11Genetic Manipulation: The Next Step in Human Evolutionby Dorsey Kelley The next step of human evolution may already be upon us. The truth of this matter is rather simple. Manipulation of species using advanced genetic re-sequencing and embryo manipulation technologies will happen. Whether we choose to realize this fact or not is our own choice. This, whether or not realized by a radical proponent of government genetic oversight, is eventually going to be a fact, if in truth it has not already happened. As Reverend Doug Hunt B.S. M.S. PhD, Religious Center on Biotechnology,Director of the New Technologies at the International Center for Technology Assessment, states in his article The Cloning Landscape: Pending Legislature, “Attempts to clone human embryos, to implant clonal embryos and bring them to term are almost certainly underway in the US [sic] at present time. Advanced Cell Technologies (ACT) [sic] publicly promoted is efforts in both somatic cell nuclear transfer1andparthenogenesis2…”[Genetics11]In order to adequately explain this complex and controversial topic, it must be broken down into different parts. It would be of no use to give the science of genetic manipulation without the context of what constitutes such manipulations and their consequences. Likewise, it would be of even less use to explain the consequences of such actions without first explaining the whole story of genetic manipulation. In addition, it would also be of little to no use to explainthe ethics of further genetic manipulation without also explaining the moral implications of that genetic manipulation already taken place. To make this a much easier topic to broach, I will break it down into a few parts: 1 See Definition Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer2 See Definition Parthenogenesis
10Genetic Manipulation: The Next Step in Human EvolutionPart 1 - indirect and direct genetic manipulation of animal and plant species.Part 2 - the effects and consequences of such manipulations.Part 3 - moral and ethical implications of human genetic manipulationPart 1: Direct and Indirect Genetic ManipulationIf one only looks at genetic manipulation from the fantasies of science fiction one misses the true extent of what genetic manipulation is. Many people when simply hearing the term immediately think about genetically modified foods or Dollythe cloned lamb. While these are both good examples of genetic manipulation, they are only one form of genetic manipulation;direct genetic manipulation. A much more subtle form of genetic manipulation exists, and humans have used it for a long, long time, this is indirect genetic manipulation.Indirect Genetic ManipulationIndirect genetic manipulation brings to light the fact that humans, as a species, have been genetically manipulating other species, such as todays domesticated canine, for at least the last 33,000 years.[Genetics12] Through processes such as selective breeding and intensive linebreeding3
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