Cutting-edge research is being conducted because it “brings us closer to our ultimate objective of eradicating disability and illness via the greatest treatment that modern medicine can deliver.” The development of screening methods and therapies that can help stop the spread of these catastrophic diseases into the world’s most quickly developing economies will be aided by an understanding of the genetics of heart disease and cancer.
Although biotechnology is a neutral instrument, certain disturbing ethical issues are brought up by its potential. Should parents-to-be be permitted to “design” the physical traits of their embryos? Should the human germ line be altered by science, or would this fundamentally and permanently change what it is to be a person?
References:
1.
Gupta, V., Sengupta, M., Prakash, J., Tripathy, B.C. (2017). An Introduction to Biotechnology. In: Basic and Applied Aspects of Biotechnology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0875-7_1
2. https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/biotechnology-programs/animal-biotechnology
3.https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/biotechnology-programs/plant-biotechnology