I Need Help With My Essay - Is Genetic Engineering Good Or Bad?

Genetic engineering, also known as genetic modification or GM, is the way in which scientists have learned to modify the hereditary make-up of an organism.

Basically, it's the process of taking genes from one thing (or using synthetic ones) and inserting them into a different organism, in order to add or eliminate certain traits. So far, it's been used to make blue roses and fish that glow in the dark, amongst other things.

Pros of Genetic Engineering

• Can be used to prevent birth defects
• Can be used to manufacture recombining growth hormone
• Can be used to make human insulin
• Can make crops resistant to pests and diseases

Cons of Genetic Engineering

• Scientists might not know where to stop - once they've perfected the art of genetic engineering, some serious ethical issues could arise. For example, what happens when parents decide they want to choose the gender of their child, or choose their appearance?
• If you've ever seen the movie Gattaca with Jude Law, you'll have some idea what society might be like if everybody could hand-pick the genes of their child.

Wow that is a tough question!

• It is good because you could prevent disease and birth defects in unborn children by engineering their genes to avoid genetic pitfalls.
• Some people think it is bad because it could give people a lot of power, like a God complex, because they are picking choosing and creating individuals.

You need to pick a side and research the thoughts and back up your decision. Or if your essay is about both sides then you have to present both sides. You have some research to do! Good luck.

Why is it that people always talk about genetic engineering as if it were carried out only on people? The fact is that any living organism can be genetically-modified, for better or for worse.

The main basis for genetic engineering is to attempt to improve an organism, or modify it to carry out a function that would help any given cause. Whether or not this change is bad or good is a matter of opinion.

I guess the only bad thing that can come from it is the ability to use it as a weapon of sorts, such as an army of clones, or a super-virus. But even then there is still a way to counter such things. If you have the ability to make it, then there is a way to get rid of it.

It is, in truth, a vast space of infinite possibilities for the bettering of someone's or something's life.