„The limits of the human mind are being redefined. And they will continue to change. On both sides. Are these children still human beings in the traditional sense of the word? And if not, what are they? Is it possible to apply human rights to them? If they are the new people, who are we?“ – (Helix M Elsberg) – Where might human interference with nature lead us?

Barbara Marten - 28.09.2019 @ 11:09

Hello :) Here you can find the translation of wonderful article which was written by Wiktoria Gawlikowska.

Sara Kotlarz - 17.11.2019 @ 14:35

A blessing or curse?

by Wiktoria Gawlikowska, VIII LO Kraków/ Poland

Genetic engineering is developing really fast and currently it enables not only changes in plant and animal genes but also human genes.  According to scientists from CRISPR Cas/9 is such a simple, economical, precise and effective method that it should be also used for people.

While in China scientists try to overcome lung cancer of patients with the help of CRISPR and there are plans to carry on clinical tests in the USA, in Germany such experiments aren’t allowed either on embryos or people, and genetic manipulation generates major controversy.

There is no doubt that the possibility of curing inherited diseases or cancers has convinced many people that genetic modification is an option. Gene scissors enable extraction of defective genes and replacing them with good ones. Genetic surgery broadens horizons for medicine and we ought to take this chance. Some scientists go further and they want to improve people through alterations achieved by CRISPR, their looks, physical abilities and intelligence. Probable consequences of these actions were presented in Marc Elsbergs novel Helix. Genetically modified children with their outstanding perspicacity and remarkable features try to take over the world owing to genetically modified virus.  They are unpredictable.  Production of designer babies becomes everyday life and normal people don’t have a chance with them. These are the authors predictions for the future. Reality can be even worse.

Mutation of genome is also controversial because artificially introduced amendments are handed down to future generations. From the point of view of the president of Leopoldin, Jörg Hackler, threats aren’t foreseeable.  Can we risk our lives? For many people interferences in people’s genes is inhumane and unacceptable because of ethics and religion. An embryo should be treated with respect from the beginning and shouldn’t be discriminated or corrected because of its deficiency says professor Peter Dabrock, chairman of German Ethics Board. Also Catholics protest against generically programmed children, because creating living beings is a Gods work. German Protestant Church is ready for compromise but only if it develops new methods of treatments.

According to scientists, a lot of diseases and hideousness of human body will be possible to eliminate in 50 years’ time and in 100 years Europe can be a genetically perfect society with faultless people. Do we really want to go in this direction? My questionnaire shows that 70% of my classmates are against genetic manipulation.

100 students from high school took part in the questionnaire number VIII

Like professor Dabrock, I think that before making the final decision scientists and society should discuss potential benefits and risks and define boundaries of genetic engineering. Will interference in human nature turn out to be a blessing or a curse? Future will show.

Translated by Sara Kotlarz

Thank you for a very interesting text about genetic engineering. We believe that genetic engineering can be a good and a bad thing. The reason why we think it could be helpful, is that if you can go deep into the genes, you could find out if there is something amiss in the genes in the embryo. An example is looking for chronic/chronical diseases and perhaps removing them. This allows the unborn child to be able to live a better life. Although this is a good thing, there has to be a line drawn somewhere. If we let the genetic engineering go too far, there is a big risk that people will start building their “dream child”, decide what eye colour their child is supposed to have, hair colour, muscles and so on, which we do not believe is fair to the child itself. We simply do not feel like it is humane, we might as well be robots.

Kind regards from Felicia Poblete Plugor, Tuva Blomstrand and Alexander Fagerlund Johansson from Växjö Katedralskola.

Felicia Poblete Plugor - 06.12.2019 @ 10:35

Thank you for a very informative article concerning genetic engineering. I am personally not sure whether it is a curse or a blessing, because also recently the Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who claimed that he modified two babies' genes in a way so that they are unable to get HIV, was arrested. A year ago this led to worldwide discussions about this topic and a lot of people thought that he did cross ethical borders. Basically the idea (improving people's lives) is a good one because if chronicle diseases can be cured even for one person the world would be a better place. However, to do this gene manipulation has still to be improved so it can be done without the danger of lifelong damages. Also, in times of accepting one another the way she/he is, being able to "create" a human isn't necessarily helping in society, as mentioned above as well. This could even get out of hand so that the individuality of each person gets lost and human robots develop, but that's very unrealistic.

All in all, I can say that this is a really interesting topic, open for discussion and different opinions, but we'll have to wait to see what the future holds.

Valentin Innerbichler - 06.01.2020 @ 20:19

I think your text was really informative and interesting. As far as my opinion goes I don't think genetic engineering is something positive. I believe it is better to let nature be and let the natural cycle of life continue without human interference. Because in situations like this one it is hard to see where the border for what is ethically right or wrong goes. Tt can get out of hand pretty easily without proper monetization. Although I do see why people think it might be good for health purposes but as I stated before; it can easily get out of hand and next thing you know, babies are being meddled with left and right.

Maria Oguz - 23.01.2020 @ 11:39