Genetic engineering, or genetic modification, is the manipulation of DNA in cells to alter a gene into something that would not be found naturally in an organism. All mammals are made up of somatic cells, the cells that make up the organs, tissues, and the body in general. When genetic modification was first experimented with, the test subjects were mice. To alter the DNA of the mice, the experimenters added the alterations they wanted directly into a sperm, ego, or embryo of a mouse. With this being done, the changes made to the DNA were made permanent and could be transferred on to future offspring. But with anything in science, you cannot take the procedure from this experiment and apply it to a human test subject. When the genetic modification of humans is brought up, the only way scientists know how to proceed is by adding extracting somatic cells, adding genes to the cells, and replacing them back into the human host. “While the somatic cells may have new genes, the rest of the person’s cells have not been altered, so the changes cannot be passed on to offspring” (last name, para#). It is very important to understand that with the lack of ability to alter only a few cells in the human body, any traits that are changed will not be passed on to that person’s offspring. If a scientist can terminate the gene for Huntington’s Disease in a parent’s DNA, there is no way to be sure that the child will not have to have their DNA altered as well. It is also important to understand that scientist have no way of knowing whether the human body will accept the cells and the new genes.
No comments:
Post a Comment