Genetics Debate Assignment
SBI 4U
Due: November 29th
Abstract:
In groups of 2, students select topics relating to bioethical questions which they research
and debate.
Goal of this activity:
To provide an opportunity for students to investigate bioethics questions, to research
background information, and to present their topic to classmates in a debate format.
Classmates, representing present day society, will have an opportunity to question debate
presenters and vote on each debate issue.
Background Information:
With the revolution in the areas of molecular biology, including gene therapy and the work
of The Human Genome Project, there arise many questions of interest and concern to
society. Research in the areas of gene manipulation and the ethical, legal, and social
implications, that this research will have on society are being presented in the media and
literature. To best address these issues, this activity uses the format of group research on
the following selected list of topics. This activity provides students with a chance to
investigate topics of interest and to provide a comprehensive overview of the topics, in a
debate format for their peers.
Guidelines:
You will divide into groups of three. Each group will chose one of the topics listed below. As
a group you must find some background information. You can begin with your textbook, but
must include other library sources. As a group you will either present arguments for or
arguments against to the rest of your class. The class will be the representative jury for our
society and we will vote on how we think the issue may be best resolved. The more careful
and well thought out positions, will probable sway the jury the most.
Remember that this is an exercise in which there are no right or wrong answers. The issues
need to be discussed rationally by all members of the class. At the conclusion of the debate,
your audience will vote and express society's current view on your topic, based on the
arguments that you present. Be ready to back up your statements with specific sources if
you are challenged.
The Debate format:
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5 minutes of pro presentation
5 minutes for con presentation
3 minutes pro rebuttal
3 minutes con rebuttal
Audience questions
Vote of the audience
Issues:
Genetically Modified Foods:
One major application of genetic engineering techniques is in the realm of food production.
With the world population expanding and synthetic pesticides decreasing in effectiveness,
novel solutions are increasingly in demand. Genetically modified foods are one such
solution. Genetically modified foods can: increase plants' resistance to pesticides and
herbicides, thereby decreasing the need for these pollutant chemicals; allow plants to
manufacture their own pesticides to ward off insects; increase the yields of many staple
crops and thereby ward off starvation in many areas of the world; and allow plants to grow
under adverse weather conditions or in poor soil, thereby increasing the amount of arable
land on the planet.
However, despite these undeniable benefits, critics argue that genetically engineered crops
might transmit their novel genes to wild populations, possibly creating organisms against
which humans have no defense. Critics also argue that genetic diversity of plant populations
could decrease, thus making crops more susceptible to decimation by as-yet-unknown
pathogens. A third argument centers on food consumption, and states that people with food
allergies or dietary restrictions might inadvertently eat foods that contain a dangerous
compound due to modification.
Cloning:
Cloning a human or other mammal is a relatively simple process; the following is a
summary of the process used to clone Dolly the sheep. Researchers grow some cells from
the organism to be cloned, and remove the nucleus from an unfertilized egg cell. They then
take one of the cultured cells and implant it in its entirety into the coating around the egg.
Then electroshock the egg to cause the two cells to fuse, and implant the new embryo into a
surrogate mother. When the baby is born, two genetically identical individuals of different
ages and with different birth parents will exist - in short, the original animal will have been
cloned.
The ethical status of cloning humans has been a hotly debated issue, touched off by the
controversy over Dolly, the first cloned mammal. Proponents of cloning argue that it is no
more unnatural than binary fission, the process by which bacteria reproduce to produce
identical copies of themselves; they go on to state that cloning is no more unethical than
growing a plant from a cutting or giving birth to identical twins, both of which involve two
separate and distinct organisms with identical genomes. Since identical twins have the exact
same genome, but still grow up with different personalities, clones raised in entirely
different time periods and social contexts will be entirely individual despite identical genes.
In this view, cloning is just another scientific topic and will become just another
reproductive option, and those who wish to research cloning or to be cloned should not be
stopped.
There is a small group of people who oppose cloning - or at least propose a moratorium on
it for the time being - for practical, not moral or ethical, reasons. These people argue that
cloning is ethically acceptable, but practically unsound because of the resultant decrease in
the genetic diversity of the human gene pool. They also advise more extensive experiments
on the effects of cloning on animals before human beings are cloned.
Finally, a large majority of people argue that cloning humans is both unnatural and
unethical. They cite fears that include: people's individuality being impaired or ruined due
to cloning technologies; aggressor nations creating armies of cloned soldiers to assault
other nations; overpopulation due to sudden ease of reproduction; depletion of the human
gene pool; and a number of concerns about the moral status of clones. Some go so far as to
postulate a stratified society divided into the cloned and the uncloned, and fears about
eugenics or of reserving cloning technology to the "genetically desirable" generally surface.
Many religions also object to cloning, again by claiming that it is "playing God".
Gene Therapy
Another application of genetic engineering techniques is in the area of gene therapy, or
treatment of genetic diseases through genetic modifications. Proponents argue that gene
therapy is the most reasonable and cost-effective way to treat most genetic diseases,
because the ideal treatment would only need to be administered once - after that, the
modification would be incorporated into the person's genome. Gene therapy techniques
promise to end or at least curb a vast amount of human suffering due to painful, debilitating,
and sometimes fatal genetic diseases.
Opponents of gene therapy cite the unknown and unpredictable results of inserting genes at
random into the genes in a person's cells. They argue that playing with the genome could
cause, or at least be a contributing factor, to many types of cancer; they state that curing a
person of a genetic disease only to give him terminal cancer is unthinkably inhumane. They
also maintain that gene therapy on humans, especially at this stage when we know so little
about gene regulation, would amount to unethical experimentation on human subjects.
Genetic Screening
Should parents genetically screen for healthier offspring? Should it be legal?