The Selfish Gene

Nowadays you go online and you're able to customize your own clothing or shoes but what if I told you can do the same thing with you first child. After reading that sentence you’re probably thinking how is that even possible, did I read that right? It may seem absolutely mind blowing but it’s possible, scientists have found a way to genetically modify fetuses. However just because this process is possible doesn’t mean everyone is okay with it. In fact in most countries it’s illegal to go through…

by someone?Would you like it if doctors messed with your traits? I would not like that at all. Why not accept them for who they are. I am against designer babies. It's wrong to design your baby.Why have a baby if you're just gonna tweak with their genes. Babies are not experiments. They are not created in a lab. You should not experiment with a life to make the better. You shouldn't mess with a life to meet YOUR expectations. Yes, its nice to see but maybe in the future, it may really get to…

Human beings are influenced by both their genetics and the environment they are raised in. There is a great deal of evidence for both nature and nurture, so why can’t we realize that both can have an impact? Throughout history, the homo species has had to fight for survival. We as humans, for the most part, do not need to fight for food and shelter, yet some of our animal instincts remain. It is not so crazy to say that humans are effected by nature and the environment they grew up in. As we…

fiction concept but are now a reality. Over the years, scientists have developed different methods to alter natural reproduction. Some of these methods include gene therapy and preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Scientists have also used in vitro fertilization, which involves fertilizing an egg outside of the mother’s body, to hand pick genes and favorable traits. This method was used for other reasons prior to the idea and development of designer babies. Although genetically modified embryos…

Question 1. What were the main findings of the ENCODE project? Only a small percent of the 3.2 Gb human genome encodes for genes but much of the remainder was chalked up a junk. However, the ENCODE project suggests that up to 80% of the genome consist of various active regulatory, and structurally significant regions. Question 2. Define “junk DNA.” Junk DNA plays no active role in influencing an individual organism’s survival or reproduction, i.e. it does not code for or regulate…

research has much potential, the adverse effects outweigh the positive gains. It may be beneficial because it can enhance and cure, but it is also unethical and ultimately causing problems within society. Mothers and fathers would be deciding a child’s genes, including interests, appearance, and talents. Which school a child goes to and which hobbies they take part in can be choices that a parent makes, which in turn hopefully makes the child’s life better. The parents making decisions for…

aging-fitness loss. Gametes are an incredibly important area to study and understand because it helps us identify gender in species as well as understand the mating interactions of males and females. As Dawkins explains in chapter nine of his book The Selfish Gene, size of gametes has a huge effect on how much investment a parent will put into their offspring. Also, the size can affect their reproductive habits (Dawkins, 1976). For the first part of this lab, I the model using the steps in…

The world could be facing one of the biggest divides with the availability of creating a “perfect child” who is intelligent, aesthetically pleasing, and healthy. Genetic engineering normally strikes the topic of produce and their effects on humans; however, what about humans themselves being genetically modified? “The process of selecting the traits and characteristics of children is also known as Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), and here the embryo is checked for genetic deficiencies…

world, scientists are coming up with ways to edit the genes of embryos while they are still in their mother’s womb. Although there can be positive outcomes to this procedure, editing genes can have more negatives. Parents consider this process to enhance the chance of their child not developing a long term illness. Does the child’s mother and father take in the consideration of this dangerous experiment? There are parents that are insecure and selfish, who want to choose exactly who their child…

Enhancing Society at a Cost In recent years, scientists developed genetic engineering in animals. Gene modification enhances animals by increasing fertility, and allows the possibility of cloning. However, cloning and designing animals leads to the application of genetic modification in humans. In Dinesh D’Souza’s essay, “Staying Human,” he reveals the positive and negative effects of genetic engineering, but he affirms the unethical application of genetic engineering. Because of this…