WHAT TO MAKE WITH DNA ORIGAMI

Oh no! There is no blog topic on Moodle for this article. (To be written in the future)

With that I leave you with a beautifully made paper crane.

FAST AND FURIOUS

When reading the article Fast and Furious my mind instantaneously went to the 2005 science fiction film - The Island - where human clones were made to serve as spare parts for the `naturally conceived`. The scary part of it all was how close our reality is fast approaching the fiction of the movie.

     In a few year's time, it is very plausible that through genetic cloning, health care will never be the same again. Kidney failed? No problem, take one for the clone. In all honesty, it sounds like a dream come true for many sufferers and an easy fix when first looking at it. If we have the technology and knowledge, why don't we do it? I think much of it has to do with the ethical attachments of this issue. Where is the line to be drawn when genetic research is to say enough when it comes to human morals? Or will the world escalate to the level of The Island where clones that are just as much human as you and I are kept and used as spares?

    I think having the ability being able to clone an entire human being is an asset and will no doubt lead to further great things. However, I think it must be done cautiously. With the power synthesize human beings, there will definitely be those who abuse it. It's because there's so much that can be done with this ability, yet much of that crosses a big moral boundary (which not everyone will abide to). With the alluring promises of synthesizing human beings, I think it is going to happen eventually. However, I think that the current society is nowhere near ready for such an advancement. Synthesizing a person may come attached with many flowery benefits, but the consequences that follow may just be heavier.

In my opinion, though I think synthesizing a entire functioning human being is pushing it and our society is just not ready for it yet. I am not extremely against the idea but also not a supporter of the extreme. I also do not think our society will embrace the idea of a synthetically made human very well. However if I were in the position of a mother with a child in need of an transplant, I am sure I will stand very differently on the topic.

Science has a limit. That limit is the society that welds the power of that science. If the society is not mature enough to be given such a responsibility, then there is a limit. I think it is very plausible for the world we know to slip into the reality of The Island. That in itself is a consequence. I think it is like slavery or any other sinful things we have practised in the past. So today, my moral compass says no to synthesizing a human. But ideas change and so do beliefs. I think our such extreme cloning will grace our world eventually if we don`t self destruct first. It is inevitable as to say how we will handle it and ease it into society. For that only time will tell. 

GENETICS BY NUMBERS

"Who would of ever though that the future of human health would be read like lists of car number plates," is the opening line in the article Genetics by Numbers. It is a good question. What would it be like when our can predetermine our health. It is scary to think of what the world would be like with that kind of personal health information just floating around for the public to see. Will we be labelled by our genes? Will we be marked by the numbers and letters that have predetermined what our body will do? At first glance this seems to look like an answer for early diagnosis, but what do you do with the diagnosis is the good question? How would you share it with your spouse, what if your children are marked? There seems to be many issues with this, but it is needless to say that early diagnosis also means early treatment and who wouldn't want that?

The problem is that it is just a little out of reach with the current technology. It's making good progress, but this is not something easy to do. SNP research is costly and requires a large amount of data as well as a large amount of people to put the data together. This is no easy task and is improbable for individuals to do. This is why there needs to be a collaboration among no just individuals, but countries to come together and combine all the data into a public data bank. This is the only way to make major advancements in this field. But how do you make the world put away selfish gain for the sake of science?
There is no doubt a lot of corruption within the scientific community. Why should this not be expected in a world of self gain, competition and greed dominated mind sets? However, this is not to say that there are not those out there that do not follow this selfish stream and it is definitely not to say that this competition hasn't been the driving force to push research ahead. A healthy dose of competitive action is just what word needs to keep the great minds going. The problem comes with the phrase two heads are better than one. In this case is thousands of heads are better than one. This is more than true in our society today where scientific advances are at the breaking point of many great discoveries. Imagen the greatness that awaits the world upon the joining of each nation's greatest minds - all of the question that could be answered, all of the pieces that will come together.  However, the system is so knee deep in the dirty waters of politics, private businesses and gain that the powerful knowledge of SNPs is surely to be abused.

I am sure that there are those who are willing to join together for the benefits of SNP research. I think the idea of unlocking the knowledge of SNPs and what it can do for humanity will be enough to join those who care. As for the ones who are over come with greed, there is nothing but money and gain that will change them. For the world to come together is very unlikely. Logically speaking, I don't think it will never happen.