Genetic Engineering Applications and Controversies

Paper Summary:

This paper deals with the subject of genetic engineering, explaining the process that is involved in carrying it out and of transmitting the specifically designed changes to successive generations via genetic inheritance. The author also provides some historical background and discusses the ethical controversies that surround this subject.

Outline:
Background and History
Beneficial Applications
Ethical Controversies

From the Paper:

"British microbiologist Fred Griffith identified two forms of the pneumococcus bacterium distinguishable by the presence or absence of a smooth exterior cellular coating responsible for its resistance to the human immune system response. Griffith accidentally transmitted that characteristics of the deadly pneumococci responsible for human pneumonia to subsequent generations of the harmless pneumococci that lacked that distinctive exterior coating (Aldridge 1998).
"The subsequent discovery of the underlying structure of the DNA molecule and specific mechanism of genetic inheritance announced by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1957 lead to the eventual explosion of DNA sciences including the purposeful alteration of genetic material to produce desirable genetic traits in biological organisms. In fact, so much research into the mechanics of human heredity were conducted in the
interim between Griffith's first experiments that culmination in their 1957 announcement for which they shared a Nobel Prize, that the work of Watson and Crick is considered by many to unfairly overshadow the valuable contributions of Griffith and other predecessors (Gibbon 2002).

Sample of Sources Used:

• Aldridge, Susan (1998) The Thread of Life: The Story of Genes and Genetic Engineering. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Elias, Paul. Pursuing Healthier Bacon through Genetic Engineering. The Associated Press; Mar. 26/06. Retrieved March 31, 2008, from the USA Today website, at: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/biotech/2006-03-26-biotech- bacon_x.htm?POE=TECISVA
• Gribbin, John. (2002) The Scientists: A History of Science Told Through the Lives of Its Greatest Inventors. New York: Random House.
• Pollack, Andrew. After Stem-Cell Breakthrough the Real Work Begins. The New York Times, Nov. 27/07 (p. F1)
• Sagan, C. (1997) Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium. New York: Random House

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• Essay # 70378 : "Genetic Engineering"
• Term Paper # 135911 : "Genetic Engineering and Healthcare"

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