Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement Essay -- Science Medicine Ethi

Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement I. Introduction Gene therapy has the potential to revolutionize modern medicine. The techniques of gene therapy are still in their infancy as medical treatments and there are still many problems which must be solved before gene therapy will live up to its potential. However, it is very likely that gene therapy will become a reality at some point in the future and when that time comes, the ethical questions surrounding gene therapy will be pushed to the forefront of medicine. Science may find a way to reduce the risks associated with gene therapy but science alone cannot eliminate the serious ethical and societal risks which gene therapy brings to bear on the world. We need to put people's fear about the dangers of altering the genetic makeup of human beings to rest by establishing ethical principles which clear the way for advancement in medical therapy. Ethical guidelines for gene therapy must be established which emphasize medical uses over uses for human enhancement. II. Concepts of Gene Therapy Gene therapy involves the transfer of genetic material into the cells of an organism in order to cause a specific protein to be produced or in order to cease the production of a specific protein. This procedure usually involves transferring a specific gene into host cells to be incorporated into the chromosomal DNA of the host and later to be expressed. However, according to Dorothy Bonn, the future of gene therapy may also include the use of antisense DNA strands to disrupt expression of a gene or the use of homologous recombination to alter host DNA (1996). In medical terms Jeffrey Leiden, M.D. (1995) defines gene therapy as, "the introduction and expression of recombinant genes in... ...Leiden, Jeffrey M. (1995, September 28). Gene therapy - promises and pitfalls." New England Journal of Medicine, pp. 871-872. Marshall, Eliot. (1995, December 15). Less hype, more biology needed for gene therapy. Science, p. 1751. Miller, Henry I. (1994, July 30). Gene therapy for enhancement. The Lancet, pp. 316-317. Nelkin, Dorothy. (1996, May-June). Genetics, god, and sacred DNA. Society, pp. 22- 25. Voelker, Rebecca. (1993, November 17). The genetic revolution: Despite perfection of elegant techniques, ethical answers still elusive. Journal of the American Medical Association, pp. 2273-2274. Wivel, Nelson A. and LeRoy Walters. (1993, October 22). Germ-line gene modifications and disease prevention: Some medical and ethical perspectives. Science, pp. 533-538. Wright, Richard T. (1989). Biology Through the Eyes of Faith. New York: HarperCollins. Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement Essay -- Science Medicine Ethi Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement I. Introduction Gene therapy has the potential to revolutionize modern medicine. The techniques of gene therapy are still in their infancy as medical treatments and there are still many problems which must be solved before gene therapy will live up to its potential. However, it is very likely that gene therapy will become a reality at some point in the future and when that time comes, the ethical questions surrounding gene therapy will be pushed to the forefront of medicine. Science may find a way to reduce the risks associated with gene therapy but science alone cannot eliminate the serious ethical and societal risks which gene therapy brings to bear on the world. We need to put people's fear about the dangers of altering the genetic makeup of human beings to rest by establishing ethical principles which clear the way for advancement in medical therapy. Ethical guidelines for gene therapy must be established which emphasize medical uses over uses for human enhancement. II. Concepts of Gene Therapy Gene therapy involves the transfer of genetic material into the cells of an organism in order to cause a specific protein to be produced or in order to cease the production of a specific protein. This procedure usually involves transferring a specific gene into host cells to be incorporated into the chromosomal DNA of the host and later to be expressed. However, according to Dorothy Bonn, the future of gene therapy may also include the use of antisense DNA strands to disrupt expression of a gene or the use of homologous recombination to alter host DNA (1996). In medical terms Jeffrey Leiden, M.D. (1995) defines gene therapy as, "the introduction and expression of recombinant genes in... ...Leiden, Jeffrey M. (1995, September 28). Gene therapy - promises and pitfalls." New England Journal of Medicine, pp. 871-872. Marshall, Eliot. (1995, December 15). Less hype, more biology needed for gene therapy. Science, p. 1751. Miller, Henry I. (1994, July 30). Gene therapy for enhancement. The Lancet, pp. 316-317. Nelkin, Dorothy. (1996, May-June). Genetics, god, and sacred DNA. Society, pp. 22- 25. Voelker, Rebecca. (1993, November 17). The genetic revolution: Despite perfection of elegant techniques, ethical answers still elusive. Journal of the American Medical Association, pp. 2273-2274. Wivel, Nelson A. and LeRoy Walters. (1993, October 22). Germ-line gene modifications and disease prevention: Some medical and ethical perspectives. Science, pp. 533-538. Wright, Richard T. (1989). Biology Through the Eyes of Faith. New York: HarperCollins.