Jeb Bartenfeld

Emmelhainz
English 223
November 22, 2015
Recoding Life: Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering is the future of medicine, agriculture, and perhaps
what finally wipes us all off the planet. By harnessing the power of the
building blocks of life, DNA, we can bend and shape different species of
plants and animals to better serve our wills. We can make our crops more
resistant to pests and drought, or make them yield more and better food.
Gene therapy allows us to treat previously untreatable diseases and genetic
disorders, and could even lead to a cure for cancer. There are also risks
involved with rewriting DNA, such as death, or disease, or a lack of genetic
diversity. There is also the question of ownership. Corporations can already
own the rights to certain types of genetically engineered crops, and some
people worry about the horrifying implications of corporate ownership of
human genes.
Genetic engineering is technically not new to the world of medicine.
Human insulin, the substance that keeps diabetics alive and as healthy as
possible, has been produced by genetically modified E. coli bacteria since
1982. This is one of the less radical uses of genetic engineering: changing
organisms to produce some medically necessary chemical compound for
humans. This would include replacements for some drugs, like antibiotics,

and could help prevent allergic reactions (Coker). Replacing antibiotics would
also help curb the rise of so-called superbugs, bacteria typically found in
hospitals that have been so exposed to antibiotics that they are now fully
immune. They are, needless to say, something of a worry for medical
professionals. It is also theoretically possible that one day animals could be
created with organs that can be transplanted into people, meaning people on
waiting lists for organs wouldnt spend years hoping that enough organ
donors die that it becomes their turn to get a lump of specialized tissue.
Gene therapy is a newer process wherein DNA is inserted into something,
usually a tumor, for some medical purpose. Most of the time this is to slow
or stop a tumor so it can be traditionally removed, but it is also used
sometimes to stop cancer before it can gain momentum.
Agriculture is another area where the long, futuristic arms of genetic
engineering have reached. Genetic engineering is already used to plant and
farm crops that can resist the ever-present threat of pests and the cruel
randomness of drought. According to Adane Abraham, genetic engineering
has to potential to increase the general viability of agriculture in the African
nation of Ethiopia, long the poster child for the starving African children
trope. Pests are the biggest obstacle to effective Ethiopian farming, and
current genetically modified organisms are not yet equipped to deal with
them. Once they are, however, hunger in the region can hopefully be
reduced. This is not to say genetically modified crops hold benefits solely for
the third world. In the developed nations of the world, genetic engineering

can be used to improve the yield of crops, increasing efficiency and driving
prices down with the principles of supply and demand.
As with any potentially world changing technology, there are dangers.
The average person tends to fear genetic engineering, as can be seen in the
many campaigns against GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms. Frewer,
Howard, and Shepherd say of public opinion, Ethical concerns appear to be
greater for genetic engineering than for other technological hazards. Its
understandable. Fiddling about with genetic code can be a dangerous
prospect, especially without a full understanding of exactly what genes do
exactly what things. Trying to right genetically-caused deformity could
possibly only exacerbate it. New diseases and disorders could be
inadvertently created, and all of it man-made. On the other side of the
spectrum, the creation of an improved, or even genetically perfect person
could cause some worries. It brings to mind the kinds of images that helped
Hitler get to sleep every night, with the supposed inferior, unengineered
humans treated as second class citizens. Similarly, genetically augmented
animals could prove to be very dangerous, as was shown in the 2015 film
Jurassic World. The main antagonist of the film is a creature known as
Indominus rex (fig. 1), a dinosaur created from the mixed DNA of a
Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor, a cuttlefish, and a viper. The animal was
created partially as a bioweapon, and proves to be highly intelligent, capable
of advanced planning (for an animal), and hyper aggressive, killing other
animals for no reason other than sport. It serves as a striking, if somewhat

Hollywood warning on the dangers of irresponsible genetic modification.

Of course one of the more mundane disasters that genetic engineering could
be responsible for is an ecological disaster caused by a lack of genetic
diversity. Essentially, genetic diversity allows for a species to survive some
kind of disaster, usually a plague. Each individual organism has slightly
different DNA, and so a disease has to adapt to each and every one to infect
it. This is not some terrible hypothetical, either. Rampant use of genetically
identical corn in the US in the 70s allowed a standard bout of corn blight to
reach worrying levels. In the words of Clifton E Anderson, If the hybrid corn
varieties had been more genetically diverse, the corn blight infestation might
not have assumed epidemic proportions. If genetically engineered crops with
similarly restricted gene pools are commonly grown, it might invite similar
devastating crop failures. The last important issue, admittedly likely
wouldnt kill us, but still needs to be considered. As it stands, corporations
like Monsanto, who makes genetically engineered crops, own the genetic
codes of the crops they make. They license the seeds out to farmers every
year, because the crops have also been engineered not to give seeds. If this
concept were to expand to sentient life like humans, a corporation like
Monsanto could theoretically legally own people.
Genetic engineering, like nuclear power was back in the halcyon days
of the 1950s, is a popular topic at the moment. Unlike nuclear power,
however, genetic engineering may actually prove to be something of a
silver bullet after all. Its many applications in medicine, agriculture, and

ecology are nothing to sneeze at, and have potential to turn our world on its
head and stop us from aging. Of course, it has its risks, which should be
taken into consideration and fully looked over. But these should not deter us
from harnessing the power of DNA to make the world a better place. As the
saying goes: nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Figure 1: Indominus rex,

with several Velociraptors

Works Cited
Abraham, Adane. "Genetic Engineering Technologies for Ethiopian
Agriculture: Prospects and Challenges." Journal of Commercial
Biotechnology 20.4 (2014): n. pag. ProQuest Biology Journals
[ProQuest]. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
Anderson, Clifton E. "Genetic Engineering: Dangers and Opportunities." The
Futurist 34.2 (2000): 20-25. ProQuest Biology Journals [ProQuest]. Web.
14 Nov. 2015.
Coker, Jeffrey Scott. "Crossing the Species Boundary: Genetic Engineering as
Conscious Evolution." The Futurist 46.1 (2012): 23-27. ProQuest
Biology Journals [ProQuest]. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
Frewer, Lynn J., Chaya Howard, and Richard Shepherd. Public Concerns in
the United Kingdom About General and Specific Applications of Genetic
Engineering: Risk, Benefit, and Ethics. Science, Technology, & Human
Values 22.1 (1997): 98124. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
Jurassic World. Dir. Colin Trevorrow. Perf. Chris Pratt. Universal Pictures, 2015.
DVD.