time lows and the society had gone completely sterile. Despite the rampant modernization and technological advances like Quietus, a government issued suicide drug that their society had achieved, they had lost the most simple and precious component, the gift of life.

Creating Better Athletes: One of the Numerous faults of Genetic Engineering

Genetic Engineering not only poses threat to lead our society to dystopia, it also threatens to eliminate the uniqueness of special God-given talents such as athletic ability. With genetic engineering, genes can be modified to artificially create athletes. This eradicates the uniqueness of the individuals that possess these innate athletic qualities and disqualifies these traits as talents, but rather, renders them as just common attainable traits. The articles “Genetic Inequality: Human Genetic Engineering” and “Genetic Engineering In Athletes” written by Daniel Simons and Dominic Wells consecutively, expresses this concern. The fact that over the years several athletes have tried to increase their performance by abusing drugs, should make us more concerned about the consequences that will result from the legal availability of performance enhancers that genetic engineering provides. Gene Doping, ” the nontherapeutic use of cells, genes, or genetic elements to enhance athletic performance” (Simmons), makes it really hard to detect the use of performance enhancers when athletes are tested because it manipulates the cells in the body. This makes the job of the World Anti-Doping Agency, created by the International Olympic Committee to prevent unfair advantage, very difficult. Therefor with this improvement that Genetic Engineering provides, we stand a greater risk of loosing the essence of admiration for natural born talent in sports. We stand the chance of having athletics infested with athletes that posses abilities that are being enhanced. and finally we stand the chance of having a society that comprises of individuals that lack passion and integrity. A chaotic society that lacks hardworking individuals, but rather consists of a plethora of individuals that lack motivation and individuals with the perception that everything comes easy; they don’t have to try. This mentality creates a society similar to that of Brave New World and their perception of attaining happiness and fulfilment regardless of the by process through which it is attained.

Link to Articles

http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-inequality-human-genetic-engineering-768

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2453248/

3-D Printed Liver

Some people feel that the possibility of creating a human clone just as it was done in Brave New World is impossible. As unrealistic as all of this may seem to some people, “A San Diego start-up company called Organovo…managed to use 3D printing to generate a liver that lasts for 40 days”. The fact that scientists are able to generate a liver through the use of a 3D printer shows us how we are not so different from this dystopian entitie.

12 Bizarre Examples of Genetic Engineering

This link is very interesting because it shows some new and engaging examples of current genetic engineering feats. But as with everything, as some of the things the process can help with, our human ways to take advantage of technology could lead us to a dystopian society if this is taken too far.

An In-Depth Look into the Consequences of Genetic Engineering

This video summarizes the most commonly shared concerns for genetic engineering. Though it may seem like genetic engineering is the door to a world free of terminal diseases, and a world of endless possibilities, which it probably is, considering the fact that we are basically manipulating DNAs, the consequences are far more dangerous. This video shines light on just some of those consequences, and through this we can see that genetic engineering is a potential cause for more disorder and chaos, than order.

Gattaca

In the Dystopian movie Gattaca, they touch upon the negative implications of genetic engineering and how an influx of science will proceed to ruin a society. In the movie human genetic engineering created unnecessary social classes and unwarranted discrimination. In Gattaca’s society, discrimination was not based on the content of one’s skin, but instead on the content of their genes. The government tried to create a utopia with the implementation of human genetic engineering, but ended up doing more harm than good by creating a dystopia. The people living in that society were given jobs not based on how qualified they were, but whether or not they had genetically enhanced genetics. The society had come so far and progressed scientifically, but they began to lack in the social aspect of their lives dealing with interpersonal relationships of individual who came from different genetic backgrounds.

