Genetic Engineering

Hi, my name is , and I am going to talk about genetic enhancing. the advantages of genetic engineering will do more good in the world, then the fears the critics are worried about. Genetic engineering is defined as the modification of the characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material. For example, eye color hair color, height, body build, intelligence. So basically, parents are going to want their child to look like a Barbie doll with the intelligence of Einstein. (Reveal poster one, of 3 babies, and ken doll). They might want their children to be this beautiful Einstein, but , the cost of genetic alterations is prohibitive on a small scale. Even for the richest parents, having the color of hair or eyes would be more of an expense than most would be willing to absorb, just so they have a child with a preferred hair color. And it would be a crapshoot at best. After paying to have a child with blue eyes, the doctors find the gene that said he would have been born with blue eyes anyway. Parents will be more interested in having a healthy baby, in particular, if they knew that there was a proclivity for certain illnesses or disease that runs in the family.

Most of the fears about genetic engineering are in fact unfounded. People want to believe the worst of science and what a 'mad' scientist might do. One of the common arguments against genetic engineering, is the mad scientist working for a rouge country and forming the perfect race so to speak. Many point to a new Hitler type making a master race. While it is possible in theory, the practical aspect is a little more difficult to accomplish. It would take a certain number of embryos, plus the equipment to raise and/or hatch a great many test tube babies. This would all have to be done with the utmost in secrecy. In other words, damn near impossible to accomplish at this time. The rest of the world would be well aware of any master race prior to them ever leaving puberty.

There are areas that genetic engineering will be a great help. Such as childhood diabetes, where a genetic change could help eradicate this painful ailment. Other areas would be in cancer research, sickle cell, Huntington's disease, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell, , Marfan syndrome, ,hemochromatosis, Down syndrome, Neurofibromatosis ,Polycystic kidney disease and ALS. This graph is displaying the most common types of genetic disorders that are inherent to certain families or races. Is there really something wrong with using genetic enhancement to help cure, eliminate and prevent various types of disease?

Another aspect of genetic engineering is increased food production. As the population grows on this planet, we will have to increase the amount of food produced. Genetics can alter growing cycles crop sizes and nutritional values. Genetically enhanced crops will allow farmers to produce higher yields at lower cost that will help drive down prices.