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Genetic Engineering and Its Ethics

Family and a Baby

Every individual in this world wants to have a family of their own. And a child when comes into the world makes a family complete. After 9 months of wait and dwelling inside mother’s womb, they finally come out to see the first light. Pregnancy is that phenomenon where a mother carries the baby in her body for 9 long months, nourishes the baby, helps the baby to grow properly will all possible means by sharing her food, her oxygen, her blood and everything else. This method is truly remarkable on its own kind. However, pregnancy is very much surrounded by a lot of problems which are primarily faced by the mother. These problems are mainly due to the rapid and also excessive hormonal change or increase in the body of the body of the mother, which are very much required for the development of the baby and also to survive these 9 months of gestation. Doctors are researcher are constantly trying to solve these problems by different means to make the journey of pregnancy very much smooth.

Germline cells and Sexual Reproduction

Sexual reproduction is the sole method by which the human and any other mammals get the opportunity to produce their offspring’s. In this method of sexual reproduction the two sets of genes, one set from the father that comes from the sperm and the other set from the mother that comes from the ovum get united to form a zygote that with time develops into a multicelled baby. With the exchange of two sets of genes, two sets of characters also get mixed and they express themselves in the genotype of the baby. This expression is very much characteristic, that gives the baby as well as the parent a particular identity of themselves. The group of cells that bears the characteristic of the mother, as well as the father, is called as the germline cells. Nowadays a very new technique of treatment has evolved that involving the modification of these germline cells. It is also called as the gene therapy. Gene therapy deals with the therapy of bad genes or mutated genes that can cause harm to our body. Gene therapy is of two types- somatic and germline gene therapy. However, this therapy is bounded by the different sets of rules called as germline modification ethics.

Germline Modification

Germline modification can also be called as the genome editing or genetic engineering. In this method, a gene possessing bad qualities or when it is functioning wrongly can be edited of treated to cure the gene. This technique is a very advanced technique where many diseases having a connection with the genetic change or mutation can be cured. And this cure of the gene will be a permanent one and therefore will be carried to the rest of the generations. Thus it has the ability to cure a disease genetically carried forever.

Rules and Ethics

Due to its huge potential and enhancement, the germline modification moratorium was established. It has the ability to do wonders also, therefore, do not get misused in a harmful way this technique was banned and put under a set of rules and ethics.

Hope for the Future

However, a day will come when a better technique with better possibilities will usher and hence will be actually useful to the mankind at large and will not be misused by anyone.