Genetic Engineering Shows Promise

The article, “Genetic Engineering Enables Human Immunity to Take on Cancer, Revolutionary Therapy” basically talks about how the newest accomplishments in Genetic Engineering are allowing doctors to “revolutionize the treatment of cancer”. As important as this topic is, it is great and amazing that doctors can use this genetic engineering technology to help cure diseases like cancer, but with humans as the main inhabitant on this Earth, sometimes things can always go wrong. If we humans become too powerful with such innovations, we can be heading toward a dystopia where all our genetics are programmed and the people in power can basically play the “God” role in society, just as the government in Brave New World does. And, as the historian and moralist Baron Acton once said, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Pros and Cons to Genetic Engineering

Genetic Engineering is a very controversial topic within our society unlike that in the novel, Brave New World. In the novel, the government had perfected the process of genetic engineering and had taken full control of the reproduction process. The acceleration of science had made the people live in a dystopian society where they were too conditioned to questions the world around them.

We can not fogey that there are two sides to every story and the topic of genetic engineering is no different. Throughout this blog post one will find the pros and cons to human genetic engineering within our society and it will be up to the individual to decide which stance they will take.

PROS:

1. GET RID OF DISEASE- To this day there are still diseases out there such as Cancer, HIV, and Alzheimer’s that we have not found the cures too. Millions of individuals die each and every year to these harmful diseases. With genetic engineering uncured diseases can be treated by the implantation of genes that carry the antiviral proteins. We can improve the natural evolution process by making stronger and healthier humans and improving the quality of life for us all.

2. EXTEND LIFE SPANS- Throughout history, we have seen the average lifespan of us humans get longer due to medical breakthroughs as well as an genetic improvement. With human genetic engineering we have the potential to increase our lifespans exponentially. We humans are always looking for ways to look, feel and act younger; genetic engineering can make this dream into a reality. In addition, movies like the X-men can become a reality. The possibilities are endless.

3. GROW BODY PARTS- Through our increase in knowledge of stem cells and genetic engineering we are able to reproduce organs. Just last month scientists created a 3D-printed liver. The liver was only able to last 5 days, but as we can see we are on the right track. By growing different body parts, we will be able to improve the lives of many individuals. There will no longer be long lines of individuals waiting for organ transplants. Instead scientists will be able to grow new organs.

CONS:

1. SAFETY- There is a huge safety concern when it comes to genetic engineering. We simply do not know what the potential ramifications of altering genes will have. The human genome as well as our entire bodies are a maze of complicated biological signals. Even the smallest change can result in negative ramifications. We still do not know everything in the whole genetic process, so there will be mistakes along the way. In addition, genetic mutations can take place if the DNA is meddled with.

2. SLIPPERY SLOPE- The comment that always comes up in regards to genetic engineering is where do we stop and who is in control. Once the information is known what will stop a mad scientist on a quest for global domination or the government to take full control and decide who receives this information. In addition, when will decided that enough is enough? It starts with creating an organ, getting rid of a disease, but what if it reaches the point of human cloning? Many individuals feel that scientists are, “playing God” and pursuing genetic engineering will lead to a two-tier society; the ones who can afford genetic enhancements and the ones who can not.

3. ETHICS- With genetic engineering there is the fear that it might lead to eugenics. Eugenics is the deliberate attempt to improve the human race through selective breeding or artificial genetic selection. If such a thing were to occur there would be a disparity between natural birth and genetically modified birth. In addition to this, many religious groups are heavily against genetic engineering, because it goes against their beliefs.

Congratulations it’s a Versace!!!

This photo demonstrates a humorous take on the issue of genetically modified babies. Despite the humor, this photo brings to light a very important issue that has the potential of leading our society towards dystopia. Parents having the ability to create their ideal baby might seem like a good idea, however, we must not forget to think about the implications of our actions. Our society being able to “design” babies shows a striking similarity to the dystopian society in the Brave New World. Is genetic Engineering going to be the vortex that pulls us into a dystopia???

Baby Traits – The Whitest Kids you Know

This video is a great example of how the current genetic engineering trends are beginning to take over aspects of our life that we never thought before possible. Also, this video connects to the genetic engineering theme expressed in Brave New World. All the people in the Brave New World are genetically altered and decided, just as the baby in this video is. Yes, the video is a comedy, but it brings a great light to this interesting and developing topic.