Genetic Engineering: Advantages and Disadvantages

Running head: GENETIC ENGINEERING
Genetic Engineering
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1GENETIC ENGINEERING
Genetic engineering is a technology which is employed to directly manipulate the genes
of an organism, add new traits to the cells which were previously not present in an organism,
change the genetic composition and makeup of the organism (Khattak et al. 2012). Above all the
discussion is the prominence of DNA. DNA is the reason for diversity that we notice in a
human’s phenotypic and genetic orientation. However, the composition of DNA never remains
fixed and it experiences a constant over a period of time (ENCODE Project Consortium 2012).
This study is based on genetic engineering and its various advantages and disadvantages. The
study will focus on the question that should genetic engineering be perused on humans?
Genetic engineering in short is a technique in DNA molecules of an is extracted and a
copy of this genetic molecule is inserted in to the DNA of another organism in order to modify
the characteristics. This organism can be an animal, plant or a human. In order to understand the
way by which the DNA works, a clear understanding of how DNA works is a must. All the
living organisms have cells and the cells have the DNA, this DNA instructs and control the
whole body. Genetic engineering has a wide range of applications, like agriculture, medicine,
animal husbandry, surgery (Muntaha et al. 2016). With the help of genetic engineering, many
species have developed immunity from the wide range of the deadly diseases. Genetic
engineering has helped and assisted the farmer to increase the yield at the farm. Today, several
different types of the genetically modified food crops are introduced in to the market in order to
cope up with the increased hunger from the increased population. Genetic engineering has
brought agricultural revolution that will effectively reduce the malnutrition and starvation
(Christou 2013).
Advantages of genetic engineering- defeating and tackling the diseases is the first
advantage. There are several diseases that have stayed throughout the evolution and gained such

2GENETIC ENGINEERING
resistance that medicine have lost the capability to treat these diseases. There are several
different types of mutations that can occur in humans and will potentially increase the
susceptibility of humans to different types of diseases. Thus, genetic engineering in humans can
be effectively used to treat these diseases. Getting rid of illness in the unborn and young child is
one of the options available to rectify the diseases carried by such unborn babies. There are many
diseases that can be detected before a child is born and the detection can range from down’s
syndrome, sickle cell anemia. Here, the utility of genetic engineering comes into play. Through
genetic engineering it can be ensured that the babies do not carry any disease (Sparrow 2018).
Increases the potentiality of a person to live longer through editing of the diseased genes and
inserting the edited genes in the target person. New foods can be produced which will be
resistant to the pest, temperature, harsh environment, and as well as will give high productivity.
With the help of genetic engineering, specific traits of plants and animals can be engineered that
will exhibit characteristics that are beneficial for consumption or use (Joos et al. 2012).
Disadvantages of genetic engineering- When genetic engineering concept was first
introduced, the first question that came to the minds of the people is that is it ethical? Many
consider that genetic engineering is like tweaking the nature’s own selection process. There are
other ethical issues that arise along with benefits of genetic engineering. The major issue is that
removal of disease through the genetic modification can raise the question that, is it ethical to
perform such an act which existed within the humans throughout the evolutionary process (Berry
2011). Genetic defect is another disadvantage. The question of modifying the DNA raises the
question of cellular level modifications. Although it is known how a body behaves under the
normal conditions, however the ramifications due to the changes made through the genetic
engineering is still unknown. Modification done to the unborn child can raise the complications