Ethical Issues In Genetic Research

Genetics is the study of heredity and the variation of inherited traits or characteristics. Intelligence is defined as the ability to acquire and apply both knowledge and skills. How exactly genetics influences intelligence is yet to be discovered, but scientists agree that genetics does have some influence on a person’s intellect; however, if intelligence is not completely hereditary, then there may be ways for humans to increase it. This could be helpful in that it could possibly find solutions to genetic diseases in the brain like Alzheimer’s and dyslexia. I came up with my research question – should humans strive to enhance genes to increase human intelligence? – when it talked about the idea that “Genius must be born, and can never

In Vitro Fertilization gives parents a chance to have a healthy baby who might not otherwise have one. The issue with this is that parents choose the optimal baby from a selection of embryos using Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), and then embryos – fertilized egg cells – are then left in the freezer for future use, or they are thrown away. Some people think that the option to choose what traits a baby will have is unnatural. Some people do not agree with either the selection of just one of the embryos or the discarding of the unwanted embryos. However, others argue that IVF is helpful because only the embryo that would survive to become a healthy baby is chosen, and the embryos with the diseases are saved from a life of suffering (Uffalussy). But the technology needed for trait selection has not yet been invented (Simmons). Also argued: organ transplants, prosthetic limbs and injectable insulin are unnatural, too (Saulters). Another question that is raised is “will we lose our diversity if we delve into genetic engineering?” or “if we genetically modify intelligence genes, will all humans eventually think alike?” “Should the ethical standards of the present trump the development of a science that might enable our species to survive an extinction event in the future?” (Saulter).

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats - Crispr Technology – was developed in 2013 and is a new and more precise

The research to find ways to modify genes to increase intelligence alone would be tremendously expensive, but before that, scientists would have to determine which genes specifically have an effect on intelligence and also how the genes affect intelligence, which still has not been accomplished. It would take lots of time for the government to approve the financing for the research, if they ever agree at all. The only people left to finance the research would be private investors or business owners. Once a way has been found to enhance the genes, the price the public would have to pay to apply the procedure would be very high. This is all based on the assumption agreed upon by most scientists that genes have a large factor in a person’s intelligence. If scientists are wrong, and genes actually have very little effect on intelligence, then all the money spent on the research was spent for nothing, but if scientists are right, then this could revolutionize the way people