Grazia De Castro

3rd bach Capricorn

13/09/22

BIOLOGY

“Can we use genetic engineering (gene editing) to enhance human

evolution?”

Innovation, evolution and technology has grown through the time, and science has not
been the exception. In recent years we have seen how genetics, bacteria, diseases have
evolved, and if we join all of these points together, we have come with “Genetic
engineering”. A fancy word for saying modifying the characteristics of an organism by
manipulating its genetic material.

By manipulating its genetic material, we are talking about the DNA itself, this
involves changing a single base pair (A-T or C-G), deleting a region of DNA or adding a new
segment of DNA, in other words creating changes to a natural DNA.

Is this good or bad? or does it help in something.

Studies have found that by doing these changes on genetic material, cancer therapies can be
done. This happens because it makes it possible to reprogram the human immune system so
that T cells white blood cells that fight viruses, are able to recognize and kill cancer cells. If
we think about it deeply, it is the door to a healthy life, the door to evolution and saving us
from losses in terms of diseases that affect us.

But not everything can be perfect. There are some bad risks including the
environment and the animals, for the reason that by modifying the genetic material of
animals, plants or humans, biodiversity can be affected. For example, existing species can be
overrun by more dominant new species.

To sum up, genetic engineering or genetic alteration can be always a risk, especially if
we are talking about changing the most important part of ourselves or about life, which is our
DNA, yet there are some positive things about it, like stopping serious and bad diseases, as
mentioned: Cancer.