Read History with Jack 19 - Genetic Engineering

   The Scientific Revolution has introduced new inventions and technologies into the lives of Homo sapiens. However, the trend of technological development does not stop today. Scientists are still inventing new technologies that will doubtless shock the world. One scientific effort with great potential is genetic engineering.

   The definition of genetic engineering is to extract a set of genes from creature and extract another set of genes from another type of creature. Then, you manipulate the genes and mix the genes together to construct a new organism or imbue desired traits. This technology is still a novelty, and it’s still developing. I think that this will be the next big innovation because humans are always striving to make life easier and to break past the limitations of natural laws. Genetic engineering could allow Homo sapiens to change natural selection and construct virtually anything we want.

   Genetic engineering can bring people many practical benefits. For example, genetic engineering can help diminish genetic diseases like cancer or cataracts. We can just wipe out the genes that cause cancer or other genetic diseases. Moreover, we can practice genetic engineering in reproductive technologies. Scientists can try to wipe out the bad genes plaguing baby and put in beneficial ones instead. Also, people can choose how tall they want their child to be, how intelligent, and many other aspects. Therefore, genetic engineering can help us diminish genetic diseases as well as design the perfect baby, as parents see it. This is, of course, a huge ethical issue, since populating the world with tall, beautiful people who all look nearly identical would be incredibly boring.

   Genetic engineering has other drawbacks. For instance, if genetic engineering is utilized by some crazy war leader like Adolf Hitler, then the consequence will be severe. Also, if we make lots of rich humans’ children super humans, then regular people will become their servants since they will be comparatively weak. The most practical way to prevent these negative possibilities is to be really cautious about this technology and monitor the scientists, and the implementation, strictly.